Meet a Bright Mind: Lil Sawyer

 

Lil Sawyer is Senior Digital Transformation Specialist at the SickKids Foundation at the Children’s Hospital in Toronto. She has been a member of the ConnectMinds network for a number of years and been a great contributor in the Employee Experience group in Toronto.

 

Who is Lil?

I come from a career in software and tech, where I started out designing and selling high end trading systems for banks and financial institutions. I did security and bond trading systems; this was back in the nineties - and moved on from there to CRM systems and finally ended up in communications.

 By now, I’ve spent a decade in comms, and right now I’m focusing on Microsoft 365 and especially the transformation to hybrid work at the SickKids Foundation. I also teach digital transformation and how the technological advances can help improve our work-life balance.

 

The butterfly and the snake

The COVID-19 crisis didn’t just bring about a change in our work life; it brought transformation.

Transformation is what happens to a caterpillar when it becomes a butterfly. When the transformation is done, the caterpillar – now a butterfly – is unrecognizable from its former self. The process is hard and difficult, but the beauty is that once you’re through, you’re able to fly over most limitations.

 

Opposite to this is a snake that sheds its skin. The snake grows and eventually outgrows its skin; yet once it has done that, its appearance hasn’t changed; except it’s a little bigger. And here you have the difference between change and transformation. This visual image can help us understand the difficulties a hybrid work reality brings.

I believe it’s a common mistake to use change tactics in transformational processes.

We need to use transformational strategies for both individual and organizational transformations. We have to understand – and from a human context - that change as well as transformation processes can be painful.

 

What do you gain from being a member in the network?

I´ve been a member of ConnectMinds for five or six years. What I really like is that the network is both local and international. Lau (my ConnectMinds knowledge broker) helps us connect across borders and continents and he understands the issues we´re dealing with. He constantly facilitates the sharing of knowledge. I use the local group here in Toronto to listen to how other individuals handle issues like my own.

It often sparks ideas in my head. It’s the sharing, the stimulation and the inspiration that’s rewarding. All useful as it really matters to me to make a difference. I always seek to improve myself and inspire others.

Meet other bright minds in the network

Remote Working, Employee Experience, COVID-19, Peer learningLau Andreasenremote working, meet a bright mind, employee experience