Riding High as a Specialist Elephant Rider: Celebrating Jim Dryburgh's Transformative Journey with Emotional Culture

This is a celebration of an extraordinary achievement!

This week marks a momentous occasion as we honour the incredible Jim Dryburgh, who has officially unlocked his Specialist Elephant Rider Badge. Joining a select group of remarkable individuals, Jim has surpassed an impressive milestone, facilitating over 25 Emotional Culture Deck Workshops.

Jim, your contribution to our ECD Universe has been immense. Your journey has been nothing short of awe-inspiring, and it fills our hearts with joy and pride to witness your remarkable growth. The impact you've made reaches far and wide, touching countless individuals and teams and reminding us all of the power of meaningful human connection at work.

You continue to prove that people of all backgrounds and experiences want to express themselves at work (and school). They just don't have the tools and the labels to express themselves meaningfully. And after everything you've achieved, it strangely feels like you've just found your groove. But you've found your calling, and the world is a brighter, more human place because of it.

When Jim reached this milestone, we asked him about his three biggest bright spots on the journey to becoming a Specialist Elephant Rider. This is what he told us...

"I have so enjoyed this journey because it has brought so much variety, challenge and the opportunity to work with a broad and varied range of organisations and individuals. My first of 3 bright spots was my first workshop out of Defence with Sole Landscapes, I was trepidatious, anxious and on edge because I really wanted to get it right. The day went so fast and the people were so willing participative and enthusiastic the day just flew by and I was ready to go again. My second bright spot is the experience of co-designing, and then piloting, our High Performing Cross Functional Team experience for Defence Digital Group. The ECD is the thread that weaves through and holds all of the elements both practical and classroom-based together. My third has been the most recent in my 25th workshop, where a PhD came to me and asked if he could be trained to be my successor based on the content and method of delivery, which he described as “lighting up his spirit.”

Here's to Jim Dryburgh, an extraordinary human who has harnessed the power of emotional culture, lighting the way for us all. 

Cheers to you and to the beautiful transformation you have sparked within our ECD community.