Canadian adventurer Julia Angus shares lessons at upcoming HR Leaders Summit
There are not many people who can claim to not only be bona fide “adventurers”, but who have also had successful careers in business development, science and venture capitalism.
Microbiologist, author, adventurer and entrepreneur Julia Angus is one of them. Among many other expeditions, Angus was the first woman to row across the Atlantic from mainland to mainland, earning her and her husband Colin Angus the National Geographic “Adventurer of the Year” title and many other accolades.
Drawing on her unique and hard-won lessons learned through extreme circumstances and challenges, Angus will be speaking about her revelatory experience crossing the Atlantic in her opening keynote speech at this year’s HRD Canada’s HR Leader’s Summit.
The summit is running from Nov. 14-15 at the International Centre Mississauga.
Learning perseverance through hardship
When the Angus’ set out on their journey to row across the Atlantic unassisted, making her the first woman ever to do so, they didn’t bargain on having to paddle straight through not one but two hurricanes.
“When you row through a hurricane, you learn a few things,” she said.
The encounter with the unexpected taught Angus a valuable lesson in perseverance, which she wrote about in her book Rowboat in a Hurricane: My Amazing Journey Across a Changing Atlantic Ocean. She also co-produced a documentary about the experience.
Facing that hurricane and coming out the other side showed her head on how adversity and uncertainty could be used as opportunities for growth and prosperity.
Her success – and their lives – depended on it.
From rowing from Scotland to Syria on human-powered boats, to founding a company that develops wind and solar powered deep ocean autonomous crafts, throughout her career Angus has developed specific techniques for dealing with changing environments and challenge; strategies such as preparing for the unexpected, altering our perception, risk assessment, and improving communication are all tools that HR leaders can apply in their own roles.
Angus’ keynote will be opening the HR Leader Summit on Nov. 14, kicking off two days of insights and industry innovations for HR leaders from expert in the field. Other speakers include Drew Calcagno of Google, Lorna Clamp of Securigard and Julie Develin of UKG.