Cross-Pollination: Why Staying in Our Lane Holds Us Back

I’ve never had what you’d call a “traditional” corporate career. My professional roots are in mental health, social-emotional intelligence, conflict resolution and education. On paper, that might seem like a completely different world from organizational leadership and workplace culture. But here’s the truth I’ve come to see: they’re not different worlds at all. They’re deeply connected.

Workplace culture, communication breakdowns, adaptability, leadership challenges - at their core, these aren’t “business problems.” They’re human problems. And human problems are what I’ve spent my career helping people navigate.

What excites me most is what happens when we cross-pollinate: when insights from one field fertilize growth in another. When a mental health lens informs corporate resilience. When an educator’s eye for development strengthens leadership pipelines. When conflict resolution strategies from family systems transform workplace disagreements.

The richest solutions rarely come from staying in our lane. They come when we step outside the silo and borrow wisdom from unexpected places. That’s where innovation lives. That’s where possibility expands.

So I keep asking myself - and I invite you to ask, too: Where can we break down silos in our own lives and work? What new connections could spark if we allowed more cross-pollination?