Beyond Limits: The Thinking Org
Leadership, growth, and doing things differently
At Beyond Limits, we’ve never been afraid to do things differently. Whether it’s how we support people, build our teams, or shape our leaders. Real, honest, reflective thinking is at the heart of everything we do.
That message came through loud and clear at this year’s staff retreat. Two of our senior leaders, Georgia and Julie, shared deeply personal and thoughtful stories about their journeys at Beyond Limits. These stories captured the essence of what we mean when we talk about being a thinking organisation.
These weren’t polished speeches about climbing the ladder or ticking off promotions. They were about self-reflection, learning to challenge old habits, and growing into leadership through patience, struggle, and support. In short, they were stories about becoming better versions of ourselves and helping others to do the same.
More than just answers
One of the themes both Georgia and Julie touched on was how we support and train each other as teams. In traditional settings, training often looks like someone standing at the front, handing out instructions, and expecting immediate results. But at Beyond Limits, we try to do something else. We take time, ask questions, encourage reflection, and give space for people to learn and figure things out for themselves.
It’s not always easy, and it’s not always fast. But it works.
As Georgia put it in her story:
“It was often tough, and it requires you to always look internally… to consider if there is anything you can do differently. It felt alien to me and I wasn’t convinced it would work. Then bit by bit, it started making sense.”
It’s the difference between giving someone the answer and helping them learn how to find the answer for themselves. Between managing people and growing leaders.
This thinking-led approach is something we’re proud of. It’s thoughtful. It’s intelligent. It asks more of us, but it gives so much more in return, not just in our teams but in the lives of the people we support.
From self-reflection to self-leadership
Georgia’s journey is a powerful example of how transformative this kind of culture can be, and her reflections at the retreat struck a real chord with many of us. When she joined Beyond Limits in 2015, fresh out of university, she had the right values and the right passion. But by her own admission, she struggled with control, micromanaging, and black-and-white thinking. Over time, and with a lot of encouragement from Doreen and others, she began to change the way she thought about leadership.
Instead of doing everything herself, she started creating space for others to grow. She stopped reacting from ego and started responding with awareness. She moved from managing tasks to enabling people. And through it all, she saw how her development wasn’t just helping her, it was benefiting everyone around her.
“Eventually, one day I looked back and realised how much I had changed. I was now a leader rather than a manager.”
Julie offered another lens on what this kind of growth can look like. She spoke about joining Beyond Limits from outside the organisation and coming into a culture that felt very different. It was a culture with open communication, people-first thinking, and an emphasis on personal leadership. It was new and at first unfamiliar, but she described how welcomed and supported she felt from the beginning. That support allowed her to grow into the thoughtful, person-centred leader she is today. And now, in turn, she’s able to offer that same encouragement to others.
It’s a full-circle kind of leadership: open, intentional, and rooted in the belief that people can grow into their best selves when given the space to do so.
This is exactly what we mean when we talk about cultivating a thinking culture. It’s not a programme. It’s not a buzzword. It’s a mindset, one that takes time to build and is shaped by trust, curiosity, and long-term commitment.
A culture that shapes people
Beyond Limits has always believed in the potential of people. Not just the people we support, but each other as colleagues too. That belief doesn’t just show up in our job descriptions or mission statements. It shows up in how we treat each other, how we train our teams, and how we make space for people to grow, even when it’s messy, slow, or unconventional.
That’s what makes us a thinking organisation.
Not because we have all the answers, but because we’re willing to keep asking better questions.
Not because our way is always easy, but because it leads somewhere better.
And not because everyone comes in as a perfect leader, but because we create the right conditions for people to become one.
The journey continues
The stories shared at the retreat reminded us that this kind of thinking-led growth is ongoing. There’s always more to learn, more to reflect on, and more people coming up behind us who need the same time, space, and challenge that others gave to us.
As Georgia said beautifully in closing:
“Initially, the opportunity was a gift to me, but it has benefited many others in the end, the people we support, and the people I work alongside. The journey is not over, we will all forever have room to grow and develop further. I now embrace this, and I’m very excited for the rest of my journey. ”
That’s the ripple effect of a thinking organisation.
It starts with one person.
Then it changes everything.
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Of course having his own sailing expert as part of his team is helpful and Michelle kept Rich and the rest of the team safe. After the safety demonstration, a three hour trip around the coast followed and Rich really enjoyed it, safe to say he is already making plans and looking forward to the next sail.
