By Nick Mansfield
YMCA Canada, Change Agent Cohort 5.0
One drop into the water. That’s all it takes to create a ripple.
What is a ripple? It is a disruption to the current state. A unified movement that projects outward in all directions. Seemingly infinite. Starting with just one drop.
For those who may not know, I am a Change Agent. A collective of young and passionate human beings (often called young professionals) working at their local YMCAs, coming together as a global community. Why? To further our knowledge, reach and impact of the global movement of YMCA Vision 2030 with the World YMCA. In short, we are ambitious humans wanting to create a sustainable, purposeful, just future for ourselves and others.
In our programme, we have learned about the story of the YMCA and the future goals of the World YMCA, to lean into your strengths with Gallup and how to build influence and communicate digitally and personally from social media expert Daizy Maan.
But what has this experience been for me so far? It is the shattering of the notion that I am just one person – how could I possibly make a difference?
We are all just one person… but when we follow our own compass, operating on our true north, we discover others operating in kind. We create a network of individuals that turns into a powerful global community, enacting the same unified change by different means across our planet.
Through many ripples, we will create waves.
Nick Mansfield, who has 11 years of experience with the YMCA of Calgary and the YMCA of Southern Interior British Columbia, has a strong background in community engagement and leadership development. He currently serves as the Centre Manager for the H2O Centre in Kelowna, BC, where he oversees the day-to-day operations and leads the service of approximately 17,000 members across the city. Nick is passionate about helping others overcome doubts, uncertainty and limitations and believes that leadership is about giving a voice and platform to those who need it.Â
