I was in Osaka recently and reconnected with my former teammates and colleagues. As often happens when you meet people after many years, we talked about where our careers have taken us. Many have gone on to lead large teams, take on significant responsibilities and build impressive careers across different organisations.

What I found interesting was that while everyone had grown professionally, their personalities felt remarkably familiar. The same sense of humour, values and character that I remembered were still there.

Experience changes how we lead, make decisions and approach our work. But perhaps growth does not mean becoming someone different. It may simply mean learning how to make better use of who we have always been.

Reconnecting with people who have shared part of your journey is always a valuable reminder of both how much we change and how much we stay the same.