Leadership

Heard, Helped or Hugged

As a leader, there will always come a time when someone we lead is going through a tough time (personally and / or professionally). Firstly, good leaders notice this shift and have the ability to initiate a conversation about it, knowing fully well that it might lead to a difficult conversation for both. When such a situation arises, good leaders have the emotional acuity to know whether the colleague needs to be heard, helped or hugged. When we get this right, the colleague feels like they are seen and heard and that they matter. It makes them feel that they […]

Leadership

Commanding vs Inviting

We can be appointed as a leader of a team but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we should expect the team to follow us. We first need to earn their trust and respect. We do that by listening to them, understanding their ambitions and expectations, learn who and what matters to them, what their fears and inhibitions and the see the potential in them that they are unable to see themselves. Then we need to give them an invitation to join us to go on a journey that will be challenging, interesting and fulfilling for them. One that will help […]

Leadership

Leading in a White Water World

Premise John Seely Brown and Ann-Pendleton Jullian call the world we currently live in a white water world, constantly changing, evolving and emerging. In this two part series they share their insights from their book – Design Unbound. They talk about how do you design your systems for emergence rather than stability (large corporate) or growth (startup). I would highly recommend watching these two talks (each about an hour long) to understand what it would take to lead in such a white water world and how to design your systems for emergence. Part 1 In this part, they discuss the […]

Leadership

A Culture of Belonging

One of the primary responsibilities of a leader is to create a culture where our teams can feel that they belong and are part of a team. And we help them do that without them feeling the need to change who they really are. A culture where one can bring their full selves is a culture where creativity is abound and innovation thrives.

Leadership

Good Leadership

I found this note and a bottle of perfume in my hotel room, given as a gift by the housekeeper, one with whom I had a short interaction. I don’t know if this was something that he did on his own or was asked to do this as part of a process. Irrespective of that, I felt good. I wrote a thank you note, told the cashier when I was checking out, shared this story with at least 10 of my colleagues and now I am sharing it here. If this was a personal initiative of Kunal, it shows that […]