Organizations are, according to the great historian, philosopher and author Yuval Noah Harari, “constructs of our human mind, not a reality”. They only exist, because we have constructed them in our minds and created a whole system of supporting rules, laws, etc.

Feedback is one way to gauge how well you are doing. The primary reason that my coaching services exist is so that people can learn new ways to grow on their own.

Ownership and accountability are tough even in the best of situations. often people don’t commit to either because of the need to be safe (what if s*** hits the roof and it’s my name on the email), or the need to not jeopardize what’s already working (another peer taking the credit for it has worked before and will continue to work - even if you believe you can do a better job) or the need to not court uncertainty. 

As the COVID cases surge in the world again, the patterns we first encountered at the beginning of the pandemic are coming back. Some parts of the world are going into lockdown again, while others are enforcing them partially. There is a familiar sense of the unknown, yet again, and anxiety levels are increasing exponentially fast - much like the COVID cases in any given part of the world. 

Each of us has discovered what brings out the worst in us and in the ones closest to us. As we all navigate yet another wave, we are of necessity discovering strength through the pandemic, yet again. First, we did it through ourselves. And this time we must do it through our communities.

The first is that, having had some experience in team coaching, I can identify patterns. So when I see a certain thing happening, there's usually a chance that I have an idea of where it's headed - even if I don't know the exact destination.

A lot of people in villages have very basic education, if at all. The premise of modern systems, to a large extent, is that people are educated enough to avail them. In the lack of this education, entirely new systems will have to be created.

The helix model proposes that instead of having a top-down, or even a matrix model of organization, they can have a two-way helix model, in which there are two managers who play an equally important role in making an organization blossom.

An organization’s management/leadership philosophy clarifies at least three things for everybody at the organization, regardless of their role, division, or seniority, which could be any of the following:

I’ve always felt that India is the land of opportunities. In a lot of “developed” countries the structures have been laid down and the foundations have been set. I feel that India has a long way to go as a country: there are avenues of growth everywhere and the structures for it are still being formed.

Many organizations don’t have a management/leadership philosophy. As a result of this, the managers don’t know which principles to rely on when making management/leadership decisions and aren’t able to translate this to their juniors.

The sustainable mindset needs to come from the top. As I keep iterating in most of my posts that leadership is not a designation but an attitude, sustainable leadership is an evolved attitude, it’s a mindset. That said, people with considerable clout need to be frontrunning this mindset.

I believe that the world becomes a better place to live when we are all open about learning from one another’s successes and mistakes.

Authentic leadership is about leading from the heart, and not just the mind. Therefore, authentic leaders communicate with empathy and connect with co-workers on an emotional level.

Change pushed me out of my comfort zone. It made me braver as I left my home grounds and explored a new land.

Feminism as an ideology, and social and political movement, is something that is rooted deeply in my psyche and that of millions of women worldwide. And that’s no surprise as the narratives around the political, economic, and cultural equality of women took root way back in the 19th century.

In 2019, during the first lock-down, when I was reading the bestseller by Giulia Enders on the human gut, I had an “Aha!” moment as I realized the startling similarities between nurturing soil and nurturing people.

The challenge is to keep the participants engaged – something that can be done with exercises, interactive breakout room sessions, and opinion polls. Participants’ focus is normally higher, as there are fewer distractions in a virtual format and people can’t simply wander off.

As I tell them the science of discovering their top strengths, I feel many fears fading away in silence. As I go about asking questions that let them introspect and realize what they are great at, that let them learn about their strengths on their own, I hear a lot of ‘wow’s’ and ‘whoa’s’ and ‘that’s interesting'.

Kindness exudes warmth, makes one approachable and creates an openness that draws people. No wonder it is the ultimate soft skill. As I have come to realize, a quality like kindness can be inherent or learned.