I am not sure if everyone feels it, but I struggle living in two parallel worlds these days. When we exist in the digital world, life seems so easy. Food delivery services will bring you whatever you are craving for and E commerce suppliers will make things coming to your house very easy. You can […]
Beyond Success: Finding Meaning Through Inner Guidance
Over the years, I have had the privilege of working with senior leaders across various organisations, both in my professional career and now in an advisory capacity. These are outstanding individuals who, on paper at least, possess all the requisite attributes; prominent titles, significant responsibilities, and an outwardly successful demeanor. However, when you dig deeper, […]
Stand Out by Saying Less: Quality Over Quantity in Achievements
I recently interviewed someone fairly senior for a client. This person had so many achievements on his cv and he went on a spree trying to explain everything in detail. I kept wishing throughout the interview that he would focus on one or two and be able to go deep into those. When seeking to […]
Freedom of Thought: The Rarest Skill No One Teaches
In one of my previous organizations, the annual appraisal/potential assessment form had an unusual section. It wanted to know if the person being assessed was an ‘independent thinker’. It was unusual because businesses don’t usually allow for much independent thinking! To my mind, an independent thinker is someone who has their own ideas about what […]
The Manager’s Dilemma: Balancing Autonomy and Collaboration
How does one manage a team? If you ask seasoned team managers about their most challenging task, you are most likely to hear about managing conflicts among team members as a significant contender for the top spot. Experienced team managers also recognise that conflicts primarily arise from the inherent human desire of each team member […]
The Power of Stepping Back Gracefully
During my gym workouts, I often see younger folks approach every exercise with a lot of passion, showing their strength and endurance. It is inspiring and sometimes I am tempted to follow them, but I remind myself that just because I can perhaps still do some of those heavy bench presses and squats, doesn’t mean […]
True Independence Means Freedom from Validation
I have been pondering the concept of independence. While I see financial and intellectual independence as important I feel true independence means breaking free from the need to seek validation from others. Our society puts a lot of emphasis on getting approval from strangers through physical cues (like clothes, cars, and homes), attention-seeking (likes on […]
Trusting Your Gut: Why Intuition Can Be Smarter Than Logic
Most of us are not very adept at dealing with uncertainty. We prefer certainties and guarantees. You know those moments when you ignore your strong intuition or gut feeling, become fearful, and seek reassurance from others, asking, “What do you think?” “Should I do it?” Our craving for certainty undermines our intuition in those instances. […]
Winning the Argument, Losing the Respect: The Hidden Cost of Being Right
Watching the recent public shouting matches between global politicians, I am reminded of a business meeting from my younger days when I argued with a colleague about something he said that didn’t make sense to me. The disagreement grew emotional, and our voices became louder. Ultimately, I managed to present some facts that my colleague […]
Beyond the CV: How to Hire for Character, Not Just Skills
I wrote a post some time back in which I mentioned that looking at CVs and LinkedIn profiles only is not a good way to recruit. It is much better to spend time with candidates and get to know their stories if you are interested in their character rather than just skills. Expanding on that […]
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