Leadership Session #3 - Your last mistake is your best teacher

Do you remember a day when everything you did or saw was perfect? Everything in its place, no errors, no mistakes?  Is that a murmured "No" I hear? Damn right!  Its human to err..the Japanese call it Wabi Sabi - The Art of Imperfection..... here is a little story.   A gardener was asked to get a garden ready for guests who were coming to see a house.  He toiled and picked and swept and plucked; when everything was perfect, he shook the cherry blossom tree just a bit to have scattered flowers on the path....

I really got all heated up when my team made mistakes: harsh, unforgiving, shaking my head and muttering under my breath!  But realisation hit me every time I made mistakes and faced the same abhorring treatment from my boss.  I understood that this experience of making mistakes is creating an awareness in me - and when faced making the same error again, my brain triggered off and that told me something isn't quite right.   That's when I knew, here is the learning...this is how it should be done.  Of course one has to be brave enough to share the mistake and learning both.  That's leadership.  And yes it requires courage to admit your mistake....but then lighten up, talk of Wabi Sabi!

Mistakes are definitely stepping stones to Learning and Success.  Treat it as such, and your team will admit their mistakes quickly instead of camouflaging it until it may become a huge unsolvable problem. Discuss mistakes in your meetings and get everyone to contribute what they have learnt from them. Make "discussing mistakes" a permanent point in your monthly meeting agenda and make it mandatory for each one to present at least one.  This will encourage introspection and analysis of what is done - right and wrong.  This will bring forth new learning and innovative solutions. This will bring comfort and ease with each team member - open, unafraid and seeking to learn more. 

This will make you like yourself better and you will look for more ways to become a true Leader.

 And this one is just for fun!

Leadership Session #1 Give up on Giving up - Inspired Tale

We all know that Hanuman found Sita in Lanka. Here is a story that tells us the events that led him to finding Sita. Hanuman’s first search for Sita ends in failure. The Sanskrit epic depicts him in a crestfallen mood on the island, reflecting on what to do next. Hanuman, disheartened by failure is now standing on the shore of the ocean and reasons that perhaps it is best for him to commit suicide since he cannot fulfil his promise to Rama.

While he was contemplating suicide, his attention was diverted by the activity of a small bird, which seemed to dive from the sky, collect water of the ocean in her beak and fly away. The frequent repetition of this act by the little bird aroused his curiosity and he asked the bird what it was up to. The bird replied: My nest has fallen into the ocean and I am trying to dry up the ocean to recover it. Hanuman was taken aback by the resolve of the little bird and asked, full of surprise, how she hoped to empty the ocean to recover her nest. Thereupon the bird replied:
Days and nights are long; My beak is strong as iron. Indefatigability is the root of success. Why will the ocean not dry up?

Hanuman was astounded by the determination of the little bird and thought to himself if this little bird can display such courage and determination then surely, I should not give up on my goal and at least make one more attempt to find Sita. 

Hanuman did, indeed, succeed in his mission the second time. The little verse uttered by the little bird in the epic became a famous saying and its message – Give up giving up – has perhaps inspired many more, just as it inspired Hanuman.

#Leadership Session 2: - #Lead by example

"Practice what you preach!" Remember hearing this all the time when growing up? "Its easy to talk, do it and show!" - another common phrase which we've either said or heard or both.

 I remember seeing so many movies, where the protagonist is the first to jump into a difficult situation and try to sort it or takes a stand which is unique.  Others almost always follow. 

Take Sholay: where Jai and Veeru are the only two to fight off Gabbar's gang in the beginning, with others following suit when they see the courageous duo - a classic example of leading by example.

In my long stint of working, I've come across so many "leaders/bosses " who have different rules for their team and another set of rules for themselves.  Walking the talk instils trust and confidence in you as a "leader" - people start following you. 

I've written so many policies in my career as an HR professional, and have had to revisit quite a few of them, when I had to follow these myself as an employee.  On paper, a process of work or  policy may look fantastic; only when you implement these yourself will you know how practical or good they are. 

As a leader you have to inspire people around you to bring out the best in themselves and take the Company to greatness. To do this, you must show them the way by doing it yourself. 

And take this home to your parents, spouse, children, siblings, friends - take the lead: show them you care,  love, and trust. They'll follow...for sure.

The social complexities of Music in the '70s and '80s.

When I was around 16 or so,  our family bought a stereo system...a cassette player with 2 speakers.  We also had a vinyl record player that could be hooked to the speakers.  We had arrived!!  And more....the deck could hold two cassettes so we could record ..from one to the other. 

I listened to Abba, Boney M, Tina Charles, The Carpenters, Beatles - pop music.....that's the way aha aha...I like it....aha aha.... and ofcourse Micheal Jackson.  Our cousin Hiro who used to live in Lagos introduced me to Harry Belafonte....and my brother Mahesh, who by then went to work, first in Dusseldorf and then in London, introduced me to Anne Murray.  With the VCR and Top of the Pops video cassettes....yesss I was "the music connoisseur" or so I thought. 

One day my sister Mala hands me a cassette asking me to play it - Jagjit Singh!!! who is this person I exclaimed!!??  And the song...woh kagaz ki khasti, woh baarish ka pani.  And other soul-some songs. But she was in love, so I added Jagjit Singh songs to my "collection". 

When Mala & Rajesh (the love of her life that brought Jagjit to our home) got married,  Mummy entertained quite often..lots of good food and music; hey....that's my forte ...I made playlists (at that time it meant recording cassettes) for these parties with Dancing Queen and Rasputin, feeling excited and DJ-ish, wanting to impress my new Jiyaji and his friends. 

Alas!! 😞  Rajesh and his friends brought their own music!  Doors, Pink Floyd, Eagles, Eric Clapton, pray God! who were these creatures who made this noise and sang lyrics that were so radical (yes and Super tramps too!).  I felt shadowed, lost  - inadequate.  Not one to give up on music,  I created new playlists (🙄 - yes I mean recorded new cassettes) of this new odd music and listened to them everyday.  Soon the words made sense and the noisy music had me spellbound.   It was Brick in the Wall, Cocaine, Riders on the Storm...(i always held on to the Beatles) that were always on my playlist.

Hindi film music, rap, electronic - as I grew older and wiser, I loved all sorts of music....not concerned with genre, only with the rhythm, but Abba, and Boney M were cobwebbed, forgotten perhaps consciously. 

2008...Mama Mia !!! Merly Streep and Pierce Brosnan brought back Abba to my life along with it all the oldies that I had tucked away.  Now Pop, Rock, Jazz, Sufi, Bollywood... Arijit, Sonu, Rehman, Beyonce, Jim Morrison, not to forget, Honey Singh and Badshah all live together, without conflict,  in my playlists. 𝅘𝅥𝅮🎝🎝𝆔𝆔  I love happy beginnings, don't you??

Reinventing myself at 57

“There is something beautiful about a blank canvas, the nothingness of the beginning that is so simple and breathtakingly pure. It’s the paint that changes its meaning and the hand that creates the story. Every piece begins the same, but in the end they are all uniquely different.” 
― Piper Payne

Sure sounds good doesn't it - the blank canvas the simplicity....I believe I'll eventually call my current blank canvas beautiful too.  I have the pieces of the jigsaw; I have the threads to start weaving.  I  have the colours, the design: I am the architect.  And the builder too.

I did tell myself to retire: Take it easy girl! Its been 3 decades😲😲😲.   Really? I'm not done yet. I've built muscle now, those hills ahead are climbable.  So I'm not hanging up my boots - not for quite sometime.

From employment to self-employment. From behind the desk to the other side of the desk.  From "what became routine" to exciting?  I'm almost sure. I have to work at eliminating that "almost".

It takes courage - I'm told I'm brave.  I've been unconventional - that's innovation by default. I'm getting started - in a different gear this time - another league.

May the Force be with me.  And all of you.