Power Series: Humility

When I started writing the article, I had a different perspective of being humble; however, the current situation which the world is facing due to COVID-19 has taught me and changed my view of what humility is all about. 

Today's scenario is challenging all the norms and processes which we have set in our personal and professional life. There is no benchmark or blueprints available in the world which can either prepare, prescribe, or allow us to take action, which we don't know the outcomes or measures. The world is in an experimentation mode, everyday new methods, information, and aspects are enhancing or changing our experimentation methods. Humans have survived, and we would all survive this phase of the world. 

The phase of the world also demands we, as human beings, take a step back, evaluate and appreciate what is around us. Today there is rage, fear, and a sense of hoarding which is brewing amongst us. We need to calm ourselves down and also evaluate how we manage the situations which are evolving every day and every hour. What is being requested of us is to demonstrate humility across the walk of life. Humility is a quality of being humble and a form of self-control that is neither having pride (or arrogance) nor indulging in self-deprecation.

Having a sense of humility in the business context allows individuals to build sustained relationships. In the age of digital, building relationships would test all the previous myths (in-person, handshake, body language, personal appearance, and many more). Displaying humility and being considerate of others' needs before yours would allow businesses to scale through the current and global scenario of the world. Functions in an organization like sales, marketing, finance, and even the board members sooner than later would need to adopt humility as a leadership style to weather the storm and also sustain the business in the short and mid-term. 

Recent research suggests that humility is a quality of certain types of leaders. For example, Jim Collins and his colleagues found that a particular kind of leader, whom they term "level 5", possesses humility and fierce resolve. Humility is being studied as a trait that can enhance leadership effectiveness. The research suggests that humility is multi-dimensional and includes self-understanding and awareness, openness, and perspective-taking.

I am no expert in humility but have been consciously and unconsciously practicing it since the last decade. If you have perspectives on it further, please do leave your comments below. Chao. 

Power Series: The leaders of 2020...

The last decade has been the most exciting decade, which has redefined, challenged, and also made the world think about Technology, Leadership, and Environment needs. What made it compelling is the growth of a new breed of leaders, which has made us think about how we need to think about leadership going forward.

The three companies which I admire and follow: Microsoft, Google, and Adobe have not only seen a new breed of leaders, but these leaders have transformed and led the companies to become category leaders. All three of them - Satya Nadella, Sundar Pichai, and Shantanu Narayen, have challenged the status quo and transformed the companies to set examples of business models that new and old companies are seeking to adopt. Stepping into a Chief Executive role, have debunked the myths that successful and potential career paths should be either in Sales or Marketing. The background and the career have common traits that I have done my best to enlist for all of us to recognize and take cognizant. 

1. Education: All three of them have completed their graduation, and also got a master's degree. The focus puts back on an excellent education that debunks the earlier decade myth that education is not necessary to succeed. Each of them has studied engineering and then went to get an MBA.  

2. Product Management: Career choices and paths are an essential factor for you to be successful. More importantly, I would highly recommend gaining knowledge on how to focus on product management and build skills around that. The last decade saw a significant shortage of individuals with excellent Product Management skills, and this shortage would continue. Being a successful Product Management professional requires to have multiple skills and perspectives to manage successful product management lifecycle. 

3. Humility and Bold: I firmly believe that being humble in your day to day personal and professional is a crucial trait. Even though being a CEO of such large and global giants, all three of them have more than often not have come across being humble. Humbleness doesn't mean that you shouldn't challenge the norm. All three of them have tested the standard in their companies and helped transform the company to become category leaders. Boldness requires one to relook at things, the ability to take risks, appreciate diversity, analyze culture nuances in a corporate setup and lastly, accept failure as well. 

4. Build industry partnerships: Partnerships can be daunting or detrimental, and if it is with an entity that can be considered as competition in the near or long term is perceived as a bad strategy in the corporate world. However, each of them has done the reverse where they have embraced competition successfully and announced partnerships that have challenged the norm. It has not only positioned them and but also their companies as inclusive. The approach has allowed their respective customers to appreciate their move as many customers do not want to get tied into an ecosystem and would like to have the sense of decision making in their own hands. 

5. Global and Growth Markets: The world has now transformed and compelling businesses to go global and consider local nuances. More so, there are significant and emerging markets that are shifting focus from west to east and south and requires leaders to think about how the economies function, thrive, and consider their decisions. Each of them since had an upbringing in India and appreciated the diversity, inclusion and innately understand what moves the largest democracy in the world can apply similar principles in the other growing economies. 

I hope this article inspires each one of you, and I look forward to seeing your career excel in 2020 and the decade to come. 

I would also recommend reading Satya Nadella's book 'Hit Refresh.' The book gives insights into his life, work, and his approach to things in life. 

Power Series: 'T' Shaped

How to have a fulfilling career?

Learning shouldn’t stop, focus on growth and strengths….

I have now been working for the last 22 years, and my career has been rewarding. If someone asks me today if I had a chance to redo it again, what would change? I would say that probably it would not take me 22 years to get where I am, and probably would have done it in less than a decade. I am not saying experience is not important, experience provides one scenario and opportunities to learn. However, If I had to shape my career and work on a path, I would do it differently.

This is the same question I get asked by many individuals within my teams or I come across. They want to know how can they also get to where I am or similar to my position within the corporate ecosystem. Well, there are a few things which I have worked on and found to be successful and at the same time have observed in others. I would talk about the topic of ‘Observation’ in the other Power Series.

There are some critical steps or evaluations I recommend to individuals which is a leaf from my own growth book:

1. The big goal: I always recommend to folks to take a step back and dream. What is your ultimate level within the corporate ecosystem you would like to achieve? Often than not, the rat race makes each one of us focus on the next level, which we end up spending our time and energy on. Once we achieve that, we are left again dissatisfied as you want to prepare for the next immediate level. My advice has always been aiming higher and look for an aspirational role. Everything in between your current and the future state would automatically come as you are preparing for a larger role.

2. Know your strengths and harness them (your ‘I’): Everyone is unique and we are not built equal. Each one of us needs to identify our strengths and more importantly what we are passionate about, also what makes us happy? The self-learning and identification process enables an individual to map the strengths. Once identified, my recommendation is to get so good at it that you would like to see yourself as the best and if you perform on the stage for that skill/strength, you would win it.

3. The goal maps and completes your T (the ‘—’ line for ‘T’): Once you have identified your big goal, and map the path, it is important to understand and research the various skills you would require to be successful in that big goal role. You don’t need to be great or expert in each of those skills, but awareness and how do those come together for the jobs to be done.

This awareness and building of ‘T’ have enabled me, my industry peers, as well as people whom I admire. More importantly the ‘T’ needs to evolve and cannot be static or set in stone as due to the VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) nature of the world we live in, it is critical to constantly evaluate (preferably every year) to map and understand what makes sense to be part of the ‘T’ and what needs to add/drop.

If you have counter thoughts or have recommendations for the readers would like to hear your feedback or suggestions. Chao..