Leading from front

Accountability vs Blame When something wrong happens, the first tendency is to blame someone. It could be parents blaming their children, employers blaming their employees, or the public blaming the government. The blame game has prevailed in every aspect of our lives. Blaming is quick but holding someone accountable is difficult. Holding someone accountable means …

Accountability vs Blame | Engaging on Social Media | Timing in Coaching Read More »

Taming inner demons It is festival time in India. At this time of the year, Navrathri is the festival of nine nights celebrating the victory of the Goddess against a formidable demon. The celebration is resplendent with narratives, mythology, symbols, and rituals to gain the grace of the goddess. What fascinates me is the nine …

Taming inner demons | Nurturing ecosystem | Observing the obvious Read More »

Last responsible moment We tend to jump four or five steps ahead to make a decision. This happens when we are already biased towards something or anxious to conclude it in our head. The hurry leads to poor decision-making when sufficient facts have not been gathered. Here is valuable advice that someone shared with me …

Last responsible moment | Internal authority | Infinite vision Read More »

Lessons from tree life The book ‘The Hidden Life of Trees’ by Peter Wohlleben, changed my ideas about trees. Like humans, trees live as communities. Tree parents nurture their children for several years (even up to 100 years). Trees know to bond, communicate, and even are good at learning. However, trees fared better than humans …

Lessons from tree life | Inactive bystander | Get beyond coasting Read More »

Generosity burnout I have friends who love to give. They are generous to the fault. They do not say no to giving their time, money, energy, or resources. While they are seemingly angels on earth, they have a dark side. They grapple with exhaustion after emptying themselves for others. As a result, they withdraw, snap …

Generosity burnout | Hindsight bias | Choice as a change agent Read More »

Internalization Many times we internalize what others think of us and project on us. A classic example is the tale of the ‘Ugly Duckling’. For a long time, it internalized that it was an ‘Ugly Duckling’. Ultimately, the ‘Ugly duckling’ learns that it is neither ‘Ugly’ nor a ‘Duckling’. Until that moment of realization, it …

Internalization| Activity Adequacy Mindset | Paralympics Read More »

Emptiness A page is half-filled – Fill it up with more contentA room has space – Fill it up with some furnitureCalendar is open – Fill it up with some meeting It seems like emptiness is something miserable to bear. However, in Buddhism, nothingness or emptiness signifies all things are impermanent and interconnected. It is …

Emptiness | Closing ritual | Granny’s rule Read More »

Delivering bad news Persian messengers had a tough job. When they conveyed the good news of victory they got rewarded lavishly, and when they delivered bad news they got killed. People are aware of the consequences of being the Persian messengers in the workplace. They stay silent about bad news fearing reprimand or consequences. As …

Delivering bad news | Vulnerability loop | Reverse signoff Read More »

Psychological Safety While there is a lot of discussion about psychological safety at work, not much is said about the feeling of psychological safety with close family and friends. We may be taking this for granted but it is most important in our personal space. One indicator of psychological safety is our ability to be …

Psychological Safety | Confidence | Finding your anchor Read More »

Economics of delegation Economist Ricardo stated that even if a nation can produce all goods by itself, it is beneficial for the nation to trade goods with other countries. We term this as Comparative Advantage. Can we extend this beyond the economics domain into managing teams?Before becoming a manager, here is one question you can …

Economics of delegation | Gold Silver Bronze | Exformation and coaching Read More »