AparnaChowdhry_BLP040_About Me_Oct’11

Oct 8, 2011 – Saturday turned out to be another action packed day with Anil Sir. We started with reviewing our learning so far. One conversation let to another and soon we were on a conference call with Prasad Kaipa, one of Steve jobs close associates (Ex Head of Marketing, Europe Apple). It was wonderful to know about the other side of Steve jobs from a person who had worked with him. Mr. Kaipa shared a number of stories about who Steve jobs was, how focused was he on innovation and how determined was he to get what he dreamt of.

We then dwelled upon the topic of grooming and presenting ourselves to the crowd. Each of us was given the task of highlighting our uniqueness and sharing our purpose and direction in life with the rest of the class.

It was difficult at the beginning to think through the questions Anil Sir had asked, but once I pondered on them a bit the answers flowed. I was pleasantly surprised at the cause and effect analysis I had done and the results I arrived at.

The one that took the maximum time to answer was, “Who am I?” My strengths lie in being self-reliant and independent – and that is precisely who I have grown to be with the conditioning I have had from family and environment. The next 2 questions were, “What am I here for?” and “Where am I going?” These were relatively easier to answer since they have been playing crossword in my mind for quite some time. I am here to leave a mark and be a leader who goes the way & shows the way. That is the path I am going to travel. And it is "important to travel that path" (4^th question) so as to fill my life and the lives of people around me with happiness. The last question about how my strengths can be leveraged to reach my goal got me thinking again about how my strengths have helped me so far. I concluded that the discipline, focus on quality and commitment to the task at hand along with the ability to see the best in people – the strengths I have gained, nourished and stuck by – will help me succeed further in achieving my goal as well.

The one answer I am yet to decipher is – How? How will I get to my goal? What’s the path? The dots are still unclear. But I am sure they will emerge as I move forward in the discovery of self-exploration. 

Chinmay Sharma_BLP051_About Myself_Oct’11

The philosophy of the wisest man that ever existed is mainly derived from the act of introspection.

- William Godwin

Looking inside self is probably one of those things that most of us don’t do often and maybe that makes it all the more challenging. But when done, it does wonders. It aligns our actions to our purpose. It builds our focus, develops commitment and drives us.

I tried a similar exercise some days ago and the introspections that resulted are recorded below.

Who am I?

I am a person who likes to create new things, develop and nurture them and watch them grow. It gives me immense satisfaction and motivation to see something, which I contributed in creating, transform into something useful.

Innovation requires knowledge and to gain that I, apart from reading also, like indulging in intelligent conversations about new things or even fresh perspectives for things that I know. This has helped me a lot in assimilating the knowledge that I possess today.

Innovation is the output of challenges. My life has thrown many challenges my way and I am happy that I overcame most of them. I have now begun to love challenges and thrive on them to learn more everyday.

What am I here for?

My family matters to me the most and I believe that my utmost duty is to make them happy and proud. For this I need to live up to their expectations and lead a life that brings peace and a sense of fulfilment to them and me. Everyday I should be able to look myself in the mirror and be proud of my actions that day.

I also understand my duty to give back to the society and my nation in whatever capacity possible for me. Many years from now when I look back I should be content about the way I have lived my life and the lives I have positively impacted.

My life is all about experiencing new things, exploring new dimensions and conquer challenges that lead to the fulfilment of the goal.

Where am I going?

I am walking the path towards becoming a leader who transforms people around him as he grows. My education and experience have been the steps that will help me in realizing my goal. Everyday of my life I am learning new things and developing as a person.

Why is it important?

I have just one life and to make it count, in every way possible and in a way that makes people remember me, is my duty. My life should be meaningful to as many people as possible and in my quest for happiness I should impact many lives and spread the happiness.

How will I leverage my abilities to reach this goal?

I as a person love to build relationships and value them. Through all these relationships I seek to learn and spread happiness. I have an eagerness to learn and explore more everyday of my life and I believe these abilities will help me a lot in pursuing my purpose in life.

Amber_Agarwal_BLP057_Oct11

Who Am I?

I am an individual who strongly believes in fairness. I like to stand against anything that I consider is unfair and hence I have developed a strong sense of equality. It is important that as humans we are fair to everyone around us, be it humans or Animals.

Since childhood, something that I have always been identified as is a sportsman. I think I am a true sportsman at heart and hence possess all the characteristics that one would see in a sportsman. I love taking challenges head on and strive till my last breath to come out victorious. I like getting exposed to new things in life a new setting does not make me uncomfortable.  I have always believed that there are more good people than the “not so good ones” and this belief helps me trust people around me. Since I find it easy to trust people I like to delegate work in a team which has proven very fruitful in my professional life so far.

One thing which is very innate to me is striving for efficiency. I like things around me work systematically like a well oiled machine. Any kind of glitch in the functioning of a system catches my eye and I try to make it more efficient.

What am I here for?

Everyone likes to do what they really enjoy. Freedom and independence to do what I want to is my most important need. Over the period I have always succeeded and more importantly have been very happy even when I have failed to get the desired results.  Satisfaction of knowing I did things my way and I failed because of my mistakes has always been more gratifying than simply achieving a positive result and the main reason has been enriching learning experience gained in the process.

I want to be an entrepreneur. That would give be the utmost freedom to be creative and innovative. Being and entrepreneur will let me live my passion and bring my most important need of being independent.

Where Am I Going?

 The last six to eight years have brought a huge change in the way I think. Considering that I want to be an entrepreneur I have experimented with few aspects of business and have gained key lessons from those experiences.  In my journey to be an entrepreneur I will need to find like minded people and also build a right set of network. I think that is where SOIL is such an important stepping stone in my career.

I am looking to start my venture while at SOIL so that I can leverage the experience of my faculty and staff to the best of use.

Why is it Important?

It would give me immense satisfaction to build my company from scratch. I have seen my father build his small business to great heights. At some level it is my deepest desire to be like him and have the courage to do what he did. I think I will have a sense of achievement if I can successfully create a self sustaining business which would have a greater impact on the lives of people in the sporting arena of our country. It is also important because I will have the flexibility to innovate and experiment at my own cost. It is my innate nature to try new things and experiment and hence my own start up will give me that liberty.

How can I leverage who I am to reach where I am going?

I am passionate about sports and development of sports in India. I believe that my dedication and commitment helps me in tirelessly working for a cause and therefore when I am working towards what I really want, nothing will de-motivate me.

I like challenges and doing well under challenging conditions. Becoming a successful entrepreneur is one of the biggest challenges for anyone and I think it will always be a driving force for me to continue carry on.

Patankar Pramod_BLP041_About_Myself_Oct'11

Log in to a social network site and we know what's new in my friend's life or friend's friend's life. Switch on the TV and yo will know somebody is doing something which either make the country proud or denigrate the reputation. Use your mobile to talk to distant known person asking "Wassup" or "Howz Life".... But wait have we ever tried to introspect...ever?

Let me try answering few questions. Be it a childish one, but let me try:

Who am I ?

• I am the consciousness

• I am Eternal Bliss and Awareness

• I am the inspired leader

What I am here for ?

• I am here to discover myself

• I am here to learn “How to serve”

• And most importantly I am here to learn how to be 

   focused

Where I am going ?

• I have no idea where I am going as I am not sure if this road going to be end…ever?

• But I know this process will make me learn

Why is it important ?

It is important to realize the ultimate purpose that will lead us towards fountain-head.

How can i leverage my strengths to reach where i want to go ?

• I never give up and even for the “Nth” time I never ignore my instincts. I listen to myself very patiently.

Sumit Kamra_BLP009_About_Myself_Oct'11

“Tell me about yourself?”

This looks like a very simple question but the answer is may be very difficult. We all know about ourselves but when we start speaking we don’t know where and how to start and how to structure what we want to communicate. It all depends on the situation what content we need to deliver and in what structure. I will be mentioning here answer from my perspective. This answer is again divided into answers of 5 questions:

Que1. Who am I?

Ans: My name is Sumit Kamra. I am proud to be born in a family where values are very much important and helping others is being taught from childhood. I love to bring a change, to do something different to make job easy for me as well as for others.

Que2. What am I here for?

Ans: Right from my childhood I’ve seen my father to develop a business from scratch and that developed a desire in me to start a entrepreneurship to bring a change in society and to make life easy for the people.

Que3. Where am I going?

Ans: As being a student of “School of Inspired Leadership” I am nurturing my skills while learning the importance of values. I am looking forward to start my own venture to make a difference in the world.

Que4. Why is it important?

Ans: Everyone tries to make their own life better but I am looking forward to contribute to make this world a better place to live. It is also important because it will help others to contribute from their side and speed up the growth of our country.

Que5. How can I?

Ans: As I’ve learnt from my father how to develop an empire after starting from scratch, also I did learn from him time and resource management and how to manage professional and personal life. By focusing completely on my goal, letting other things go I can leverage my strengths and abilities to reach where I want to see myself. 

Sumit Kamra_BLP009_Consulting_09Oct'11

Generally consulting is taken as a career for specialists. But if we go as per definition and general understating then whoever helps us by giving an advice is a consultant like lawyer, teacher etc. Even the mechanic who tells us how to take care of our vehicle is a consultant to us because he knows whats our problem and what solution we are looking for.

          First thing which I learnt from Anil sir class about consulting is how to be authoritative without having any authority. A consultant generally doesn’t implement a solution. Its upto clients how they want to execute the suggestion given by consultant. Client knows whats his departure and whats the arrival, consultant only navigates how to reach there. We first need to take care when we first meet to our client. Most important thing is our body language because its give our first impression. And it includes everything like our way of dressing, walking, talking etc. There are some qualities which a good consultant should have:

1.    Patiently listening

2.    Understanding what client s saying

3.    Communication

4.    Home work – client details before meeting

5.    Structuring content in an impressive manner

If any of the quality is missing then assignments can go to wrong direction which is harmful for both client and consultant.

Next is how to understand a problem. A good consultant has 5 Q’s to understand client’s problem:

1.    What are we trying to do?

2.    How will we know that we are successful?

3.    What would go wrong?

4.    What counter measure do we take responsibility for?

5.    Who, how often, when, where is the review process?

Once all these questions are answered correctly, both consultant and client have proper understanding of the problem and also they know how to tackle the problem and how to work together. Because its about a perfect marriage. If any of the marriage partners is not happy then relationship will never develop.

If a problem is not really understood or there is any kind of confusion then there is another way to clarify ad that’s called role reversal. Here consultant play client’s role and vice versa. In this way both understand that what are they dealing with and how to understand each other.

There are many consultants which talk to people, solve their problem but are not able to make a good relationship. And its all about making relationship with people. Here are some of the key things which needs to be taken care of before when we talk to people. Its called breaking the ice:

1.    Enjoy the environment and the people

2.    Be curious about the people to whom you are meeting with

3.    Be attentive to person who is present in the room, specially to one who is talking

4.    Always ask open ended questions

Once a relation is developed and also problem is understood then the next step is to add values to the work for which client is looking. A consultant can create values for the client but if the values are not realized then its of no use. Consultant should fill the gap between value creation and value realization. One of the factors which is very helpful in this is compassionate authentic behavior. A consultant should communicate what is really happening not what client wants to listen and which can be harmful to both client as well as to consultant too. A good consultant should learn how to say “no” in a perfect manner. Because its not only about giving a solution but also about maintaining relationship. Again there are 3 points to understand the real problem:

1.    What is the problem appears to be?

2.    Whats others contribution to the problem?

3.    Whats client’s contribution to the problem?

Its very essential to find the answers to these questions to understand the real problem. There are 3 types of consulting:

1.    Working as an expert

2.    Working for client

3.    Working with client

Best way to work is to work with client and also make him feel that he is also accountable for the suggestions and solutions. And last but not the least is to accepting feedback. It is very much important to ask client to give feedback and to listen what being said. Feedback tells us where we can improve and make ourselves better. 

Abhishek Kumar_BLP038_Consulting_Skills_5&6_Oct'11

"Who am I?" -- In pursuit of happiness...

I started writing my last blog on self-leadership with a question - "Do I know I?" with no thoughts ever in mind that there are many more questions that are needed to be answered in order to attract the DNA of happiness.

Most people think finding your life purpose means doing something you truly love. It's an area that just seems natural to you and things just seem to fall into place. But what if things aren't so clear for you? What if you're not sure what your gifts are? What if you haven't discovered any particular talent that makes you think it could be your true calling in life? Or what if you're working somewhere and you're good at it, but you just don't feel fulfilled? Is this all there is for you?

To simplify above questions..I can come down to answering the 5 most simple questions of one's life.One should find answers to these below questions whenever he or she thinks that there is a need to change and grow.
1.Who am I?  - (What unique things I possess?)
2.What am I here for? (What is the purpose I am here for?)
3.Where am I going? (Which direction I am going to?)
4.Why is it important? (What values are help me in attaining this purpose and direction?)
5.How can I leverage my uniqueness and strength to reach where I want to?

In my quest of answering above questions,I could realize that inner calling.Being a person with strong family induced values and strong sense of achivement and service,I excercise high self control and am genuine.I consider myself like a "sponge" which absorbs everything that comes,analyse and then leave behind the things that is of less importance.This is a very big indicator of me being open-minded.I also believe in continual self reflection and self analysis.

I always strive for a sense of accomplishment and want to do that bit being a part of this humanity by gaining that self power and belief which can bring change.A wish to gain enough earthly pleasures which gives me confidence to stand among people is not bad.But living consciously and courageously is the other beautiful side of me.

Our purpose comes in the form of our goals, our dreams or our ambitions but we just don't know how to go about achieving them!You may have discovered that knowing your purpose and living it, could possibly create the life you desire, but you have no idea how to even begin to make the plans and take the actions required to make it a reality.Or you may have a vague idea on how to go about finding your purpose, but you're being held back by inner fears, doubts and plain old procrastination. 
 

It doesn't matter what your beliefs are. What matters when it comes to knowing your purpose is knowing which beliefs are holding you back and getting in your way, and which beliefs will work in your favor and help you succeed in living your purpose!
 

We know that our goals, our dreams or our ambitions can put us on the path to discovering and living our purpose.Your purpose doesn't always have to be something that will make you famous. It doesn't always have to be a job or career. It may be something as simple as being at the right place, at the right time to impart information or to lend a helping hand.No moment of life is waste,learn from every moment.So utilize the knowledge and experiences you already have.
 

Eventually,I wish to share that one must live everyday  as a meaningful day in order to develop a character and identity for himself.This will ensure that we don't have any glitches from life and we are able to say "I have lived fully.I have lived, on purpose".

Manu Malhotra_BLP036_Consultingskills_Session3&4

A nice case study simulation in which few of us stepped into the shoes of consultants while other four played clients helped me understand what exactly Contract Meeting is and what should one look up to? I understood that in the contract meeting it is all about understanding the problem thoroughly by

1.        Asking probing questions,

2.       Showing genuine appreciation

3.       Striving for a WIN-WIN

4.       Demonstrating commitments

5.       And Presenting recent credentials

I also learnt how to build rapport when interacting with the client for the first time. One must do a thorough study regarding the professional journey and major achievements of the client you are going to meet. I forgot my MBTI which I should not have so again I learnt what all things should always be with you.  A lot of tables made mistake of providing solutions to the problems right in the contract meeting. The flow diagram explained how one should start from Personal acknowledgement. Commitment and understanding of problem is of utmost importance which takes you to the next step of exploring and bringing clarity about the client wants and offers. Once this is done it might lead you to agreement or else you might be stuck! When stuck think reassess and design new wants and offers. Role reversal comes really handy in situations where you are stuck big time! Hopefully this leads to agreement followed by inquiry regarding concerns about control and commitment.  Probing questions such as - What will make us win your trust? And what has been your best experience with a consultant?, really help a great deal.

Moreover, I also learnt that many a times client himself/herself knows symptoms but does not know the actual problem. In our class we briefly touched upon Kano’s model also. I understood that it is as important to understand the unspoken needs as it is to understand spoken needs. Moving on Anil sir revealed the 5 most important questions for a consultant.

1.       What are we trying to do?

2.       How will we know that we are successful?

3.       What could go wrong?

4.       What counter measures, do we take responsibility for with respect to 3 question?

5.       Who, how often, when and where is the review process?

We delved deeper into the questions which are the actual issues like-Do you really care about your client?, Do you understand the complexity of your client’s situation?, Can you see things through your client’s eyes? What is the problem you are going to work on? Does your client expect magic? How much control does your client want? Do you feel entitled to express your own wants? Are we really in agreement or just acting that way?

Finding answers to these questions by digging out the goal behind them and action to support them gave me a good understanding from ‘personal acknowledgement’, ‘communicating understanding of the problem’, ‘clients wants and offers’, ‘consultant wants and offers’ to’ giving support’.

Also, when a consultant starts praising a client it has to be done carefully so that it does not seem as if you are doing it for the sake of pleasing!

Most important – beware of the magi expectations! Be realistic and practical

Manu Malhotra_BLP036_ConsultingSkills

After the first two sessions on consulting skills with Anil sir, upon reflecting as to what are the things I have learnt, I interestingly thought of questions that I can answer now. So in an unusual blog I would like to confess that I am a proud owner of answers to these following questions!

• How do you influence without authority?
• Is it the consultant who brings in the transformation in an organization?
• Can consultants empower organizations and clients?
• Why do consultants need to develop deep commitment for clients?
• Is consultancy only required and done when an organization is in trouble?
• Is it equally important to understand what is going on right in the company while analyzing what is going on wrong?
• How do you establish rapport with the client?
• What to do when you understand the problem, you know what these people in front of you require but they aren’t just listening to you?
• How important are the technical & functional skills as compared to the communication skills?
• Are communication skills only about how well you speak?
• How to arrive at a good contract?
• How to be an authentic leader?
• What is it that people remember about you, long after you have worked with them?
• How important is passion in the life of a consultant?
• Can we call any person providing support a consultant?
• How do you prepare yourself for the first contract meeting with the clients?
• Who are economic buyer, technical buyer, user buyer and Coach? What is their importance in getting the deal closed?
• What is the importance of hot buttons and how important is it to know the hot buttons of stake holders to the success of getting the deal home?

Manu Malhotra_BLP036_SIP8thVisit

This SIP visit as always gave me ample things to learn. How to be assertive and still influence people without being authoritative? I along with my team members carried forward the work of designing the test papers for students at Kalkaji centre of Adharshila trust. I also took up the task of registering Adharshila to Mahatma Gandhi peace walk in US on 2^nd October 2011. Moreover, I also promoted the cancer awareness program of adharshila trust on social media.

I can’t just imagine the kind of learning this SIP work is providing to me. But, I would also like to mention that it is also challenging at times. In this SIP framework, one can put his Consultancy skills, negotiation skills and communications skills to good use and through practice you can harness them!

Souvik Dey_BLP034_Self Leadership_Sep'11

Leadership to me, is an entity which makes the need of a person being in a position of leadership and “leading” superfluous. He creates a world where each and every person is a leader in their own right. This is attained by first being a Self Leader. A self leader is one who has attained a sense of “completeness”. He is in sync with his “self”. He does not travel a beaten path, he creates his own.

In our first class on Self Leadership during the Induction week, we learned about the six layers of one’s self and how we can bring out the best out of our self by focusing on them. We concentrated on the how this all relates to the pillars of SOIL. The most important of which according to me are “Ethics” and “Compassion”. Ethics in our world is the most loosely used word. In essence there is nothing called “ethics”, it is just a vague idea that we carry. “Ethics” is not just about being right or wrong, they are the actions that we carry out. They are the products of an elevated state of mind when we are confident and have the power and courage to carry out what is necessary, just and morally balanced. Another aspect of self leadership is “compassion”. Compassion according to me is the ability of sensing the world around us and being able to feel the way is “works”. Compassion is the way one reacts when it feels the pain that plagues the Earth.

In our second session with Mr, Anil Sachdev after a gap of around 3 months, we took up this subject again. A day before the session, I was not sure about what would have happen during the session. Incidentally, I was reading this novel which I had heard a lot about. It is called “Siddhartha” by the German author Herman Hesse. Siddhartha is the story of an Indian boy named such who is in pursuit of the meaning of life and his reason for being. He is born to a Brahmin family and has grown reading the Upanishads and Vedas. However, he does not feel that is where the answer to life’s questions can be found. He is adamant about leaving his family behind and after much disagreement with his father leaves his house to follow the life of a “Samana” with his dear friend and companion Govinda. Samanas do not have anything to do with the world, live in the woods and thwart worldly pleasures and fast for days without end to experience the pain. They believe that is the only way one can attain “Nirvana”. Both friends lead the life of a “Samana” for several years. Siddhartha who has begun to get restless, not still being able to find the answers he desired, starts questioning the “Samana way”. He eventually hears about a monk “Gautama” (Gautam Buddha) who everyone refers to as the “Enlightened One”. He persuades Govinda to tag along with him in his search to find Gautama. They do find him eventually. While Govinda finally seems to have found his answers from Gautama, Siddhartha while appreciating that Gautama is truly enlightened feels that staying as a student of Gautama will not get him his answers. He wanders off and reaches a village where he finds “Kamala”, who teaches him the art of love and “Kamaswamy” who teaches him how to operate a business. He stays in this village for a long time and one day realizes he has strayed far off from his goal. Hastily he leaves the village and while trolling on deserted roads comes across a river, a boat and a ferryman. He takes shelter with this ferryman. The ferryman teaches him how to converse with the river. Siddhartha sees his reflection in the flowing river and asks the river for help. He finds a lot of answers from the river. He eventually finds that all the answer of life is present in life itself. Being a Samana and experiencing only the pain is not how you learn about life, but he also learnt about dealing with pain from them. Neither do you find it in the Vedas, but you do learn valuable words of wisdom from it. Although he believes that Gautama and his preaching as very “interesting”, he finally learns that he has found answers in life itself. He understands how life always comes around. He learns that when he discovers he has a child, borne out of Kamala and she dies leaving the child with him. However, the child never accepts him as his and dad and flees the shelter of his father, just like he did during his youth. He learns that the answers of life can be found from experience. That there is meaning in every human being and there is pleasure in all work. The novel in itself is vividly written with a sense of raw emotion and directness rarely displayed by any author.

So when I attended the class on Self Leadership that day, it clearly explained a lot that I read about in the book. The idea of Self Leadership is finding one’s self by being aware of one’s surroundings and showing unconditional love towards all living beings in this world, people, trees and animals alike. In these sessions we learned how we can discard our inner fears, apprehensions and assumptions which serve as hindrances towards finding the “self”. We also learned about the exercise of “walking on fire” which is the process of eliminating the pain by not paying importance to it. We also learnt about Immunity X-ray which entails that the immunity system is ever changing and we are all developing our mental strength no matter which stage of life we are at.

One might ask what use or purpose these lessons serve. The answer is that these are words which if imbibed with our “way of life” can shatter the mask of selfishness and corrupted sense of achievement and enable us to truly pursue the happiness and satisfaction we all deserve by empowering our “self”.

Monika Sahni_HRLP022_Self Leadership_Sep’11

During the last Self Leadership session, Anil Sir asked us to identify where we feel the need to change and what we are actually doing to carry out that change within us.

In order to bring out the change, action shall be taken at three levels:

1. At intellectual level

To bring about a change, is one of the most difficult tasks. One should first understand why he needs to bring about a change in oneself.

2. At heart level

Once realizing why a person needs to change himself, he should have the willingness and zeal to bring about the change.

3. At body level

After realizing the need and bringing in the willingness to change, one should actually do the things required to bring out that change.

Then we talked about immunity X- ray in which we were asked to think on the following:

·         What we think we need to change/develop within us?

·         What are we doing or what do we not do instead to bring about that change?

·         What are my hidden competing commitments (i.e. an underlying root cause, that competes and conflicts with a stated commitment to change)?

·         What are my mental assumptions behind that hidden competing commitment?

In the book: "Immunity to Change. How To Overcome It and Unlock the Potential in Yourself and Your Organization", Robert Kegan (Professor in Adult Learning and Professional Development at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education) and Lisa Laskow Lahey (Associate Director of Harvard’s Change Leadership Group) address the question: "Why is personal change so difficult?"

They begin by noting that leaders who view capacity as a fixed resource will fall behind those who work to enable the growth of capacity in their organization.

The "knowing doing gap"

This book and the tools and techniques outlined within it tackle what is often referred to as the "knowing doing gap", or as Kegan puts it:

"...how to close the gap between our intentions, things we actually want to carry out, and what we are actually able to do".

The authors then make three premises about overcoming the kind of immunity.

First, that overcoming it does not mean needing to get rid of all our anxiety management systems. Second, that anxiety is produced not merely from the onset of change, but from feeling defenceless in the face of it.

Third, that the immunity systems we have developed can actually be changed.

They draw on the distinction by Ronald Heifetz (1994) between technical and adaptive challenges to show that most of the challenges leaders face today is adaptive rather than simple application of technical solutions. The scale and pace of change that is impacting organisations now is such that it cannot often be planned for and thus it pushes leaders and followers into positions that require adaptive solutions - and that can only happen when leaders and followers interact with their environment and change their behaviour in response to that environment.

This is only possible when those being impacted by change have either the personal developmental capacities to do this, or have resources such as the immunity to change model and process to help them.

There are many developmental models that attempt to map and model the stages of complexity associated with mental development.

It has been assumed that adults don't change - can't change - beyond early adult-hood, that a level of development is reached and remains static.

Kegan & Lahey challenge this and assert that based on their research, adults are capable of continuing development throughout their lives. They identify three qualitatively different dimensions of mental complexity what they call —the socialised mind, the self-authoring mind, and self-transforming mind, each of which interpret the world in different ways.

And above all is the need of driving this change…From within..which is the concept of self leadership..

Pratibha Sangwan_HRLP012_Self Leadership_Sep’11

This journey of discovering the leader within ourselves began the day I joined SOIL..Lead by a magnamatic  leader himself.. Working his day in and out to create leaders..Leaders with a difference..  When generally talking about leaders we mistake it as someone who has power to dictate people.. Someone who has an has authority.. Someone who works as a head.. And here we all miss the essence of leading by ‘SELF’.. So here comes the concept of ‘Self Leadership’.. Lead by our own self..

And with the highest and purest form of leadership comes the immunity to change.. Which is the first step to transforming consciousness, until and unless self transformation is done transformation of the organizations or the surroundings is not possible. This self transformation is wherein the leader is implicitly being asked to have a self transformation (of 5^th order) mind. Today there is a gap between mental demand on leadership and the capacity generally available. When trying to reduce the gap, leaders generally tend to adapt the mind complexity rather than simply apply technical solutions. Also there is a common notion of showing the same immunity even if particular issue or challenge is different. Well here comes the question than how to figure out, what to be done and when.. so here once again would come the concept of self leadership.. leaders who are led by intrinsic motivation and strength would not work according to what they have learnt or what they have known but what is happening around them at that moment and time for that particular given situation, it is prevention systems, feeling systems and knowing systems. Also looking at things systematically and organizationally is required which helps them to view the emotional life of the organization. After all this moving from individual to group is required, the additional complexity of the dynamics involved becomes clear. The tendency to avoid bringing personal issues to the group setting because of tendencies to pathologize individual problems is nicely dealt with through the use of framing and processes that enable each team member to see the strengths that are one end of a continuum related to those weaknesses. The coordination of the various tools used to support the process, the timing of the work and the importance of the leader setting the tone and acting as an example are all well illustrated.

So after enough of analysation here again the concentration again on slef.. Unlocking potential and this describes three necessary ingredients to successfully take on the work of unlocking your immunity to change: a vital energy source of motivation for change, both cognitive and emotional aspects working together and action or behavioral work, and engaging our thinking with our feeling is required as no amount of thinking about the work will get it done, as alos no amount of emotional effort by itself either. Finally action must be taken so that it speaks the experiments and experiences that can test our assumptions and mover our insights into reality. Now applying this immunity individually and collectively is required, taking each individual through each process is required and then taking the group through the same process. Above all there needs to be sufficient safety and support for facing the risks in this depth of change of mindset.

The above seems to be very process centric approach, but if studied closely and reflected upon is very aspect of what is mentioned initially ‘Self Leadership’.. Everything is ‘self’ driven.. Also means empowering not only self but others involved in the process so that there is s sense of not only belongingness but accountability  

                                             

                                                             

Supraneet Khanna_MLP012_Self Leadership_Sep'11

Leadership class of Mr Anil Sachdev is always inspiring and enthusiastic because he speaks from his heart and desire to accomplish the same quality of his, to every individual listener.

The session was about the “Immunity to change”.
This session was all about realizing the need to change and activities which which will bring this change easier.

I believe if an individual realize his/her point of error where he/she is lacking then it is very important for him/her to change and rectify his/her point of error.

If an person is unable to focus and trust on himself only,  then it is not expected that he/she could trust others.

Mr Anil Sachdev started the session with the discussion based on the emphasis on knowing, focusing and building the SELF.

It had actually given me a thought about my self and lead me deep into the mystrey of knowing myself better, that need to be solved within me.

Realising one's own strenghts and weaknesses will actually help him/her to improve as a person and also help us to grow, So Mr Sachdev highlighted the key points of strengths and weaknesses and its importance.

 As the discussion moved further, we were taught about the significance of setting a purpose in life. Setting a higher purpose in life always helps us grow better. There has to be deep sense of love and commitment towards our goal, which will add an extra mile, the extraordinary courage to accomplish the assumed impossible task.
Understanding of the lecture had also enlightened us to start appreciating even petty things in life, Inculcate an habit of taking innitiatives, comitments are the priorities, and start intorspecting rather being circumspect.

We were then made to learn something what is called as “Immunity X-Ray”.

It was based on an exersize where we had to think about any habit of ours which is need to be changed.

Then we need to realize the potential of change in habit towards our accomplished goal, secondly the comitments that we need to promise by ourself, Lastly being positive towards your entire exersize and challange it till endeavour.
This exercise made us really give a deep thought on what we set for ourselves and what we actually do.

Entire session was about "Lead to introspecton". 

Ritu Bhatnagar_BLP028_Self Leadership_Sep'11

Attending the second leadership class taken by Mr. Anil Sachdev was even more enlightening.
The session was about the “Immunity to change”. To change a habit is something easier said than done. Sometimes we are not even in the position to identify the need to change. This session was all about realizing the need to change and things which would make the journey to bring about this change easier.
I strongly believed in the philosophy that – “A person always wins if he manages to keep all his focus and trust on himself in every situation.” Anil sir started the session with the discussion based on the emphasis on knowing, focusing and building the SELF. This all the more helped me in strengthening my belief and working on it. There were many exercises done in the class which helped us introspect and know ourselves better. Understanding our own strengths and weaknesses, people who matter to us and utilizing our gifts in best ways possible to see them happy will what make us successful.
As the discussion moved further, we were sensitized about the significance of setting a purpose in life. Setting a higher purpose in life always helps us grow better. There has to be deep sense of love and commitment towards our goal, which will give us that extra mile, the additive bit, the extraordinary courage to accomplish the assumed impossible task.
“Life is indeed darkness save when there is urge,
And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge,
And all knowledge is vain save when there is work,
And all work is empty save when there is love. Work is Love made visible” – a famous quote by Khalil Gibran (“The Prophet”) clearly signifies the importance of work and working with passion and love towards the achievement of our goals. We do take many initiatives in our lives but how many we really finish - is something we need to ponder. Today, there is a high value of appreciation added to an attitude which initiates something and is able to finish it to completion, what is termed as a “finitiative” attitude.
Many a times there are some of our own habits which stop us working towards our goals. Some hidden competing commitments which make us deviate from the focus centric path of working towards our goal. We were then made to learn something what is called as “Immunity X-Ray”.
The exercise of Immunity X-Ray was basically divided into five steps.
In the first step we had to identify a habit which we wanted to inculcate in us which inturn will help us working towards our preset goal.
Second step was that we needed to identify the action we did (which was just opposite to the habit we wanted to inculcate)
Thirdly we had to identify the hidden competing commitment which was actually playing the dare devil and not letting us follow the correct path.
Fourthly we had to identify the assumptions which were fuelling the hidden competing commitments and were making them larger than the positives in us.
After identifying all the above stated things, we were asked to revisit our positive sets of values and strengths which will help fighting off the focus deviating assumptions and will bring us back to the path which will ultimately lead us to the achievement of our preset goal.
This exercise made us really give a deep thought on what we set for ourselves and what we actually do.
If I were asked to sum this session up in one word I would just say –“introspective”.  This is what we really need to do to exactly know ourself and when we would know ourselves then only we would really be able to do well and inspire others and that will in true sense mean – inspired leadership.

Mohit Kakar_BLP014_Self Leadership_Sep'11

After reading the report “ Immunity to change” by Jonathan Reams , I got answers for my failure to follow my sincerely made New year’s resolutions and some of the promises I keep making to myself.
I understood that people and organizations want to change but often fail because they get in their own way and the same applies to me.
The assumption that adults don’t change or cannot change beyond a particular time is not true; In fact everyone is capable of changing and continuing development all their lives. According to Kethan and Lahey there are three dimensions of mental complexity: socialized mind, self authoring mind and self transforming mind. These minds are different from each other in the way they understand process and give meaning to external information.
We don’t change because of our invisible immunity to change or to keep it simple; I would say we don’t change because of our resistance to change. Our mindset is responsible for creating an immunity to change.
I tried applying the framework to my commitment, so that my commitment becomes achievable and no more regrets and excuses of not achieving my commitment.  So let me start by listing my commitment (Improvement goal), I want to excel at each and everything I do which requires completely understanding the task and creating action plan. I am trying my best to achieve my commitment but still I am not able to achieve it. Now, I move to next step of the framework and list down the things I am doing/not doing instead. I only focus on the tasks which are of my interests and other tasks and assignments which don’t excite me suffer.  Sometimes due to too many things on my to-do list my tasks are affected because of I don’t prioritise my work. Another factor which prevents me in achieving my improvement goal is my intension to finish of the tasks as soon as possible. So, sometimes the quality of my work suffers because of my desire to quickly move on to the next assignment. After listing down the things I am doing which are preventing me to excel at each and every assignment I do has given me a clear understanding of the path I am following and I have a fair idea about the problem now. Now I move to the next step and list down my hidden competing commitments. I always feel that I can only excel and do exceptionally well on the tasks I like doing and new things which excites me. I feel that if I try spending my time on other tasks which are not of my interest can never be of the quality of the things which I love doing. Its a productivity loss if spend more time on assignments which does not excite me instead I can spend that time on other tasks and excel in them. Now, I move on the final step of the framework my big assumptions. I assume that we can only do an excellent job when we are completely aware of the subject and if that task excites a person.
I got a direction to my commitment by following this framework and I hope I will achieve my goal this time without any excuses.

Waebhav Yadav_MLP021_Self Leadership_Sep’11

I believe that for someone who is a leader, the force comes from within. Having established that, as someone who started his career earlier in life, I know, somewhere during the course of life I have exhibited Self Leadership and have always been aware of the fact that Self Leadership is important to excel further in one’s professional as well as personal life. It’s a concept that I unknowingly exercised and was able to make sense out of until after the day’s session.
I don’t believe in things unless I hear it from the horse’s mouth i.e. experience it for myself, and being the cynic that I am I analyse everything that I do & feel. Before the start of the session I was sceptical about the ‘real benefits’ from the session, benefits for which I would be willing to invest my time and attention in an activity. I wasn’t sure how Yoga, stress management exercises or relaxation techniques would help me as an individual. But as the day progressed all my inhibitions and doubts were cleared. I found out that I wasn’t alone in my concerns, to have everyone talk about their stress handling techniques was definitely a learning experience for me and I know it’s something that would help me handle stress more easily. I don’t remember the last time I felt as light as I did after the laughter yoga session. The forced laughter turned into real without me even realizing and left me free of all burdens for that period of time.
After a relatively lighter fun filled first half, the second half of the session was about introspection and the first step towards recognizing the leader within us.
In the second session I learnt that given our individual strengths and weaknesses, we have the power to excel in whatever we choose to do but what becomes an impediment in our quest is our ‘hidden competing commitment’. We all somewhere know the change that we need to bring within ourselves, but we never bring about that change. There is something within us that is stopping us to change that quality as we might enjoy it and it’s something that we don’t want to give up. That’s the hidden competing commitment to change. This session put me on the path to realize and begin amending that particular lifestyle/habit to be a success in whatever I do. This exercise not only made me realize the things that needed to be changed but also helped me chalk a plan to start the process of change. At the end of this day I was left feeling strong about myself. I figured that it is never too late to change. Now that I have realized how stress can be handled I am aware of the things I want to change to be a Self Inspired Leader.

Monami Patel_HRLP006_Self Leadership_Sep'11

I wasn’t  able to be a part of the Self –Leadership session due to my illness but the conversations and discussions that followed amongst my friends and flat-mates inspired me to share my views via blog. My friends who came to meet me in the breaks told me about the first session which was conducted by Snehal and Sussie mam on different types of stress and its ill effect on our health. My fellow-mates were made to chalk out their stress map which was subdivided into four columns : 1.Physical 2. Emotional 3.Behavioral  4. Cognitive. Sussie mam had taken a laughter yoga session and since I have attended her laughter yoga session in HRLP yoga classes I absolutely know how impactful it can be as a stress buster.
The second session was facilitated by Anil Sir where he discussed about leadership and immunity to change. True Leadership comes from within rather than any external sources.
You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
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Mahatma Gandhi said that “You must be the change you wish to see in the world”. I believe that real change is real slow but it can only take place when one wants it to happen. As human most of us don’t like to get out of our comfort zone to bring in the change even if it’s for our better self. A Rober Kegan Immunity map was explained in the class by Anil sir which was then explained to me by my friends. The immunity map consist of 4 stages:
1.      Stage 1:  A person needs to identify his/her purpose or goal of life. One should know what he wants form his life
2.      Stage 2: Identify obstacles or roadblocks in the way of the purpose or achievements of goals
3.      Stage 3: To understand the reasons behind the actions/behaviors that prevent form achieving goals
4.      Stage 4 : to discard every assumption the person might be making that could be an obstacle in achievement of the goals.

The immunity x-ray made me realize the times I have assumed such obstacles which has stopped me achieving mu goals. Also I could recall times when I have given up on my goal without even identifying the roadblocks.

It’ s very important to have and internal point of locus than depending on the external point of locus so as to bring in the right change in ourselves as well as to lead ourselves.

Suchitra Ravichander_BLP030_Self Leadership_Sep'11

 Self Leadership is a more powerful word than what it sounds. It means different things to different people. To me it is the beginning of realizing the inner self  within YOU. This article is not yet another normal article on leadership; instead it is something more fundamental & powerful.  It is the learning of the Self, the spirit & the source which makes it; the path leading you to personal excellence. Indeed, I felt most lucky to know what Self leadership is, through the words of Mr.Anil Sachdev, one of the greatest experts to have mastered this area. It is one of the most complex natures of leadership as it involves dealing with the most intricate things of inner self- the conditioning of the mind, ego & attitude. It expands the inner capacity to learn. When you have the willingness to learn combined with the right attitude & efforts along with talent (God’s given gift) you are sure to succeed.

Self leadership is about being fully present in a state where all the three, the mind – the intellect, the heart – the conscience & the body synergizes together enabling one to cherish the internal bliss in the form of happiness/ joy / peace. One of the integral parts of Self Leadership is appreciative enquiry, the capacity to listen like a child with the open heart & mind. It brings in the inner joy & helps to retain the insights effortlessly. When we are at the best, it is the time when maximum learning takes place. Appreciative enquiry is basically the authentic conditioning/ expression, which brings in the openness to ideas. It also involves the appreciation responses made.

Getting back to the topic of Self Leadership, it is important that one focuses on the bigger purpose in life- the ‘purpose calling’. To discover this one needs to introspect and get answers to the following questions-

1)      Who are the people most important in your life?

2)      What are their needs that you are moved to serve?

3)      How can I leverage my valuable gifts to serve unconditionally?

4)      What are my goals?

The goal normally comes out of the purpose. The concept of self leadership can also be extended to great places to work. How are some companies preferred by employees as one of the great places to work? The answer lies with the employees itself. When employees are able to build trust, & take pride & enjoyment in their work those companies become great places to work.

To accentuate further, the following lines of wisdom on Self Leadership were quoted by Anil sir,

“The most profound knowledge is the self knowledge” – it implies that on the path to self leadership, one should study by learning to observe our action & our thoughts. He also emphasized further that a “Best leader is the one who is the best follower and a true leader must plan to connect & act”. According to him, a leader is a one who always tries to find out what difference does he makes to others and all leaders in one way or the other does sewa for a bigger cause. He fondly recollected & recited the words of Mr. Muthuraman, Managing director of Tata steel on leadership- “When we are inspired for a higher purpose in life, even without knowing the great abilities & leader residing within us, strange things will start happening to us.”

Everyone one of us have habits & every one wishes to change or develop one of these, but in the process we actually struggle to do so. Why? The answer to the question lies within our own selves. There are basically 3 layers of change,

·         The mind which is nothing but the intellect that deals with the Need to Change

·         The Heart   which deals with the Want to change

·         The Body which does not allow the change

One can overcome all these inhibitions to change when the ego which prevails within us called inner ego(igo) ( which prevents/ stops the change) can be surmounted with the true unconditional love for our self & love for the purpose of our life.

Self Leadership is basically empowering oneself for excellence & it requires an in-depth knowledge about oneself. Generally people are resistant to habits/behavior changes and find it extremely difficult to change. The reasons for the resistance to change can be analyzed through the immunity x-ray exercise. One first needs to identify the need & the want to change. Secondly one should introspect as to what he/she does exactly 180 degree opposite to that need (what should I not do?). Finally identify the hidden competing commitments & the underlying assumptions. Analyzing the answers to these questions through in-depth introspection helps to one to overcome the resistance & brings in the change positively influencing their own self.

In short, Self leadership involves "leading oneself". At the behavioral level self-leadership involves learning through self-observation and identifying the hidden competing commitments which brings in the resistance to change. At the mental level, self-leadership involves overcoming the inner ego through the strength of unconditional love and identifying the bigger purpose in life and working towards it by setting goals to achieve them.