July, 2023
The evolution of work has been very dramatic in the last decade. Changes in how we work and what we do have been altered today than ever before. So many companies have sprung up to solve modern problems all over the world, and we are more connected than we have ever been.
During the pandemic of 2020, the entire frame of human life was tested. The tolerance of our human systems was all pushed to the brinks; businesses, social establishments, mobility, name it. Many of them failed, others were exhaustively tried, but the peak of the changes was in human interactions. We will never be the same again.
The hallmark of leadership is simply the ability to influence the decision of others. Whether in a formal setting, like an organization, or an informal setting, like friends and family, leadership is defined as that ability to influence others. It could be influencing them towards a goal, towards making a behavioural change, or towards a feat. So, you can be a leader even without bearing the title.
As a growing career person, one of the muscles you need to build is that of efficient cross-cultural interaction. You will be required to meet and work with people from diverse background, and it is important to succeed in this area of your competence.
Most organizations pride themselves as being innovative. They have a comprehensive policy framework that supports innovation and creativity among their teams, often covering innovation approach, innovation process and rewards for innovative ideas. However, there are hurdles to attaining an innovative organization, and this is an employee-view to these hurdles.
All through his career as a comic book writer, Stan Lee saw the world through the eyes of little children, and hoped to show them, through his cartoon characters, that everyone is born with a super power. The long list of super heroes created by Stan Lee were all endowed with special abilities for helping their communities. Imagine what those fictional worlds would have been if those super heroes do not know their super powers.
Years ago, I read from the Book of Proverbs that “Surely you need guidance to wage war, and victory is won through many advisers”, and since then, I have paid close attention to the college of advisors I have around me. I figured that seeking guidance and advice from people is the easiest way to not go amiss. We all need a board of advisors.
Since the beginning of our consciousness, it feels like there is a compass within us guiding us to the place of happiness. It is like a small light, a quiet nudging that pulls us in the direction of more happiness. And even as adults, this guiding compass has helped us choose the kind of company we keep, the kind of work we do, the kind of places we are most likely to be found. My theory is that this feeling is universal.
If you live long enough, you will have a lot to regret. There will be decisions you wished you made, choices you wished you didn’t make, doors you wished never opened, and those you wish you knocked on. If you live long enough, the list will grow. But the question you must answer daily is: do I stop and regret or take a lesson and move on?
In today’s fickle and exceptionally sensitive world, the wastes and ruins of pride are littered all around us. From the executive who pridefully ignores a warning from a junior colleague, to a junior who pridefully overlooks a correction; from a husband who tramples over the counsel of his wife, to a wife who refuses to listen to her husband. Pride has been the motivation for a lot of harm.
Thank you Ngozi.