A 15.3 Project Portfolio Update - Travel Log - Gautam Muralidharan
I am India! I completed my first trip to Kerala and visited a few community education programs. It is quite exciting! I learned quite a bit from the teachers and volunteers at these installations. It is remarkable to see the difference between reality and paper knowledge. The challenges that these schools have are quite staggering. It is also very humbling to see how the leaders of these programs operate despite their limited resources and means.
As I travelled to Kerala and back, I had an opportunity to meditate on what I have learned so far and how much I have changed as a leader. I think I have observed three major changes: 1) I have become more patient and empathetic. I have learned to listen a lot more and this has opened so many doors for me. I now hear so many things I have lost because I talked over. It is a great feeling! 2) I do not obsess about being the savior. That is not my job as a leader. I enable great people to do great things. It is the most liberating feeling 3) I have started looking inward for inspiration and have stopped searching for answers in books. I think each of us have a leader buried in us. This leader does not surface unless we let him or her to do so. I think this is my first job as a creative leader – to unleash my inner self.
As I travelled to Kerala and back, I had an opportunity to meditate on what I have learned so far and how much I have changed as a leader. I think I have observed three major changes: 1) I have become more patient and empathetic. I have learned to listen a lot more and this has opened so many doors for me. I now hear so many things I have lost because I talked over. It is a great feeling! 2) I do not obsess about being the savior. That is not my job as a leader. I enable great people to do great things. It is the most liberating feeling 3) I have started looking inward for inspiration and have stopped searching for answers in books. I think each of us have a leader buried in us. This leader does not surface unless we let him or her to do so. I think this is my first job as a creative leader – to unleash my inner self.
A 14.3 Project Portfolio Update - Travel Log - Gautam Muralidharan
I am right now in India. To do my by O and R session, I picked our family home’s balcony. It is set up like a green house. It has a large number of plants and an statue of Lord Krishna (a Hindu god). There are two very large elephant statues saluting the deity. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to be carried away.
The first things that came to mind were flashes of my childhood; all the memories I made as a child in that house. I quickly drifted and lost focus. However, I allowed myself to do that and thought about the several things that were in the garden. The first thing that came to mind was the statue. The statue of Krishna had been in my family for more than 20 years. I decided to focus my O&R session around him and some stories I had heard about him growing up.
Krishna was considered a very charismatic leader. Unlike other deities in Hinduism, he involves himself without being involved. He is a catalyst energizing others into action. He refuses to circumscribe his life with ideas and ideals. For him life is larger than all ideas and ideals put together. They are for life; life is not for them. It’s the same mind that gives rise to both good and evil, virtue and vice. Both aspects are different transformations of one and the same energy. Krishna doesn’t deny these dualities. A mirror reflects everything that appears before it, but unlike a camera, it doesn’t retain impressions. A man of mirror-like consciousness will relate with people and things, but he won’t enter into relationships involving attachment.
Krishna is perhaps the best example of a creative leader as a catalyst available in world literature. He has no interests, no position and no power. Yet on almost all important occasions when great events occur He is present. He does nothing, his presence makes things happen and energizes others into action. The word Krishna means center. He is the center of attraction. He stands for certain values of life and wants to fight for these values no matter what. It is remarkable that a very ancient personality (~5th Century BC) was able to act in a stage V zone!
The first things that came to mind were flashes of my childhood; all the memories I made as a child in that house. I quickly drifted and lost focus. However, I allowed myself to do that and thought about the several things that were in the garden. The first thing that came to mind was the statue. The statue of Krishna had been in my family for more than 20 years. I decided to focus my O&R session around him and some stories I had heard about him growing up.
Krishna was considered a very charismatic leader. Unlike other deities in Hinduism, he involves himself without being involved. He is a catalyst energizing others into action. He refuses to circumscribe his life with ideas and ideals. For him life is larger than all ideas and ideals put together. They are for life; life is not for them. It’s the same mind that gives rise to both good and evil, virtue and vice. Both aspects are different transformations of one and the same energy. Krishna doesn’t deny these dualities. A mirror reflects everything that appears before it, but unlike a camera, it doesn’t retain impressions. A man of mirror-like consciousness will relate with people and things, but he won’t enter into relationships involving attachment.
Krishna is perhaps the best example of a creative leader as a catalyst available in world literature. He has no interests, no position and no power. Yet on almost all important occasions when great events occur He is present. He does nothing, his presence makes things happen and energizes others into action. The word Krishna means center. He is the center of attraction. He stands for certain values of life and wants to fight for these values no matter what. It is remarkable that a very ancient personality (~5th Century BC) was able to act in a stage V zone!
A 13.4 Project Portfolio Update - Travel Log - Gautam Muralidharan
This is a very exciting Travel Log entry for me. I have decided to act on my plans and am travelling to India on Dec 3 to visit some of the places I have discussed on my Travel log. I plan on visiting Kerala and addressing several of my questions about implementing a sustainable educational system that everyone can leverage. I will also be travelling to several locations in Southern India that I had identified in my Map.
I am hoping to use this Sabbatical to explore some of my virtual places as well. I am attending a meditation retreat at my grandfather’s guru’s ashram. This is a peaceful sanctuary that my grandfather has wanted to visit but his old age has not allowed him to do so. This time, my brother and I plan on surprising him by arranging a comfortable way to travel and see his Guru’s ashram. I am excited about exploring my mind and my heart that are two important virtual destinations in my Map.
I like to think of myself as a child of two civilizations – the east and the west. I was born and raised in India, and immigrated to the U.S. when I was 21. I left much of my friends and family back in India, and made new friends in the U.S. So I have two homes. Home is where I identified as the place I am the most creative. I feel like I am split between my two homes and this course has allowed me to explore the idea that to be most creative I have to be HOME. That’s what makes this visit special. I will be at home when I visit my other home and remind myself of the duality of my existence, and come to terms with it, and embrace it. This, I believe, will help me reach my most important destinations – home, mind and heart.
I am hoping to use this Sabbatical to explore some of my virtual places as well. I am attending a meditation retreat at my grandfather’s guru’s ashram. This is a peaceful sanctuary that my grandfather has wanted to visit but his old age has not allowed him to do so. This time, my brother and I plan on surprising him by arranging a comfortable way to travel and see his Guru’s ashram. I am excited about exploring my mind and my heart that are two important virtual destinations in my Map.
I like to think of myself as a child of two civilizations – the east and the west. I was born and raised in India, and immigrated to the U.S. when I was 21. I left much of my friends and family back in India, and made new friends in the U.S. So I have two homes. Home is where I identified as the place I am the most creative. I feel like I am split between my two homes and this course has allowed me to explore the idea that to be most creative I have to be HOME. That’s what makes this visit special. I will be at home when I visit my other home and remind myself of the duality of my existence, and come to terms with it, and embrace it. This, I believe, will help me reach my most important destinations – home, mind and heart.
A 12.4 Project Portfolio Update - Values of a Leader - Gautam Muralidharan
This week I wanted to explore an important question with my classmates – How does a leader determine fairness? As we have learned throughout the course leadership is no longer a right reserved for a few members of our community but something every individual should explore. Given that, and the complexities of our very diverse personalities (and associated value systems), how does a leader determine what is fair for the group? How does she or he fairly distribute opportunities, rewards and blame? If it is not a pure mean across the members of a group, how can the leader be sure he is fair when the only value system he considers is his or her own?
As a father of twin boys who have very different personalities and in observing our better political leaders wrestle with this question in a complex heterogeneous society I think this is an important question. I have also wondered as a manager in a professional setting if I should award a lesser performing individual an opportunity over a high performing resource, to encourage that person so that they can all grow. As noble as it sounds, how is this fair to the high performing resource?
Wai-Jing and Kate were my collaborators for this exercise and they gave me some valuable pointers. First Wai-Jing and Kate both asked about how I would define fairness. Is it simply justice, equality or equitability? I meditated on this question for quite a bit. I think the definition of fairness is dependent on the context (which is an idea I got from Wai-Jing’s question).
Next, my collaborators recommended I explore what is my value system. As a leader, am I allowed to use my value system and enforce it on everyone (to determine fairness) or do I try and understand the value system of everyone on my team and use that as the benchmark. History is filled with examples of dangerous leaders that were opinionated and stubborn about what they felt was right. I definitely do not want to be a creative leader who is that stuck with his convictions and not open-minded. At the same time, creating a value system with contributions from every single team member is both ambitious and most likely impractical.
I think a happy middle is creating a value system for the team and the organization that most people would subscribe to and be driven by. This value system is a virtual place I would like to visit during my journey.
As a father of twin boys who have very different personalities and in observing our better political leaders wrestle with this question in a complex heterogeneous society I think this is an important question. I have also wondered as a manager in a professional setting if I should award a lesser performing individual an opportunity over a high performing resource, to encourage that person so that they can all grow. As noble as it sounds, how is this fair to the high performing resource?
Wai-Jing and Kate were my collaborators for this exercise and they gave me some valuable pointers. First Wai-Jing and Kate both asked about how I would define fairness. Is it simply justice, equality or equitability? I meditated on this question for quite a bit. I think the definition of fairness is dependent on the context (which is an idea I got from Wai-Jing’s question).
Next, my collaborators recommended I explore what is my value system. As a leader, am I allowed to use my value system and enforce it on everyone (to determine fairness) or do I try and understand the value system of everyone on my team and use that as the benchmark. History is filled with examples of dangerous leaders that were opinionated and stubborn about what they felt was right. I definitely do not want to be a creative leader who is that stuck with his convictions and not open-minded. At the same time, creating a value system with contributions from every single team member is both ambitious and most likely impractical.
I think a happy middle is creating a value system for the team and the organization that most people would subscribe to and be driven by. This value system is a virtual place I would like to visit during my journey.
A 12.1 Socratic Inquiry Session - Gautam Muralidharan
Socratic Inquiry session
Attendees: Gautam M, Aneetha G (My wife and a technology professional), Narayan G (Neighbor and Theoretical Physicist), Tim M (Healthcare professional), Kirti N (Neighbor and CPA), Kathy B (neighbor and active member of local church group).
Date: 11/22/2013, 7 - 8 PM CST
Question: What is the purpose of life?
As recommended in the Socrates Method, we started off first voting on what we wanted to discuss through an online poll of questions. There were a variety of topics including the Health care debate, climate change, the importance of family (and its definition), the place of super powers and how to define them etc. This topic was selected for our first discussion. We decided to meet every month on the third Friday of each month.
Next, we met at our home and we decided that we would have these meetings each month in a different location. We found a sitter for the twins, so that the 3 year olds didn’t interfere in the proceedings. We did one change to the recommended Socratic approach and think it did wonders for us. We got a giant post-it board were we could capture our ideas. We decided everyone would each have a marker and anyone was free to go the board and capture ideas.
We started off first trying to discuss why this was an important question. There were different opinions that were shared including criticisms of how the whole idea of life having a purpose was overblown. Narayan discussed about how Science clearly proves that the Universe itself is a random accident and physics dictates its existence and evolution. Kathy interjected respectfully and talked about how Science is trying to understand something it is not equipped to. Quickly the discussion started becoming a “science vs religion” debate and I noticed I waited longer than I should have to interject. I could sense how as warned in the Socrates café, this became a debate between two people, rather than a discussion in a group. There was violent drive to arrive at a winner of this debate rather than explore the topic itself. Eventually, as the facilitator I noticed two important things. Steering a group towards a topic is harder in reality than on paper. It requires having assertive yet respectfully discussions that was something I was forced to learn very quickly. Secondly, it was easy to understand how opinionated people can easily “take over” a discussion and make it their own, essentially rendering the rest of the participants useless.
Eventually I got the discussion back on track (20 minutes in) by creating a new Post-It sheet called “Parking Lot” and explained to the group we should park topics we could discuss another time but should stay on topic and understand the implications of why a purpose is needed to begin with. Kirti and Aneetha talked about how purpose gives you a reason to get up in the morning and without a purpose in life (work or personal) it is hard to motivate oneself. We further explored why motivation was required. At this point, to avoid going down the rabbit hole further get distracted even more. So made our main assumption – Inaction is not an option. With this assumption, we went on to discuss what action is meant to accomplish.
While the religiously inspired Kathy, Aneetha and Kriti discussed about how by following the actions prescribed in holy religious books moves us towards a grand plan created by a god, Tim and Narayan countered by saying that actions should be focused and driven by rational thought. This was getting ready to become another distraction. So I quickly pointed out to the group that we were not so much interested in what the action was but what it was trying to achieve. What do we want our actions to do? To explore this, I asked the group to talk about actions that brings them a good or positive feeling.
The group talked about various examples of actions they were proud of or were happy about (being a good parent, being a responsible member of the community, creating products or theories that helped people get or feel better etc.). We wrote all these actions on the board and realized there was a common theme across these actions. The common thread was that regardless of what motivated people (religion, science, family money, some other driver etc.) they felt closure and happiness when they did something good.
We brought an end to our first Socratic discussion by defining the purpose of our life as acting to do good.
Attendees: Gautam M, Aneetha G (My wife and a technology professional), Narayan G (Neighbor and Theoretical Physicist), Tim M (Healthcare professional), Kirti N (Neighbor and CPA), Kathy B (neighbor and active member of local church group).
Date: 11/22/2013, 7 - 8 PM CST
Question: What is the purpose of life?
As recommended in the Socrates Method, we started off first voting on what we wanted to discuss through an online poll of questions. There were a variety of topics including the Health care debate, climate change, the importance of family (and its definition), the place of super powers and how to define them etc. This topic was selected for our first discussion. We decided to meet every month on the third Friday of each month.
Next, we met at our home and we decided that we would have these meetings each month in a different location. We found a sitter for the twins, so that the 3 year olds didn’t interfere in the proceedings. We did one change to the recommended Socratic approach and think it did wonders for us. We got a giant post-it board were we could capture our ideas. We decided everyone would each have a marker and anyone was free to go the board and capture ideas.
We started off first trying to discuss why this was an important question. There were different opinions that were shared including criticisms of how the whole idea of life having a purpose was overblown. Narayan discussed about how Science clearly proves that the Universe itself is a random accident and physics dictates its existence and evolution. Kathy interjected respectfully and talked about how Science is trying to understand something it is not equipped to. Quickly the discussion started becoming a “science vs religion” debate and I noticed I waited longer than I should have to interject. I could sense how as warned in the Socrates café, this became a debate between two people, rather than a discussion in a group. There was violent drive to arrive at a winner of this debate rather than explore the topic itself. Eventually, as the facilitator I noticed two important things. Steering a group towards a topic is harder in reality than on paper. It requires having assertive yet respectfully discussions that was something I was forced to learn very quickly. Secondly, it was easy to understand how opinionated people can easily “take over” a discussion and make it their own, essentially rendering the rest of the participants useless.
Eventually I got the discussion back on track (20 minutes in) by creating a new Post-It sheet called “Parking Lot” and explained to the group we should park topics we could discuss another time but should stay on topic and understand the implications of why a purpose is needed to begin with. Kirti and Aneetha talked about how purpose gives you a reason to get up in the morning and without a purpose in life (work or personal) it is hard to motivate oneself. We further explored why motivation was required. At this point, to avoid going down the rabbit hole further get distracted even more. So made our main assumption – Inaction is not an option. With this assumption, we went on to discuss what action is meant to accomplish.
While the religiously inspired Kathy, Aneetha and Kriti discussed about how by following the actions prescribed in holy religious books moves us towards a grand plan created by a god, Tim and Narayan countered by saying that actions should be focused and driven by rational thought. This was getting ready to become another distraction. So I quickly pointed out to the group that we were not so much interested in what the action was but what it was trying to achieve. What do we want our actions to do? To explore this, I asked the group to talk about actions that brings them a good or positive feeling.
The group talked about various examples of actions they were proud of or were happy about (being a good parent, being a responsible member of the community, creating products or theories that helped people get or feel better etc.). We wrote all these actions on the board and realized there was a common theme across these actions. The common thread was that regardless of what motivated people (religion, science, family money, some other driver etc.) they felt closure and happiness when they did something good.
We brought an end to our first Socratic discussion by defining the purpose of our life as acting to do good.
A 11.4 - Gautam Muralidharan
This was a tough week. I am not used to stepping outside my comfort zone when it comes to trying out new traits rapidly in sequence with my team. The labeling exercise forced me to do that. I realized how some of my bad habits magnify itself when I playing the role of a leader. For example, being organized was never important for me. I somehow found a way to do things. However as a leader, my team constantly looks to me for direction. When I am not very clear on what the direction is till the very end it confuses a lot of people. We always get it done by figuring out things at the end but this is a rather stressful and chaotic arrangement for everyone involved. This does not get me towards a Stage V. So I have decided to slowly start focusing on becoming more organized. I will be picking up easy better habits from leaders in this space (http://www.davidco.com) and incorporating these habits into my daily work life.
The harder part was understanding the value of patient listening. It was quite the revelation for me and for my team about how many good ideas were freely flowing once I curbed in my overzealousness. It showed me personally a very important sign of maturity and my urge to allow others to grow into leaders as well. Everyone felt like their opinion mattered and we all learned from one another. The reason why this is so hard to practice is that as a leader you have so many opportunities to violate this and go unnoticed. No one tells you that you are speaking out of turn or interrupting others because of the power your title carries. It is rather unfortunate. So the onus falls to me as a good leader to keep my enthusiasm in check and listen to ideas, and nourish them. I think I am about to be pleasantly surprised by the positive change this is going to bring to me and my teams.
The harder part was understanding the value of patient listening. It was quite the revelation for me and for my team about how many good ideas were freely flowing once I curbed in my overzealousness. It showed me personally a very important sign of maturity and my urge to allow others to grow into leaders as well. Everyone felt like their opinion mattered and we all learned from one another. The reason why this is so hard to practice is that as a leader you have so many opportunities to violate this and go unnoticed. No one tells you that you are speaking out of turn or interrupting others because of the power your title carries. It is rather unfortunate. So the onus falls to me as a good leader to keep my enthusiasm in check and listen to ideas, and nourish them. I think I am about to be pleasantly surprised by the positive change this is going to bring to me and my teams.
A 10.3 Travel Log - Best "You" Place - Gautam Muralidharan
Everything works well in this zone. I know exactly what needs to be done. What needs to be done is the right thing and hence there is no need to be selling the message. The entire team is operating in a Stage V level. Team members are motivated by the journey and are not out for materialistic rewards. I feel empowered, clear and "in the zone". I do not need to issue directions as the team is autonomously able to perform. I am there purely to shepard through issues and challenges as they come up.
I am confident and committed to the objectives. I am communicating clearly and decisively. The team supports and contributes to my decision making process. We are all acting as one. My best is when I and we becomes the same thing.
I am confident and committed to the objectives. I am communicating clearly and decisively. The team supports and contributes to my decision making process. We are all acting as one. My best is when I and we becomes the same thing.
A 8.3 Travel Log - Gautam Muralidharan
Q&R Session
I live in Minnesota so I did not venture out too much into the wild given it is getting fairly chilly these days. So I sat outside on my deck but given that my backyard is wooded I was able to spend quite a bit of time immersed in nature. As I closed my eyes for the first 10 minutes I had a lot of trouble focusing. My mind wandered from work, to things going on at home, this course, stuff happening around etc. It was quite an interesting experience. Finally, I was able to place my attention on some bird sounds I was able to zone in on.
As I opened my eyes, I focused on the fall colors rampantly available all around me. I noticed how the foliage completely covered the ground and how the wind gently blew through the trees. I also was able to observe how some squirrels were busy furrowing for the winter.
I started focusing more on these squirrels. Initially it seemed like their activity was random. There were about 4or 5 of them that were busy transporting their food into our flowerpots. However, as I observed more carefully I noticed a process in their randomness. The squirrels did not compete against each other for everything (Stage 1). They did not respond with force when one of them ran across their normal routes get to their destination. The squirrels were active. There was no question about this. They did not wait for some other squirrel come along and carry their food over. They took care of their own responsibilities and did so with a lot of vigor. So definitely not Stage 2. Even though there was no visible clarity on a sense of satisfaction you could tell that they were gratified in getting it done. However, I don’t think they were stage 3. I think they were more Stage 4 because I noticed that one of the squirrels was helping another squirrel that was younger or smaller (was hard to tell). They started working towards a common good (“We are great”).
I live in Minnesota so I did not venture out too much into the wild given it is getting fairly chilly these days. So I sat outside on my deck but given that my backyard is wooded I was able to spend quite a bit of time immersed in nature. As I closed my eyes for the first 10 minutes I had a lot of trouble focusing. My mind wandered from work, to things going on at home, this course, stuff happening around etc. It was quite an interesting experience. Finally, I was able to place my attention on some bird sounds I was able to zone in on.
As I opened my eyes, I focused on the fall colors rampantly available all around me. I noticed how the foliage completely covered the ground and how the wind gently blew through the trees. I also was able to observe how some squirrels were busy furrowing for the winter.
I started focusing more on these squirrels. Initially it seemed like their activity was random. There were about 4or 5 of them that were busy transporting their food into our flowerpots. However, as I observed more carefully I noticed a process in their randomness. The squirrels did not compete against each other for everything (Stage 1). They did not respond with force when one of them ran across their normal routes get to their destination. The squirrels were active. There was no question about this. They did not wait for some other squirrel come along and carry their food over. They took care of their own responsibilities and did so with a lot of vigor. So definitely not Stage 2. Even though there was no visible clarity on a sense of satisfaction you could tell that they were gratified in getting it done. However, I don’t think they were stage 3. I think they were more Stage 4 because I noticed that one of the squirrels was helping another squirrel that was younger or smaller (was hard to tell). They started working towards a common good (“We are great”).
A 4.1 Travel Log - Gautam Muralidharan
I think I am a little bit of Chad, Risa and Jonathan. While I am not completely at the mercy of my disorganized style like Chad, I do struggle with getting past ideation. As John Cleese describes, I have the challenge of getting stuck in one mode. Ideation is my string skill. In the open mode I am very comfortable identifying solutions, coming up with alternatives or ideas to tackle problems. However, I struggle entering the closed mode once that is done. I become a bit of Risa or Chad at that point (and very envious of Jonathan!).
I think I am very good at the humor and confidence strategies proposed by John Cleese. I have noticed I have been able to create an environment where my team is allowed to joke around while staying focused on the objective. Similarly, I have no issue backing up my ideas and my teams in deciding fearlessly. What I have struggled with historically is Space, Time and Time.
I am making some progress on the Space front. My previous home and workplace did not allow having a private sanctuary to think creatively or block off distractions. However, I have been able to remedy that situation in my new home. I have a quiet office space with very good lighting (natural and artificial). This allows me to have a standard place to come back to where I can collect, document and reflect on my ideas. I also have a large whiteboard right next to my desk to freely brainstorm without having to worry about judgment or logistical issues (Forgetting, not capturing etc.)
The first challenge I have is the first kind of “Time” that John talks about. I am not very good at carving out a structure amount of time to set up my oasis. I often return to whatever state I left my workspace at. I don’t consciously try to clean it up or set it up like John suggests. This leaves me sometimes wondering where I need to pick up from. This is definitely not an effective way to work. I plan on rectifying this by setting up some time right after my work is done every night to set it up to allow for a creative thinking session the next day.
The second challenge I have is the second kind of “Time”. I have to get better at setting up structured time to make sure I have time to sit down in my space and think through ideas. This is harder I think because this would mean cultural changes, and making sure I get up on time, and get better organized. I think this is very critical in being able to keep track of my ideas and spend some time thinking clearly everyday.
I think I am a little bit of Chad, Risa and Jonathan. While I am not completely at the mercy of my disorganized style like Chad, I do struggle with getting past ideation. As John Cleese describes, I have the challenge of getting stuck in one mode. Ideation is my string skill. In the open mode I am very comfortable identifying solutions, coming up with alternatives or ideas to tackle problems. However, I struggle entering the closed mode once that is done. I become a bit of Risa or Chad at that point (and very envious of Jonathan!).
I think I am very good at the humor and confidence strategies proposed by John Cleese. I have noticed I have been able to create an environment where my team is allowed to joke around while staying focused on the objective. Similarly, I have no issue backing up my ideas and my teams in deciding fearlessly. What I have struggled with historically is Space, Time and Time.
I am making some progress on the Space front. My previous home and workplace did not allow having a private sanctuary to think creatively or block off distractions. However, I have been able to remedy that situation in my new home. I have a quiet office space with very good lighting (natural and artificial). This allows me to have a standard place to come back to where I can collect, document and reflect on my ideas. I also have a large whiteboard right next to my desk to freely brainstorm without having to worry about judgment or logistical issues (Forgetting, not capturing etc.)
The first challenge I have is the first kind of “Time” that John talks about. I am not very good at carving out a structure amount of time to set up my oasis. I often return to whatever state I left my workspace at. I don’t consciously try to clean it up or set it up like John suggests. This leaves me sometimes wondering where I need to pick up from. This is definitely not an effective way to work. I plan on rectifying this by setting up some time right after my work is done every night to set it up to allow for a creative thinking session the next day.
The second challenge I have is the second kind of “Time”. I have to get better at setting up structured time to make sure I have time to sit down in my space and think through ideas. This is harder I think because this would mean cultural changes, and making sure I get up on time, and get better organized. I think this is very critical in being able to keep track of my ideas and spend some time thinking clearly everyday.
A7.3 - Gautam Muralidharan
My Journey to becoming a creative leader
I want to be a leader who creates a work environment where creating value is a way of life. Let me explain this a little more. “VALUE” is commonly misunderstood as creating more revenue or money or titles or market share. I think creating value is about doing the right thing; the right thing by the customer, by the company and by our ecosystem/community. I would like teams that I manage and organizations that I run to be focused on this. This would start with attracting talented teams who share the same value system as I do (Discussed above). Once our value systems are aligned I would focus on the principles Dave recommends in creating a “Life is great” type workplace.
I want to be a leader who allows people to reach and realize their potential. What I mean by this is that I want to create more creative leaders. Often times, a disconnect between good and great is that final push that allows people to achieve their true potential. Many times this is not just because of their own limitations but organizations that inhibit that growth to these levels of excellence. I think what is needed here is a leader that creates and defines a vision that is worth excelling toward. When the mission is lofty and it strongly aligns with an individual’s value system it automatically takes care of motivating talent towards doing their best to make things happen. I would also like to make sure I align people’s strengths in such a way that their careers amplify these strengths and propels them to grow.
I want to be a leader who encourages his teams to think beyond their tribe. This ties back to the first point about leaders who can tie back their personal missions to global goals that move mankind towards a better place. I would also like them to learn how to do this by being humble and indifferent to the glory the mission offers. What I mean by this is that people take pride in doing the right thing for the sake of doing the right thing, and nothing more. This is a fabulous moment when everyone is working and driven to work by their belief in their values, and nothing more.
I want to be a leader who builds a network of likeminded leaders and teams. I think the business world needs to stop thinking like a zero sum game – basically the idea that for someone to succeed, someone else has to fail. This leads to the idea of a “dog eat dog” type mentality where people are not sharing common values and goals but are constantly chasing material gains that are insatiable. As Dave suggests, it is in not about me, but about what I and my team can do for others.
A1.3
I am glad to report that I am not at the very beginning of this voyage. Coming to think of it, we all start of exhibit some form of leadership from a very young age when we start emulating leaders around us. Creative leadership often entails problem solving and I think we all do this everyday.
I try to be very transparent with my teams and honest with my intentions. It is perhaps the hardest thing to do and this often entails very difficult conversations especially during difficult times; for example, to tell the team that something is not going well and we would need to step up. I think honesty becomes especially important when delivering bad news. I think this is where being straight forward also helps. I think this is something I constantly work on. When you are talking to your teams they expect things from the gut and not the proverbial Kool-Aid. However, this is not something (at least I believe) someone can easily master on day 1. I constantly work on this everyday and still find some situations where I try to massage the message so that I don’t hurt feelings or am sensitive to sentiments.
I think I do pretty well at being forward looking. I think this combined with being inspiring are areas I have historically done well. However, again room for improvement is training oneself in being positive even during times of crisis. This is not easy. There are moments when it is easier to fall into a self defeating pattern.
We are all quite prejudiced in my opinion because we gravitate to a self defined value system that is our moral compass for right and wrong. So we constantly judge others against this value system and are actively pronouncing judgments. To be fair is to be objectively able to think about a situation and decide the best course of action based on what is fair. However, this is easier said that done. There are moments when this compass gets away from me and I tend to gravitate to my favorite members and their opinions. I think there is work needed here.
I think I take a lot of pride in being supportive and dependable. If nothing I want to make sure I develop teams. That is the ultimate measure of success as a leader in my opinion – in being able to develop people.
Last but not the least, pursuit of knowledge is a life long journey. So I guess I can hope I am competent and intelligent enough for the moment and continuously work on improving myself so that I can stay relevant!
A 2.3
This week it was very humbling to learn about Mandela and some of the key traits he possesses. It was interesting to see some of the humanness he displays despite some very trying circumstances. It was also very interesting to see how a comparison was performed between a modern day leader like Obama and Mandela. I think I drew inspiration from both these leaders in developing an acumen to be certain about the end goal but being flexible about the path taken.
I was not overly taken by Madeline Allbright's video. She seemed distant and a little arrogant. The interviewer seemed to be reaching out to her to understand how to connect with women would wanted to aspire to be her, and her answers seemed rather inhumane (focusing more on status variables like mediocrity and focused purely on the intellect). It could have been related to the duration of the video but I would definitely have liked to see a little bit more empathy which is an important lesson I have learned today. As a leader, I would aspire to be emphatic and wanting to help others, providing opportunities to lead and learn.
A3.3
It was actually quite fascinating to watch most of the videos this week. What made them unique were most of these videos were produced with little intervention into nature. The brutal hunting patterns of the lions or the blatant survive techniques used by the Gorilla explore some of the challenges of having to survive in natural conditions that are constantly changing. I think there were some valuable leadership lessons in all of this. For example, it was quite interesting to note how even nature employs the hierarchal type model of growth, when a worker bee starts in the mailroom and eventually progresses to lead the clan. However, what is fascinating is how rare this is and most mammals employ some kind of collaborative teaming model instead of the conventional model of leadership. The swarm model was also very subtle but novel. Most organizations seldom recognize that a there are severe leaders walking their hallways without having a formal title. In fact, in some tragic situations , there is a lot of effort spent in silencing these leaders in place of traditional voices echoing from the board rooms.
The ego vs eco talk was also very informational. However, I think the middle ground is more reasonable. For example, it is going to be very hard for a hard to quantify or control network of people set the direction for a company. There is some prudence in listening to pockets where management and economical genius stay locked inside corporate headquarters in providing vision/direction for companies or nations. For example, it would be an interesting debate if the majority of people "voted" through a social media setting that taxes don't make sense and we don't want to pay them anymore. Big government does make sense there and dictate certain necessary evils.
My Journey to becoming a creative leader
I want to be a leader who creates a work environment where creating value is a way of life. Let me explain this a little more. “VALUE” is commonly misunderstood as creating more revenue or money or titles or market share. I think creating value is about doing the right thing; the right thing by the customer, by the company and by our ecosystem/community. I would like teams that I manage and organizations that I run to be focused on this. This would start with attracting talented teams who share the same value system as I do (Discussed above). Once our value systems are aligned I would focus on the principles Dave recommends in creating a “Life is great” type workplace.
I want to be a leader who allows people to reach and realize their potential. What I mean by this is that I want to create more creative leaders. Often times, a disconnect between good and great is that final push that allows people to achieve their true potential. Many times this is not just because of their own limitations but organizations that inhibit that growth to these levels of excellence. I think what is needed here is a leader that creates and defines a vision that is worth excelling toward. When the mission is lofty and it strongly aligns with an individual’s value system it automatically takes care of motivating talent towards doing their best to make things happen. I would also like to make sure I align people’s strengths in such a way that their careers amplify these strengths and propels them to grow.
I want to be a leader who encourages his teams to think beyond their tribe. This ties back to the first point about leaders who can tie back their personal missions to global goals that move mankind towards a better place. I would also like them to learn how to do this by being humble and indifferent to the glory the mission offers. What I mean by this is that people take pride in doing the right thing for the sake of doing the right thing, and nothing more. This is a fabulous moment when everyone is working and driven to work by their belief in their values, and nothing more.
I want to be a leader who builds a network of likeminded leaders and teams. I think the business world needs to stop thinking like a zero sum game – basically the idea that for someone to succeed, someone else has to fail. This leads to the idea of a “dog eat dog” type mentality where people are not sharing common values and goals but are constantly chasing material gains that are insatiable. As Dave suggests, it is in not about me, but about what I and my team can do for others.
A1.3
I am glad to report that I am not at the very beginning of this voyage. Coming to think of it, we all start of exhibit some form of leadership from a very young age when we start emulating leaders around us. Creative leadership often entails problem solving and I think we all do this everyday.
I try to be very transparent with my teams and honest with my intentions. It is perhaps the hardest thing to do and this often entails very difficult conversations especially during difficult times; for example, to tell the team that something is not going well and we would need to step up. I think honesty becomes especially important when delivering bad news. I think this is where being straight forward also helps. I think this is something I constantly work on. When you are talking to your teams they expect things from the gut and not the proverbial Kool-Aid. However, this is not something (at least I believe) someone can easily master on day 1. I constantly work on this everyday and still find some situations where I try to massage the message so that I don’t hurt feelings or am sensitive to sentiments.
I think I do pretty well at being forward looking. I think this combined with being inspiring are areas I have historically done well. However, again room for improvement is training oneself in being positive even during times of crisis. This is not easy. There are moments when it is easier to fall into a self defeating pattern.
We are all quite prejudiced in my opinion because we gravitate to a self defined value system that is our moral compass for right and wrong. So we constantly judge others against this value system and are actively pronouncing judgments. To be fair is to be objectively able to think about a situation and decide the best course of action based on what is fair. However, this is easier said that done. There are moments when this compass gets away from me and I tend to gravitate to my favorite members and their opinions. I think there is work needed here.
I think I take a lot of pride in being supportive and dependable. If nothing I want to make sure I develop teams. That is the ultimate measure of success as a leader in my opinion – in being able to develop people.
Last but not the least, pursuit of knowledge is a life long journey. So I guess I can hope I am competent and intelligent enough for the moment and continuously work on improving myself so that I can stay relevant!
A 2.3
This week it was very humbling to learn about Mandela and some of the key traits he possesses. It was interesting to see some of the humanness he displays despite some very trying circumstances. It was also very interesting to see how a comparison was performed between a modern day leader like Obama and Mandela. I think I drew inspiration from both these leaders in developing an acumen to be certain about the end goal but being flexible about the path taken.
I was not overly taken by Madeline Allbright's video. She seemed distant and a little arrogant. The interviewer seemed to be reaching out to her to understand how to connect with women would wanted to aspire to be her, and her answers seemed rather inhumane (focusing more on status variables like mediocrity and focused purely on the intellect). It could have been related to the duration of the video but I would definitely have liked to see a little bit more empathy which is an important lesson I have learned today. As a leader, I would aspire to be emphatic and wanting to help others, providing opportunities to lead and learn.
A3.3
It was actually quite fascinating to watch most of the videos this week. What made them unique were most of these videos were produced with little intervention into nature. The brutal hunting patterns of the lions or the blatant survive techniques used by the Gorilla explore some of the challenges of having to survive in natural conditions that are constantly changing. I think there were some valuable leadership lessons in all of this. For example, it was quite interesting to note how even nature employs the hierarchal type model of growth, when a worker bee starts in the mailroom and eventually progresses to lead the clan. However, what is fascinating is how rare this is and most mammals employ some kind of collaborative teaming model instead of the conventional model of leadership. The swarm model was also very subtle but novel. Most organizations seldom recognize that a there are severe leaders walking their hallways without having a formal title. In fact, in some tragic situations , there is a lot of effort spent in silencing these leaders in place of traditional voices echoing from the board rooms.
The ego vs eco talk was also very informational. However, I think the middle ground is more reasonable. For example, it is going to be very hard for a hard to quantify or control network of people set the direction for a company. There is some prudence in listening to pockets where management and economical genius stay locked inside corporate headquarters in providing vision/direction for companies or nations. For example, it would be an interesting debate if the majority of people "voted" through a social media setting that taxes don't make sense and we don't want to pay them anymore. Big government does make sense there and dictate certain necessary evils.