Building Bridges Across Cultures I- Self Leadership
Building Bridges Across Cultures is a Monthly series where two perspectives from West and East shall be shared by Jennifer Sertl, USA and Dr Amit Nagpal, India.
How can a person develop better self-leadership? Does self-leadership impact our social media presence and vice versa?
Bhawini Stuti, PGDM student, BIMTECH, India
Jennifer Sertl’s opinion
Given that this is the first blog in our Building Bridges, I am going to establish a foundation. To be human is to be in a story. We make up stories about who we are and where we belong as soon as we have language. People are unaware of the power of their network effect in simply everyday living. Every “like” or RT or endorsement both subtle and explicit is telling a story about who you are and what you value. And the network effect of these micro-choices is what we see now in this misinformation era.
If I can help in any way at all, it will be to invite you to be more impeccable with how you participate in social media both online and offline. An auto-biography could be curated based on your simple responses on social media sites. Every RT, Like, emoji and Follow are endorsements of a specific belief system. Another way to say that is that RT, Like, emoji and Follow in aggregate are telling a story. A story of who you are, what you like, what you value, who you learn from, and what you aspire.
Are you proud of what that aggregate story says about you, what you value and your capability? Whether we like it or not, stories are being told about us based on analytical data and doors are being opened or closed. We can let that happen or we can claim some control of what our data points say about who we are and what we care about. The place to regain control is to reverse engineer the qualities you would like to leave behind. Write your story now and live into it. Thought leader Clay Shirky gave us a nugget of wisdom: it is not information overload, it is filter failure.
From an existentialist point of view, who you are at your core is perhaps the most important filter to decipher.
This leaf shows a water droplet and you can see the concentric circles of reverberating impact. Consider that each text, tweet, and post your write or comment on has the same physical resonance. It travels and impacts the system at large. There is a direct link between your personal growth and social impact — regardless of how the channels evolve. Impact is not an option, ensure that yours is positive.
One of my favorite quotes comes from Aristotle: “We are what we repeatedly do; excellence then is not an act, but a habit.” If you want excellence, then everything you do must have the ring of excellence. Not just the big important things, but the small and invisible acts that no one else sees or hears about. Personal leadership in a digitized economy is about having an intention — a clearly defined declaration of your filter and ownership of what you want to create in the world.
Intentions in a business context are called sources of competitive advantage (SOCA). If you are promising adaptability, know-how, and speed as your competitive advantage, then every choice inside your organization should demonstrate adaptability, know-how, and speed. The more you execute these attributes internally, the more reliable your promise to your customers and shareholders. It also provides a filter by which you can hire, develop, and promote. From experience you cannot execute reliably more than three strategies — which forces decisiveness. The word decide comes from the Latin dēcīdere — meaning “cut off.” Suicide, homicide, decide: when you choose you cut off all other possibilities. Decisiveness is required to create a brand experience.
Building credibility in a digital economy requires continuity on the themes that matter most. Decisiveness of your filter and commitment to it will allow you to quell overloaded circuits, elevate your positive impact and most importantly keep you playing an aspirational game by which you will be proud vs. embarrassed. Here are the types of questions that contribute to clarity on what matters most:
What is your definition of leadership? (Let me be clear — regardless of your title or where you live — you are a leader of your own life. You need an operating statement — your True North.)
What are three qualities do you most value in others?
What compliment have you received that made you feel the most seen? valued?
What are five attributes of collaboration that you most value?
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Ask these questions frequently and keep your answers present as a guide to help you ensure that you are designing your life in ways that will continue to keep doors opening for you as the landscape of digital, work, life, legacy get blurred. Claim the story of your life and ensure it is one that you are proud of now and tomorrow.
Why in answering a tactical question did i go deep into personal leadership?.It is a pull vs. push economy. Affinity is based on ((( resonance))). Resonance begins with authenticity. Most people I work with have not answered these tough deep questions.
The message always comes before the medium. The clarity you get from this process will direct your online and offline communication strategy. Think of it more like a scavenger hunt than a goal. I assure you, that if you take the time to do this it will not be difficult at all to determine what you want to say and why.
Jennifer Sertl, Brand Strategist and co-author Strategy Leadership and the Soul
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Dr Amit Nagpal’s Opinion
In my view, self-leadership has two components viz. observing self and observing others.
Observing Self- Find Your Story to Lead Yourself
One of my favourite exercises during training and teaching Personal Branding & Executive Presence is “Find your story”. A questionnaire is given to participants which helps them understand the people and experiences that have shaped them and subsequently helps them find their story and core competencies.
The questions help them reflect upon what has shaped their stories & how
— family background
— childhood experiences
— teachers & role models
— friends & neighbors
— relatives & other influences
LinkedIn as a Self Awareness Tool
During an interaction with students of BIMTECH, I asked many students, “Would you like to share an interesting experience you had on LinkedIn?”
One answer was really unique and memorable. A student replied, “LinkedIn has helped me develop better self-awareness”. I was actually surprised at the wise answer and asked him how.
The student explained with several examples:-
a) “While researching & adding skills to my profile, I developed better awareness about my skills.
b) While writing my About section in story format, I understood the experiences which have shaped me professionally.
c) Describing my work experience, education & accomplishments helped me further understand my strengths and weaknesses.
d) Integrating the insights gained helped me reflect on the specialization that would suit my personality and background.”
So true. Socrates rightly said centuries ago, “Man Know Thyself”. A leader who does not understand himself/herself can hardly be expected to understand team members. Better self-awareness certainly creates better leaders.
Observing Others- Becoming a Keen Observer
Sometimes I ask such questions in mock interviews to check how aware the students are of their environment (& self):-
a) What is the meaning of your name?
b) Have you seen the picture on your mouse pad?
c) What is the first option in WhatsApp settings?
The answers give me a fair idea of the self awareness and observation skills of the student. I will end with a powerful story on what is the most powerful tool of learning and self-leadership.
Most Powerful Tool for Learning- A Story
“Master, which is the most powerful tool of learning, Reading, Listening, Practising, Observing or something else?”, the disciple asked the teacher.
“All tools have their own benefits and powers. My personal favourite is observation.”, the master replied.
The master continued, “Observation serves you in three ways and goes beyond learning Yet no tool is useful if you don’t implement the learning.
1) To learn-Observing people & their behavior is a masterclass in itself. Observing nature is meditation.
2) To understand & reflect-To observe debates and discussions help you understand and appreciate varied perspectives.
3) To entertain-Observing your own mind and becoming a witness, not only improves self awareness but is entertaining too.
“Watching your mind and flow of thoughts is no less than a tamasha (melodrama). It is like having an idiot box right inside you”, the master added and began to laugh.
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Dr Amit Nagpal is a Business Storyteller and Lifelong Educator. He is also President and Community Builder of Bloggers Alliance.
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