Nuggets On
authenticity
As we move into a Digital world where leaders are a lot more “out there”, there is a greater premium on authenticity today than possibly a few years ago. Leaders across fields talk about what the word means to them and how it influences their behaviours and choices.
Why "Naked"?
One might think that the world of standup comedy and the corporate milieu would be miles apart! Hear Papa CJ talk about his transition from being a consultant to an award winning standup comedian. His show ‘Naked’ talks about all our common vulnerabilities and the ‘brick walls’ we build around ourselves that may prevent us from growing. He tries to reach out to all of us who might be comfortably complacent in our comfort zones.
Authentic Leadership
Authenticity is a word that is often used by people in different contexts. Pramath shares his perspectives on Authentic leadership and talks about what it takes to get there. He also talks about how he thinks about flexing his leadership style across diverse contexts.
Performing at the top and being grounded
Vishy talks about the various elements that matter to perform at the highest level in addition to IQ. He specifically discusses the criticality of collaborating with a range of coaches and players. He also shares how he manages to stay present during a game (a trait that Anatoly Karpov used to be a master at with his ruthless Boa-Constrictor style play he says). He also shares how he has managed to stay simple and grounded despite the towering heights he has reached as a Chess player.
Cultivating "Lodestar" values
Mouli talks about the notion of Values as something that has a significant upside over the long run and challenges the current narrative which is often around showcasing the downside of people who display poor values and are punished. He also talks about the need for us to have an absolute view of this versus a relative view.
More from Chandramouli Venkatesan
Building a trusted relationship
Ambi talks about his first interaction with Pradipto Mohapatra (a legend in the retail industry with the RPG group and ex Chairman of Coaching Foundation of India) and how he had a very unusual client meeting where everything except the “work on hand” was discussed. He talks about the notion of what it takes to develop and build trust with individuals.
Being vulnerable
Dr Guha talks about how Gandhiji openly spoke and wrote about his flaws (defects, manias, lusts, passions and superstitions) without any inhibition. This approach is in such a stark contrast to how several leaders of today manage their personal image. He also spoke about how Gandhiji was often open to feedback (including being open to inputs from Mahadev Desai – his assistant) and would be comfortable acknowledging publicly if he was wrong in a debate.
More from Dr. Ramachandra Guha
Role of Authenticity, Integrity & Creativity
Stew speaks about the role of authenticity (being real by clarifying what is important), integrity (having a clear view of who you are as an entire person and being clear about roles towards and expectations from stakeholders) and creativity (being innovating in crafting experiments to deliver four way wins). He specifically speaks about how some stakeholders expect less and are willing to support more than you think.
Sachin Tendulkar and personal mastery
Paddy speaks about how personal mastery is something that people need to pursue deliberately in addition to professional mastery. He speaks about how Sachin Tendulkar went about his journey of growing as a cricketer and as a human being. He also speaks about how this is much more important today than it might have been a couple of decades back.
Link between mentally tough and psychopaths
Paddy speaks about why mental toughness is a term that gets used a lot but there is limited research around what it is and how athletes can build it. He speaks about the criticality of embracing the doubts, insecurities and vulnerabilities rather than trying to suppress them.
Building a personal brand
Sudhir speaks about some of the principles behind building a strong brand and a personal brand. He speaks about a strong brand as one where people might like or hate the brand but will align on the key attributes of the brand. He also speaks about the notion of brand archeology where he says that it is helpful to understand the history of the brand to uncover what it stands for. He finally goes on to speak about how brands should look within and let consumers discover them than being different things to different people.
The ABC of tiny habits
BJ speaks about the ABC of tiny habits – Anchor, Behaviour and Celebration. He goes on to speak about the importance of having an authentic celebration as it causes dopamine regulation that leads to a habit getting cemented in your life. He also urges us to keep the habit tiny before we expand it. He says it is more important to bake the habit even if it is microscopic before we amplify it to the level that would make a meaningful difference in our lives.
Finding your voice
Atul speaks about the notion of staying authentic and the audience slowly finding you rather than trying to pander to the tastes of any one particular segment. He indicates that he doesn’t start by saying what does the audience want and tailoring his message to the cohort. He says that you need to stay true to who you are and let your audience slowly warm upto you over a period of time.
Stepping off the corporate track
Rajiv speaks about how he thought about stepping off the corporate track despite being on a very good wicket at Franklin Templeton. He speaks about the growing dissonance within and the quest for purpose and self-improvement that led him to this path.
Decoding Executive Presence
Rajiv breaks down the notion of Executive Presence and speaks about some of the elements that constitutes it. He speaks about importance of gravitas, credibility, quality of communication and appearance. He also expands on the notion of Authenticity and the link with credibility and presence.
Being a Lesbian
Dorie speaks about how she has handled the fact that she is a Lesbian ever since she came out as a teenager. She speaks about how people often take their cues from you and we have an opportunity to shape how they relate to us.
Staying positive
Manjari speaks about how she manages to stay positive despite the nature of her profession that brings her in touch with a lot of human suffering. She also speaks about how she has managed to compartmentalize the various elements of her life.
Finding your style as a woman
Manjari speaks about how she embraced her femininity as a Police Officer rather than trying to develop a cold exterior to fit into a world filled with men in the IPS.
Displaying the right kind of vulnerability
David speaks about how it is important to signal the right kind of vulnerability when we work with others. He makes the distinction between vulnerability that could get people to question our competence versus vulnerability that shows others that we are human.
Vulnerability and Power
Jeffrey speaks about how one needs to be careful about showing vulnerability while climbing the Corporate Ladder.
True to which Self?
Jeffrey speaks about being true to oneself as a limiting construct. He says that by being true to some version of self in the past, we might be limiting our possibilities.
