This past week was filled with introspective activities that gave me insight into myself - be it my natural tendencies, my mental blocks or my weaknesses. More importantly, I recognize the enormous value in paying attention to the variety of voices around as a result of this week. At IDEO, we learnt that the most interesting insights come from the most extreme cases. Yet oddly enough, the softer or marginalized voices got drowned out during the most chaotic and time constrained scenarios. It wasn't until we deliberately paused and reflected on the various activities that I realized how detached I felt to an outcome when I hadn't been heard throughout a process. Not being heard once, shaped my thinking and my actions for all the activities that followed. Perhaps, this is why the lessons in empathy are so critical to developing solutions. And also why choice became an important concern last week.
For the first time, I also feel an enormous sense of responsibility to push myself outside my own comfort zone, certainly for personal growth but more so on the behalf of others. Others in similar situations, constrained by their own limitations were looking to me to break my own mental blocks. I recognize the importance of adapting my style based on circumstances. Some circumstances demand silence as a leader while others demand taking the risk when you are just as unsure as everyone else. The key is to not get boxed into one pattern, but instead to remain nimble, to remain aware, to listen, to involve others and to act despite the uncertainty. Leadership is a balancing act between being a participant and an observer, each role just as critical to accomplishing the goal.
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