Ok, let’s be honest. France wasn’t really a rest stop. But it was the catalyst for my month of exploration and rejuvenation, because I was asked to give a keynote for Capgemini. And of course I said yes!
The location and the event space itself was beautiful. And it’s only one of the things that blew me away about Capgemini … that they’ve created this amazing learning space for people. Talk about a commitment to doing things differently and calling people forth to the next level of leadership! I felt very privileged and honoured to be invited to do this speech and to get to speak to their high-potential leaders.
In conversations with my sponsor before I got there, she specifically asked me to highlight my cancer journey as part of this presentation. I had my reservations … I don’t always lead with that in a corporate environment. But she was very enthusiastic about the idea of me bringing such a real and raw topic to the table. And of course, some people loved it, and some people didn’t. But that’s what happens when you come out with the provocative stuff, right?
My biggest lesson learned from this portion of my trip was about building relationships:
I spent the evening before my keynote having dinner and eventually dancing with the participants. Now I could’ve spent the time reviewing my PowerPoint, reviewing my talking points, or recovering from jet lag. But connecting with them personally made it better, made the speech better, and made me better. Relationship trumps tasks any day, and everyday.
Some of the key topics and lessons I covered in this presentation included:
- My cancer journey IS my leadership journey.
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Because leadership isn’t about how big your budget is or how many people report to you. It’s about who you are on the inside, and what you do in tough situations that separates a true leader from someone whose just trying to “get it right”.
- Authenticity – There’s a gap between who we are and what we show the world, and the distance of that gap is the same distance as the impact your’re having, and the impact you COULD be having. Your gift to the world comes in being all of you, because all of you is that way for a reason. The thing that sets you apart is the core of your contribution.
- Resiliency – We need to change our metrics.
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We are constantly measuring ourselves against the wrong things. We’re looking at how much money we’re making, or how many followers we have, or the amount our clients pay us per hour, or the number of people that report to us. Those might be traditional measures of “success” but they are not measures of either happiness or resiliency. In order to increase our resiliency, we need to make sure we include metrics that are sustainable, both in terms of being easy to practice, but also in terms of them filling up our tanks, so that we can deal with the inevitable setbacks when they arise. Some metrics you may want to consider:
- How much fun have I had today?
- How many people have I genuinely connected with?
- How much time did I spend meditating?
- Who did I help or support today?
- Do I feel joyful or uplifted today?
- How much time did I focus on big picture / strategic thinking?
- Did I make things feel “easy” today?
Here is an example from my life of returning to the metrics that work for me and increase resiliency:
I’ve developed some great habits when I’m at home, such as walking and meditating daily. But when I get on the road, or when I go on vacation, I often make up that I don’t need to do those, because I think that a vacation is a break from everything. So I take a break from my walking and my meditating … but those are the things that keep me level-headed and keep me connected and happy and resilient. So I reintegrated them into my vacation time and need to remember to keep those as my ongoing metrics of what lead me to a more fulfilled life.
Ok, over to you:
What metrics do you need to change to?
What are your replenishing habits when you’re away?
I was one of the participants of this session at Capgemini. I had traveled from India for the 3 day learning program of which your session was on the last day. I was very shocked at first and was worried after hearing about your cancer story and it kept me thinking for the next few days. It was a very important leadership message that life is never a bed of roses… Your story helped me learn that all that matters is whether we run away or face the problems that come our way. Going through the grind just makes you stronger. Liked your session.. It has inspired me.
Thanks so much for letting me know this Preeth. Often we don’t get to hear the impact of our work, and it is so important to know. Developing resiliency is one of the most crucial things we can do for ourselves. Life will always throw us curve balls, how we deal with them, who we become as part of them, that is the real surprise. Best part is we can be conscious and intentional in that, and thereby create the life we want!