Collaboration is a much-debated topic in the leadership sphere. While everyone wants to get the best in every network or relationship, taking the first collaborative step sometimes is a challenging task. Working in synergy rather than silos gives the best outcomes. Collaborations bring together individuals who are working towards similar goals. However at the same time, sometimes when you are working in the same domain with similar goals… personal comparisons and competitions can also surface which can have damaging outcomes.
Collaborative leadership also promotes mutual trust, value for each other, engaged workforce, increased employee loyalty. The benefits of collaboration cannot be undermined, however, building it as an organizational value takes time and effort.
3 Simple Ways to Inspire collaboration and not competition:
Watch What you Encourage & Award -Very often organizations only applaud individual employee performance rather than team performance or peer camaraderie. In a team game if individuals become the focus, then the essence of collaboration can be lost. The moment our appraisals are restructured to award and appreciate Collaborations, the employee realignment will happen; till then it will be like the British rule being part of the bell curve mysteries. Making Collaboration a Value to be practiced in the organization can give a huge boost towards its practice.
Hire Diverse Team members -Hiring plays a quintessential role in bringing diversity to the workspace. People with different backgrounds, talents, and skills in the same space can be a huge asset to collaborative culture in the organization. This also helps the quality of creativity and innovation in the collaborative efforts.
Learning & Networking Labs -Organizing learning and networking events from time to time can also be another great way for people to find their prospective collaborators. These events would open up a plethora of opportunities for different projects and also solve current roadblocks.
Do you like to be the best or part of the best team? Do you think collaboration is a higher value than competition? As a leader do you encourage collaboration or competition? What has been your experience as a collaborator?
All of us have faced criticism at some point in time or the other. It often breaks us down and makes us defensive in many ways… rarely do we see it as a merit. At work in relationships or even in personal space, we sometimes feel undermined for the good that we are trying to bring to our ecosystem. When criticism makes you feel like a victim, you enter a toxic arena of life that can be self-sabotaging. If you are doing something unique-creative -unconventional -innovative -out of your comfort zone -you are bound to attract a school of critics who always invest a lot of time and effort to create a narrative against you!! Thus dealing with criticism is one of the essential aspects of life, if you want to realize your aspirations or even buy peace.
By changing our outlook towards criticism we can make a paradigm shift in our mind space. The moment we view Criticism as an opportunity: for growth, strength, and a chance to surpass expectations…we suddenly feel strengthened in our power -resources, and goodwill in life. We all know 2 negatives make a positive!! Thus moment you have a negative feeling about some negative comment, remind yourself of the positive that can come out of it!
So let’s see 3 Quick Hacks to make Criticism into Power :
Evaluate Merit & Act on It – The moment you receive a critical comment, evaluate the merit of the same. You can seek support from experts or even your cheerleaders to evaluate how authentic is the comment. If it merits your action then focus your energies there rather than whining about it. This way acting on criticism can support you be a better version of yourself, rather than drowning in the same.
Cherish Your Failure – Failures sometimes teach us the best lessons! They are the gateway to the grand plan of divine aura around us. Every episode of failure is a way for the almighty artist to scrape off all the unwanted debris around us to become the much-awaited masterpiece. I always cherish the example of the biggest actor of our times Amitabh Bachchan …who was denied a role on the radio, criticizing his voice which has today become the biggest asset to him! When someone criticizes you, they may not be able to give you the most articulate version of what they feel about the situation. That’s when you use your collective wisdom to carve out the best in your solution.
Thank Your Critics – None of us are perfect, nor our critics! So every time they criticize with merit or unduly you thank them for their time and effort!!! The fact that they have chosen you is a big compliment. Life is short and our time on earth is not known, so if someone takes time out, then it’s a great applaud to your efforts in any domain.
Personally, I appreciate my cheerleaders and I sure respect my critics! My critics have always been my biggest reason for all my milestones in life. I salute them for taking time out.
Do share with us, how you deal with criticism. How have criticisms helped you grow in life?
Have you ever wondered why Purpose and meaning in life are the ingredients based on which your WELLBEING AND HAPPINESS IS BUILT? The clarity in what adds context and meaning to your life can also help us design our life for phenomenal success.
Whether you are a Leader -An entrepreneur or a Professional, understanding the REASON for which you do things can be more important than BEING IN ACTION.
Recently during one of my online leadership workshops, I was asked this question on how one can find meaning and create a legacy in this fast-paced world around us, where most of the time we are busy delivering our responsibilities and earning a livelihood. We all go through this crossroads of trying to find our real meaning in life, and HONESTLY, we need to revisit this time to time…as with time our goals also need to be reconfigured. Thus setting a long-term maybe 5-year vision and short-term yearly goals can bring in a lot of focus in our day-to-day life.
6 Ways you can identify your MEANING IN LIFE –
Introspect -Finding meaning doesn’t have to be a path-breaking exercise, a sabbatical, or going to the monastery. Simple introspection can help you get started.
Knowing Your Strengths – is not an easy task. Sometimes are our talents are better experienced by people around us…Our inner circle of friends and family often share our natural abilities better than we do. Maybe the things that make us feel centered are already there, but we’re not seeing them because we’re too busy or stressed. Thus it is worth spending some time to create evidence for this.
Dream Destination and Enjoy Journey -We all dream of the final destination and accomplishment…however the journey is what makes it a sweet experience. The journey is what makes us a persona and equally important
Legacy you can Create-What is it that you want to be remembered for. Life is too short to be taken for granted. We all want to contribute to our fellow beings. Thinking about what you would like to have inscribed on your tombstone can surely inspire us and get us out of our complacency.
Creating your Zone -Being in a Zone or a state of flow is all about what makes you truly satisfied with the process. Make an effort to be conscious of what brings you joy, and think about how you can turn those things into habits. Positive habits are important when learning how to find meaning in life because they help us feel fulfilled.
Learning Enthusiast -Things around us are changing every day. So it is essential to keep learning about the trends of our times. Learning something new keeps us engaged and can open our eyes to skills or talents we didn’t know we had.
Hope this has helped you. How would you like to start designing your IDEAL life vision or Leadership strategies? Do share with us your life story and legacy.
If you are an auditory person do take a listen to our podcast.
As a leader in any domain, the biggest responsibility that we carry is to up-skill and upgrade talent in a moving vehicle. Business is the moving vehicle and every leader needs to be able to train and coach their teams while traveling with all the fire and the challenges on board. Thus this has become a fundamental skill to be an impactful leader and even keep yourself relevant to times. You may be formally or informally doing the role, however, the proof of the pudding is the results that you create.
Often leaders are asked to make themselves redundant to the current role to be able to transition to higher responsibilities…however, the need to be perfect can sometimes rob you, of prospective growth.
In Maslow’s hierarchy, we talk of self-transcendence that maximizes satisfaction -growth -the feeling of elevation…however the physiological and security levels are also a need, and when that gets threatened a leader can rarely do justice to the primary reason of being in the system. Many organizations struggle to strike the balance as they are in a race to create cheaper -better -faster!! The balance starts with securing leadership to be able to do justice to their primary role -SKILL TRANSFER!! This transfer is as good as heart transfer or cloning tacit expertise and needs to be dealt with, acumen and focus.
MASLOW’S NEW HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
In recent times a lot of focus is being given to empowering leaders to become better coaches -trainers and facilitators for business optimization. Inviting industry experts to constantly hone this attribute goes a long way to keep the leadership growth pastures hydrated.
Most often these sessions are done clinically, however, the best results are experienced when they are done as a lab workshop from time to time. A lab is an experimental space where leaders, can role play -ask questions and test out principles that are proven since time immemorial.
6 Fundamental methods to support our leaders become better facilitators of Skill transfer:
Orchestrate – When we work with the best of minds it is important to understand every person’s strengths and accentuate them. Like a conductor in the orchestra, the leader can lead with the baton to give wings to what the composer creates, and passionate musicians play with perfection. Every team member is an asset who the leader needs to further align for the organizational vision and symphony!
High Energy environment -Energy is a KEY component in facilitation. Whether in a workshop or lab setting or even a formal discussion -training setup, the energy decides how much is imbibed by the audience. Energy can also be induced through activities -role-plays and giving queues to the participants rather than controlling with your lung power.
Managing Dynamics -No matter the team or company size, team politics and groupthink ALWAYS creep up. Being able to set aside the grave-vine yet address it, is an art that needs to be dealt with tactically.
WIIFM -Keep the WIIFM (‘What’s in it for me’-crystal clear). In an age when our attention span is limited it is important to call out the return on investment of time. Engaging, interactive dialogue, group activities that involve moving about, brainstorming, and creating tangible outcomes.
Building a secured Relationship -Having a secured relationship rather than one of interaction is what gives true value to any skill transfer journey. The comfort of asking questions -bonding with your target audience gives you an advantage of a seamless skill transfer. In most traditional classrooms in schools, children are asked to keep quiet…which is counterproductive as the questions or doubts for effective Knowledge and skill transfer don’t take place. Andragogy has always been practiced by the best facilitators from ancient times.
Enforce Accountability -To see the best results of learning and facilitation, participants need to feel accountable for putting what they learned into practice. There could be follow-up sessions, discussions, weekly catchups to see the skill in action. Creating an accountability matrix and mechanism can help all stakeholders to view the results of the learning journey. This also translates into practice of the skill learned diligently.
What is your facilitation style? What is your biggest contribution as a leader? How comfortable are you in sharing all your techniques and expertise with others? Look forward to hearing from you.
To hone your Facilitation and Training Skills explore the following:
In a fast-paced dynamic world, we are constantly challenged and forced to course correct during our journey to our goals. Thus staying inspired to figure out the best methods become very critical. The rules of yesterday may not apply to our goals today, so staying inspired to innovate and explore our gifts can help… Inspiration is a motivated state that gives wings to our ideas. The new generation of research and neuroscientific study has revealed that inspiration is a construct of our creative endeavors and fuels us to usher in transformational solutions, thinking and products for the benefit of society.
Best of Art -Science or even products is an outcome of inspired focus. Self-motivation is possible only when our context around our inspiration and purpose share a common path.
Examples of some of the best minds – artists – scientist who were not recognised in their times but stayed inspired, help us emmulate the path of excellence even when the light doesn’t show in the tunnel!!! Van Gogh a post-impressionist painter was a ridiculed artist of his time and sold only one painting in his lifetime, is one of the renowned painters today.
”A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increases; it will never Pass into nothingness” (Endymion by John Keats)
John Keats was an English Romantic poet who was disregarded by critics during his lifetime. Keats died at age of 25 without much appreciation for his work. His poems reflect vivid imagery and sensuous connections. Today he is counted among the most esteemed poets of all times.
Galileo Galilei, a famous Italian astronomer lived in the 16th century however his ideologies were accepted only in the 19th century. Galileo Galilei was often criticized by those heavily involved in religion, who believed that the world was fixed and did not revolve around the sun.
Thus inspired work is not related to outcomes, it’s more to do with the inner joy in pursuing your gift or what you cherish, what gives meaning and purpose to your life. In a job, art, or research the meaning that you attach to your contribution is what decides how happy -satisfied you are in it. One of my dear friends is into foreign education counseling (Santosh Neelangetal –Merit Education) and is always supercharged, as he believes in helping people find their best professional choice and the education that can help them achieve that goal.
Ikigai is a Japanese concept that is a combination of our gift -contribution -innate skills which support others around us. ‘ ‘Iki’ in Japanese means ‘life,’ and ‘gai’ describes value or worth. Thus ikigai is the meaning you attribute to life. While this concept is the sweet spot for professional success, we also need our traditional scriptures’ guidance where Lord Krishna in Bhagwat Gita advises us …”Karmaṇyevādhikāraste Mā Phaleṣu kadācana ” Our duty is towards our action or karma and not for the results related to the same. If we focus on our inspired actions and duties rather than results, our life can be truly blissful…without complaints -pains and whining for some unknown!!!
What inspires you in life? How do you fuel your motivation? Do you need Results -Outcomes -Financials to prove your gift? Look forward to hearing more from you.
To find more about Science of Inspiration explore the following reads:
We all crave a 2 am support and lifeline!! Yet very often we detest being one. Recently I was listening to my son’s Amazon library songs, and came across lovely lyrics -” You get what you give…” by New Radicles. The new age gen Z song touched me…” Don’t let go you have the music in you”. This new generation has defined spirituality with their outlook and how they live it, rather than following rituals and protocols. Hours of prayers can be futile if we forget the fact that the divine resides in the hearts of people around us; the more we do justice to our ecosystem the more spiritual we are!!
The bottom line is if we wear our heart on our sleeve and plunge into a world of uncertainties, with a single-minded belief that doing good has a boomerang effect, life all of a sudden is simplified. The balance sheet of other’s deeds or sins, doesn’t bother us anymore; cause we know we only attract what we GIVE -DO -BELIEVE -FEEL!!!
Building a 2 am inner circle that we can rely on, starts with our actions. In fact, sometimes the good samaritans appear out of nowhere to be our saviors. I remember almost two decades back in Kolkata, me, my son who was about a year old, and my husband were returning from the airport after dropping a relative when we met with an accident and suddenly groups of people came forward to get us out of the car and got a cab for us.
It’s not only the network we build, it’s also our day-to-day actions -thoughts -feelings that eventually decide how the divine creates a shield of souls around us.
6 Action Steps to creating your 2 am lifeline:
Unconditional Love and Support – When we start by extending unconditional love and support to our inner circle, we have built a foundation to the lifeline which we may have to opt for at some time.
Stop engaging in Gossip -If we have feedback for someone we can always meet up or pick up the phone rather than creating a gossip chain. Gossip often can damage relationships and long-term understanding. Gossip also creates a negative charge in our life.
Ask for Support -Often we find it difficult to ask for support. This may be due to ego or even apprehending perception of others etc. However, reaching out to people is the best way to keep your network warm. This could be to ask or even extend support.
Celebrating Milestones of Others -We need to rise above the ”Neighbours envy Owner’s pride” concept and rejoice in the success of others if we want a strong 2 AM LIFELINE circle! What we appreciate in others we imbibe in our life and personality.
Revisit our Personality -” You attract what you are”. Thus being the person we want in our life is an easy way to build a network of the strong team-or inner circle of friends.
Opt for the Good of 50-50-Recently my daughter came up with a great theory, everything is 50-50!! School too was half good half bad! Interesting that we always focus on the half bad when we want to judge others and just the opposite when it comes to us!! Every lifeline starts with what you want to prioritize …When you cherish the good from the 50-50 principle you would never be let down. Rather than complaining look at the brighter side of 50-50 and you are a Winner!!
Who are your 2 AM Lifelines? How do you nurture them? What beliefs are helping you attract the best people and circumstances in your life? How often do you complain? Do share your perspectives on building the inner circle and the divine blessings.
“You can choose courage or you can choose comfort. You cannot have both.” -Brene Brown
One of the best ads of our times is ‘Dar ke age jit hee’! FEAR is often referred to by many as False evidence appearing REAL! In our life, we usually live with fear and within our comfort zone, rarely daring to step out. Trying something is always going out of our comfort zone, no matter how much we want to venture out, our ecosystem and well-wishers have few guidelines which are ingrained in our system which shows only one path in life. The routine mostly gives us a predictable outcome that we so much crave, the recognition of our herd furthers our need to keep proving ourselves every day. Yet there are so many experiences that we always wanted to plunge into which are put on the back burner for some later births if we get!!
The pandemic has taught us that nothing is permanent, and no matter what comfort zones we are in, it all can disappear in a second. We protect ourselves from all kinds of mental and physical pain, yet the unknown with its surprises doesn’t allow us time to brace ourselves.
However, it’s also true that sometimes the consequences of going beyond our fears to experience adventure can also cost us our otherwise peaceful life. Thus finding the balance between Adventure and Acceptability could be the icing on the cake!! Lessons from our adventure anecdotes and the acceptability of some of our comfort zones can go a long way to give us a thrilling experience of life. When we do a flashback of our life we shouldn’t have the regret that we wanted to try something, which our fears stop us from experiencing! Likewise, if the adventure has gone awry, what did we learn from the same, which has helped us upgrade our thinking.
We all need to grow, yet we all want to stay in the comfort zone of predictable outcomes -behaviors -feedback -accolades!! The irony of life is that growth starts with aspiration, moves with adventure, stagnates with acceptability, and accentuates with a new adventure! When we want to experience more in life, stepping out of our bubble is the obvious method. Soon enough the comfort zone can be translated into a risk zone, granting you all that you wanted to experience.
6 Baby steps to Challenging your Comfort –
Try a new route or recipe -We are so often scared to waste our time -investment and efforts that we stick to our same routes and recipes. Yet when we try something new, our neurons find new connections. This process further yields new opportunities -thinking and ways of life. The ability to explore the new around us can give you the first step towards the way out of your comfort zone into a new territory that was unknown to you.
Learning Something New -We attribute “learning” as a phase that only happens when we’re kids. That’s ridiculous. The learning process never ends, and there is always an opportunity to grow, no matter what age or situation. Research today says the best way to avoid Alzheimer’s is to engage in lifelong learning. Learning constantly stimulates the brain, more synapses may boost cognitive reserve, in turn delaying memory-related challenges and dementia. Learning is also an essential way of exploring beyond the comfort zone.
Networking with a new Tribe -Developing a new friend circle or acquaintances can also help you get ideas of adventure beyond your comfort. When we interact with people with new values -beliefs or thoughts we step into a new tribe, this also helps us broaden our horizons. Life is full of different and unique people, but when we get stuck in the same tribe, we tend to gravitate toward people that are similar to us. When this is the only interaction in our lives, it leads us to become close-minded and cuts us off from the reality
Dropping your Routine -Routine can limit our thought processes and creativity. Thus from time to time, we need to experiment with a new way of doing things. This could be starting with a new form of exercise like Pilates, high-intensity functional training, strength training, etc. Leaving your comfort zone may also help you get insights of what else do you like around you. Dropping Routine may help you find your other passions in life!
Let go of Your laurels -When we are too attached to our achievements we find it difficult to step into a new horizon. Thus letting go of past glories and dreaming on new peaks is another great way to try living beyond your comforts.
Travel into New Territories -Travelling to different places and exchanging thoughts with people from other cultures can be a great boost to living beyond our comfort zones. Opening your mind to other people’s cultural views and understanding what their ideologies are based on is the first step to gaining wisdom that applies all rather than territories you are used to.
To explore beyond your comfort zone, do check the following reads:
What are your experiences with Fear ? Do you like going beyond your comfort? How would like to keep exploring new territories beyond your comfort? Do share with us your techniques to live beyond your comfort zone.
SUPPORTING DIFFICULT PEOPLE COME OUT OF INNER STRUGGLE
Every person has some limitations and idiosyncrasies which surface at various points in time. These precious people could be in our personal or professional life, however dealing with them is an essential part of our life to keep enjoying the brighter sides of them. Very often understanding the situation and addressing accordingly is the way out, provided our wisdom is active at such situations.
These people could be our parents, children, team members, supervisors, peers, or clients … who we value in our life the most for mutual success and we’ll being in life. Yet prioritizing wisdom in times when they become difficult is a challenging space to be in. This close inner circle of people who you live with every day can sometimes force you up the wall, where you start losing your sanity. I am sure all of us feel this dichotomy in life, where people who make us feel at the top of the world can also make us feel down and out.
The best way to deal with these otherwise beautiful people who we want in life without their surprising mood swings…is to build our wisdom and strategize in advance. If you suddenly face a situation, it’s harder to deal with it. However, if you understand the pattern and create your action plan, then you are surely not going to get tormented by it.
Most of often you just happened to be in front of them at the wrong time. The reason for their mood or anger has barely anything to do with you. It is an internal frustration that is externalized by the inappropriate expression on people who are close to them. Empathizing with people during their challenging times, by awareness and appreciation can help you build the relationship better.
Generally the stimulus attracts an equally harsh reaction, which one needs to refrain from. It is tough to have an understanding reaction to an unreasonable action…however that is what helps us deal with people in their anger, sorrow, or breaking down moment. The reaction also becomes very intense when we are attached to the person -cause -situation.
Different people have different ways of expression, during unfavorable times, some take it out on others, some torment themselves, others just go within and isolate. However developing the capability of dealing with people and situations, can nurture the skill of being a great leader-coach-confidante – friend -parent -people practice expert.
6 Techniques of Dealing with Difficult People :
Extend Empathy -When someone starts attacking you for no reason, it is difficult to empathize. However, we need to work on this in advance, to be able to rise to the occasion when we are confronted with it. Thus empathy as a value irrespective of who is in front of you needs to be practiced as a skill before you wear it as your persona.
Compassion -Compassion to the person who is being difficult can help resolve the issue. Rarely do we understand what other people go through, even when we share the same roof… The difficult person may be going through a very tough ordeal or an inner conflict that we are not aware of. Thus compassion can be a way to start supporting the person to come out of it.
Give Space – Giving space and silence, for healing and calming down can be an effective way to delay the dialogue and support at more opportune times. This also gives the other person time to gain balance and peace, before any communication.
Staying Calm – Working with a difficult person on a project can be infuriating. When you receive an email or message from the person it leads to a brawl, which could have other repercussions. Thus the best way to deal is to stay calm till you can rationally deal with it.
Practice Self Control -Not Watching our reaction to difficult people can further spoil the situation. We must watch our words or need to give back when we feel like a scapegoat. It is easy to follow Newton’s Third Law !-(To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.) It comes naturally to us. Thus controlling our reaction is a wise way to operate to get the best outcome.
Manage Conflict -Establish boundaries and hold your ground to manage the conflict. We also need to respect ourselves during such times and not allow others to bully us. Sometimes giving in too much can also make this a regular practice…Thus manage conflict to voice your thoughts and build an understanding rather than giving in to the poor treatment.
To know more on how to deal with difficult people explore the following reads:
In a world where everyone is obsessed with their growth-prosperity -abundance, finding people who are genuinely supportive of your aspirations is difficult to find. If you want to be more successful, one of the most fundamental things to do is to build a board of advisors who are also your accountability partners. The function of this team or person is to hold us responsible for commitment to our goals, meeting deadlines, accomplishing goals, and making progress. They are a powerful combination of cheerleaders and coaches who make it easier to achieve our goals – and have more fun along the way. They may be hired or pro-bono in their commitments, however, our respect and adherence to their advice can go a long way…
It is a tough ride to find them from our immediate ecosystem or someone who we feel can add value to our goals and aspirations. When you enter into a relationship with the board advisors or partners, you agree to hold each other’s feet to the fire. Talking regularly is essential for maintaining momentum and making steady progress toward your respective goals. The partners could also be peers or teams who have similar goals and want to support each other. Holding each other responsible for the progress towards the goals. Scheduling weekly calls with the board to share the progress or challenges and inputs that could facilitate results, can build momentum to otherwise tough strides towards the Himalayan tasks.
The accountability partner needs to have some essential qualifying traits without which the purpose is defeated. Someone who is committed to your progress -growth, allocates air or face-time with you, tracks and course corrects and keeps you charged with feedback.
The selection can be time-consuming and cumbersome, but it’s worth all the effort if you are serious about your goals. Finding the right people through conversation and networking, can take you closer to your desires.The more diverse the group the better. For example, you can have people from various domains or industries or even seniority, to avoid unnecessary competition or conflicts. Ground rules can be set to stay focused on the goals and results that you want to experience.
6 Ways to get started in building a board of advisors for your personal growth are –
Create a List -List down names of people who you feel are truly interested in your growth or have the traits you seek in the partnership. This could also be based on the chemistry you share which energizes you to move towards your goals. A combination of cheerleading -coaching and commitment, can build a strong foundation to get started.
Discuss With The Target Audience – Once you have identified the people, have a candid conversation in terms of how you would like to get started. Creating a calendared discussion time to make it a committed journey, helps you gain confidence in the board.
Record and Track -Making the relationship too informal can backfire, thus tracking progress and recording in emails gives a sense of professionalism & seriousness to the growth strategy.
Transparency & Honesty -This is a relationship where you can honestly share your challenges without being judged. This board shouldn’t become an appraisal evaluation, the board needs to know in advance what barriers are holding you back …
Ideate Together -Thinking through challenges and building solutions together can bring effective progress.
Keeping the Board Motivated – By celebrating milestones and rewarding the board from time to time, you can also keep them motivated towards ongoing progress.
How often do you feel stuck in your growth journey? How do you get through challenges which seem to be featuring often? What is your way to clear roadblocks? Do have advisors how do they help you? Do share with us your growth journey. For support you can visit the link below:
MIND MAPPING LIKE A DETECTIVE TO UNVEIL YOUR TRUE DESTINY
Mind mapping is a great tool to gain clarity to your desires and design a perfect roadmap to your destination or goals. Apart from SMART Goal setting, a knack for creating mind-maps can support your journey to your desires. Sometimes the daunting task of where to start or take the next step becomes a block for us. Whether you are working on a project dealing with matrixed organization, facing writer’s block, competition, low NPS, etc, this tool can help you make great leaps.
Interestingly every innovator -creator sometimes has to become an investigator while designing their perfect product-service or solution! If you look at series like Mentalist -Castle or even Holmes they all thrive on clues…Mind mapping helps you put the board work around the clues and milestones that you want to create while moving ahead.
The use of mind mapping started with philosphers like Aristotle, Ramon Llull etc however Buzan brought the simplified tool that coul be leveraged by all.
People used mind maps informally throughout the 20th century, but it was Tony Buzan who coined the term and brought the concept into the mainstream. Tony’s mind map begins with a central image. To this, he adds branches to depict the basic ordering of ideas. He then adds a network of smaller branches (color-coded for clarity) to depict ideas related to each BOI. This is the purest form of a mind map, and it’s known as The Burzam Method.
TONY BUZAN MINDMAPS
Tony, was inspired by Da Vinci and Einstein among others. Mind mapping creates a visual display of information. It details the relationships between different components and can be drawn by hand or by using software programs. This tool can help you create your treasure map to all your desires and goals.
My first goal of creating a Youtube program started with an idea and a desire to support many, however, to make it happen mind mapping helped me. Mind mapping allowed me to “chunk down” every aspect of the core idea. From budgeting -the target audience -personas who can be part of it, to the audience support everything came alive!
Mind mapping can help you handle one chunk at a time. It starts with a core (center of action and purpose) vision or a goal that you would like to achieve, offshoots or branches are the areas that need to be addressed to reach the core. And finally, the spokes indicate the tasks that you need to do to deal with every area. The tool promotes creativity, boosts productivity, clarity of vision, areas to be dealt with, action items for immediate attention. Our minds can bombard us with infinite information that needs to be organized on the board before we take the leap of faith. The mind map structures and stores vast amounts of information shows relationships and gives you a 45,000-foot view of the goal-vision-purpose. Mind mapping works because it taps into all the knowledge, instincts, and insights that are stored in our gray matter. It helps us create our personalized GPS with the realities of the terrain.
6Cs for Simple Ways to use Mind Mapping for transitioning from chaos to order in all domains –
Core Focus- To get started with mind mapping you need to start with a core focus area of your life this could be personal -professional-purpose or project you want to fine-tune or have definitive desires that you want to accomplish.
Clarity Exercise -Investigating tools, role models, research for evidence of successful methods and solutions that can augment the journey to destiny or victory podium.
Chunking Areas of Action -Clarity exercise would chunk out the action areas for the goal to be accomplished in terms of people -process, etc.
Commitment -Explore the WHY! Define the reason for your need. ‘Why’ of our journey is what gives us greater commitment. A steady relationship with the core is rooted in our reason for the need.
Celebration of Milestones -Early endorsements and small milestones need to be celebrated for the team to keep going. Going back to the board to update the mind map to cherish the win is an important impetus to the journey.
Calculate Growth Gaps and Address -Along with progress the reported pitfalls also need to be analyzed and calculated to bridge gaps and further enhance the mind map if need be. Periodic introspection to understand the gaps helps to know that your Mind map is a live document and a redundant tool.
Do you ever get caught in ambiguity? How do you define your WHY? What are the tools that are helping you gain clarity on your goals? How simple is it to accomplish goals without research on what is your treasure hunt? Do share with us what tools you use to demystify YOUR DESIRED PATHS OF LIFE.
drsonaliduttabaanerjee 