B101 Perseverance

 Perseverance- "Our ability to give our best every moment despite knowing there would be difficulties and delay in achieving our goals.

In president Barack Obama's words from his latest book " A Promised land"
I realized that for all the power inherent in the seat I now occupied, there would always be a chasm between what I knew should be done to achieve a better world and what in a day, week, or year I found myself actually able to accomplish "

Clearly an epitome of perseverence , the book stands out in the presidents openness to lay bare his thoughts , his self doubts. Inspiring read on many counts

!

B99 But persist we must ..

 To truly create inclusive and diverse societies and organisations we need to consciously work on our ability as individuals and groups, to listen , appreciate and integrate diverse perspectives as well as worldviews. Including the ones divergent from ours .

In this process of creating and learning we are bound to experience an enviornment of conflict at multiple levels which can lead to ourselves sometimes questioning the wisdom and the price that we are paying for inclusion and diversity.

But persist we must....because that's that only way forward to overcome barriers that are both internal and external to us.

B97 Facilitators Be-Aware

 Here are a few things that I keep reminding myself every time i am engaged to align people towards common goals and resolve differences.

1. The process is not about me . Its about the group that i am enabling and the outcomes they are trying to achieve .

2. I have been engaged not because the people are individually incompetent , but to help them achieve some outcomes collectively.

3. Being aware of the multiple hats i wear as i design and steer the process ; The facilitator, advisor , the subject matter expert ( especially in areas when i have expertise )

4. Being sensitive to the spoken and the unspoken , including my own biases and feelings.

5. Every session/interraction is a new one. Do not be wedded to a pre-set process. As they say in cricket "Take a fresh guard "

Staying conscious of these enhances my probability of creating the desired impact and outcome. Might just enhance yours too !

B93 Viewing issues through your lenses

 People viewing issues through their lenses ( In this case labelling and seeing one a global monopoly trying to be the big daddy who does as he pleases, vs the other being seen as someone who is trying to challenge the giant and organise others against it) will make an already difficult and complex issue that much more challenging to resolve .

Hope they realise whats at stake and resolve it without any further escalation for the benefit of all the players ,
· Google which has been trying to do so much in India in the last 18-24 months
· The Indian tech ecosystem and its innovators
· And the millions of Indian tech customers and professionals

B89 The observer impacts the observed ..

 While philosophers have talked about it and physics has demonstrated it , i find it extremely important to keep this in mind when i work with individuals and groups in trying to address differences and conflicts or help them effect change.

For all our attempts at being objective, non judgemental and trying to stay detached , we become as much of "actors " as the other stakeholders even if we are engaged to purely facilitate .

Our needs , biases, lenses, feelings and emotional responses , even our mere presence ,significantly influences the person , the group , the process and the outcome .

Awareness and agility helps.