New Year 2025 Focus

Here's wishing you and your loved ones a very happy and prosperous New Year 2025. 

Pic credits - Ryan Barretto Oct 2024

Merry Christmas 2024

 Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.

#christmas2024 #christmasgreetings #christmasgreetings2024 #happyholidays #seasonsgreetings #strengthsdecoder

Pic Credit - Ryan Barretto

Workshop Action - Behaviour Styles for Leaders

This is the next part of the Learning Journey for the two batches of Leaders, where Behaviour (Social) styles, The Tuckman Model, and Team management were covered.  We also worked on how to make performance discussions effective and discussed how to make our teams more effective and productive.  This organization is in the field of HR outsourcing.

This was the participants first experience of a workshop where a PPT was not used.  Participants felt more engaged and enthusiastically shared their perspectives during the discussions - thus enhancing their own learning.  This was made possible through some facilitative processes and lots of simple interactive discussion questions.

Here are some pics of the action from the workshop with the HODs:

Here are some pics of the action from the workshop with the direct reports:

The workshops ended with participants committing to ensure that they do their best to create environments where their teams are able to perform effectively and have effective performance discussions.

Do contact me on +919820155778 if you would like to have Leadership Development Workshops for your organization.

How I realized I made a positive impact with my workshop

pexels-joni-lorraine-10266233

This happened to me during a recent series of Leadership Development workshops with a client, and a participant informed me that another participant would reach 30 minutes late because it was their birthday, though the company policy permitted them to stay home and celebrate with family.  Let me also mention that all the participants held work experience of 15 years to 22 years.

In my workshops over the years, I have always had participants come to me at the end of the workshop thanking me for helping them get their insights or results. This workshop too was no exception. 

But I was quite blown away by this revelation, more so, because the participant also offered me chocolates during the break and mentioned that they attended the workshop today because of me.

This gives me much confidence as a trainer and facilitator, since it tells me my workshop design met their learning needs, and my delivery approach made them want to attend the next session, even though they had a choice to take the day off.

I am extremely grateful to my mentors, clients and participants and the International Association of Facilitators who have been with me on this journey and provided these opportunities for me to perform, learn and grow.

Action from Leadership Quotient - Emotional Intelligence Workshop

Here are some glimpses of Workshop on Leadership Quotient - Emotional Intelligence conducted for the leaders of a Mumbai-based large organization.

There were 2 days of two separate batches of leaders, and let me say that the enthusiasm and curiosity of the participants in both batches really made the learnings more powerful.

We covered how Emotional Intelligence affects the leader's ability to build relationships with their team members and their peers, in addition to naming emotions, and what goes on in the brain.  The participants also went through a facilitated process on how to create positive emotions at the workplace.

Do connect with me on +919820155778 for conducting leadership workshops for your organizaion.

Whose Orangutan are you?

Credit: pexels-tara-winstead-8849295

What a fascinating article I came across   Here are some lines that made me think a lot:

• The late Charlie Munger had a hack for making yourself instantly smarter: explain yourself to an orangutan.
• Thinking is social even when there’s nobody around, because good thinkers have internalised the voices of others.
• In lieu of actual person with whom you can “be really human” in person, just speaking your ideas aloud - or indeed writing them down - can help you work out the best version of those thoughts. 

Please click here to read the article.

Now that you've read the article:

• Do you have an orangutan to talk to? or more than one?
• Are you an orangutan to someone? How was the experience for you?

A Performer's Reflections on the TED Talk - "The Tipping Point I got wrong"

I just saw this video today, and was struck by the candidness of the speaker Malcolm Gladwell.  He talks about what he got wrong in his book, The Tipping Point. 

Here are some of my reflections (in no order of importance) on this video:

• "This is what happened" - The way the world works is not as certain as it is in one's mind.
• An outstanding and thought-provoking line - "This is what I believe happened now".
• The ability to admit to yourself that you are or were wrong is critical for your growth.
• The ability to admit that you are are or were wrong to a public audience where you are being recorded for the world to see, is priceless.
• The willingness to be held accountable for errors in your work, make you an outstanding colleague or leader.
• While it's easier to say than do completely, we should do our best 
• What would the world be like if all influencers, particularly those in positions of power, would willingly admit their errors and work towards rectifying them? Wishful thinking, I know.
• Journalists and writers need to be more accountable for the content they put out.
• What would make a person (at any level) more accountable?
• As a coach, how can we encourage such authenticity in our clients?

What thoughts come up for you as you watched the video? What would you like to add to this list.

I'd love to have your points of view.

If you as a leader or influencer, have been sparring with some of these thoughts and questions for a while, and want to have a Strengths-coach as your sounding board, click this link to set up a pro-bono 30 minute Zoom call at a convenient time.  

If the time slots don't work for you, please write to me personally on ryanbbarretto@hotmail.com and we will decide on a mutually convenient time slot.

Diwali Greetings 2024

 

Rethinking the Labor Market in the Wake of AI

Pic credit - pexels-tara-winstead-8849295

An excellent article on what happens to the #workforce when #ai is introduced in organizations.

From the article: "AI requires humans in the loop, so using workers with deep industry experience to a new purpose that complements AI would be the right thing to do, as opposed to getting rid of them and then later figuring out that while the tasks they used to do are obsolete, the #knowledge they have is very valuable and should have been deployed elsewhere."

Read the rest of the article here

The Reality of Carrot and Stick motivation

Both are temporary.

The carrot makes the employees adopt a kind of mercenary mindset. Nothing wrong except that it is too short termed for any sustained impact.

The stick makes the employees fearful, and kind of wreck the culture where you have more lip service than engaged and passionate effort.

The interesting part is that the employees first would feel the lack of energy to move, before any manager or leader.  The manager or leader sooner or later gets the feeling that things aren't moving as fast (a slightly vague term that doesn't always account for the environment factors) as they should, and so proposes more incentives.  

I recall a leader in one organization wanting to put sales people on PIP if they were at 70% of their monthly target. You can guess what those employees got motivated to do.

Surely the revenue an organization earns can be utilized in more effective areas than carrots and sticks?

Your thoughts on this?  What do you think are the best ways to improve performance?

 

My Facilitation Week 2024 Learnings

Every year when the International Association of Facilitators celebrates Facilitation Week, I (and other members) volunteer my services to do conduct 90 to 120 minute sessions pro-bono for Educational Institutes, NGOs, Government organizations and Corporates.  Some of the members also offer their learning in the form of short open sessions to the members and non-members.  

I am always grateful for this opportunity because it allows me to exercise my facilitation design muscles on topics that I may or may not have done before.  I've been participating in Facilitation Week or Facweek since 2018. 

Some of the topics I have covered in the past include, Team collaboration, Resilient Leadership, Focus Group Discussions, Consensus building, Conducting Effective Performance Development Discussions, Unboxing Microaggressions, Building Online Engagement, and others.

Here are the sessions that I conducted for Facilitation Week in this year 2024.

Smiling Participant faces and some comments from them on the session

While both sessions went well for the participants, there's always room for improvement and / or reiteration.

Overall there's a lot of learning for all of us, not just our participants.  As a facilitator, here are some points that get reinforced for me, frequently:

• Think and plan your session based on the inputs you take from the client. Probe for clarity and understanding instead of taking anything at face value.
• Keep backup processes and tools eg. Google Slides as backup.  Your participants may not be as comfortable with online tools (eg. Mural, Miro, Zoom, Teams, Kahoot, Padlet) as you might be.
• Be ready to flex your approach and session, keeping the desired outcome in mind.  This means being reading to shift a process or drop a topic to ensure that the outcome is achieved within the given time.  Don't be married to your session design.
• In the online space, a rehearsal with tech check is necessary, even if you or the client are comfortable with the platform.
• In the online space, be absolutely clear with the client about things the participants have to do or not do, whether it is keeping videos on or sharing a desktop / laptop.
• In the online space, time moves differently, mostly faster than you have anticipated.
• In line with the above, the deeper you frame the discussion question, the more time participants need to assess and discuss the question. This goes back to planning.
• As with technology, your participants may not be completely aware of technical terms related to the topic, so ensure that these are clarified as much as possible during your session.  This also eats into your allotted time so plan to communicate as simple as possible.  
• It's more important for participants to understand the topic than to marvel at your brilliance during the session.  Participants will definitely appreciate this aspect.

Gratitude to #IAFIndia for the opportunity to do these sessions and spread the #PowerOfFacilitation 

I'm also grateful to my co-facilitators, Monica and Varsha, for bearing with me and supporting me before, during and after the sessions.

#Facilitation #IAFIndia2024 #IafIndiaConference2024 #Sustainability #facilitationweek 

Thinking Out of the Box - Some Musings

Credit - Cottonbro studio

The phrase "Thinking Out of the Box" has been around for a while now.

It was taken to mean that you should try and think beyond what you already know, or think in a different way than usual, or as mentioned in the Collins Dictionary - "to think in a different, innovative, or original manner, esp with regard to business practices, products, systems, etc."  

There are two contenders (that I found) about who originated the concept. I've no idea which is accurately the creator.  

1) From Wikipedia - "According to The Creative Thinking Association of America, Mike Vance popularized the phrase "thinking out of the box". Moreover, it is claimed that the use of the nine-dot puzzle in consultancy circles stems from the corporate culture of the Walt Disney Company, where the puzzle was used in-house."

2) From the Blood Project - It is said to derive from a famous puzzle created by an early 20th century British mathematician Henry Ernest Dudeney. The puzzle asks one to connect nine dots on a three-by-three grid, using four straight lines without the pencil leaving the page.

We know that the analogy of the box is a reference to the boundaries (preferences, dislikes and biases) within which we think, plan and work with the world around us and those people in it.

However, the phrase has been so overused over the past decades in today's world that it sounds jaded and doesn't generate as much excitement (or results?) as it should.

Some years ago, I came across this line by Terry Pratchett who said “I'll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box when there's evidence of any thinking going on inside it."

This line brewed within me since then and I came up with a few more enquires around this phrase, such as-

1. Where exactly is the box? Where does it start and end i.e. how big is it?
2. Who owns the box? How much did they pay for the box? Is it for sale now?
3. How much of thinking is allowed inside the box?
4. What kind of thinking is going on inside the box?
5. Who's paying for all the thinking going on in the box?
6. How much thinking will be allowed outside the box?
7. How much time should be spent thinking out of the box, before you go back into the box?
8. What happens to business as usual if everyone is thinking out of the box?

Well, that's a lot of "boxed thinking".  Should we consider these and other questions like them when we are asked to "Think Out of the Box"? 

I've no answer to any of these questions, and if you do, please write them here.  If you want to add your questions to this list, please do and I'll give you credit.

You may find these questions strange, but just perhaps, they may help you think with more clarity and purpose.

On board the HRM Committee of Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry

I am extremely thrilled and honoured to be a member of the HRM Committee hosted by Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 

I'm thoroughly excited to work towards contributing innovative, cutting edge HR practices to enable organisations to enhance their success . Lots of learning opportunties on the way. Thanks to #BCCI

Are we taking Employee Wellbeing too far?

Photo Credit Ryan Barretto Mar 2024

Few people would deny the impact of well-being on the benefit of the organization. This approach tends to get pushed to the back burner for short-term gains (shareholder value?) over the long term growth and survival of the organization, especially when there are leaders or managers with a high need for controlling people and aggressive competitiveness. Hybrid or remote workplaces have only accelerated  these tensions, which then negatively impacts well-being, and the progress of the organization.  

With the above in mind, this article asks an extremely pertinent question, which is it's title.

From the article - "We need to reset the employer/employee relationship. We need to establish clear and fair principles for working in a remote or hybrid world. In a way which sets reasonable expectations for all parties and holds employers and employees to account."

I think the ability to leverage the employees's #strengths in their work will provide huge dividends to the organization and employees.

Your thoughts?

Read the rest of the article here.

Happy Independence Day 2024

 

Should there be limits to being authentic?

How much honesty is enough / needed? = how much authenticity is required for different relationships?

If we are told that being authentic is essential to building trust with others, then how much do we reveal of ourselves while being authentic in our relationships with them.

Here's an interesting Ted Talk on authenticity and leadership from psychopaths.

While the similarities to leadership are intriguing, the speaker raises critical points about how much authenticity is required for us in our relationships.  

5 Things That Separate the Best Workplace Cultures From The Rest

 

Photo Credit : pexels-rdne-8068763

I've heard this line "You have come from a culture? Well, so does bacteria!"

Culture is the make and break of an organization, no matter how brilliant it's people are.  After all culture is defined by the way people work together.  

Let's also not forget that anyone who leads a team at any level of the organization also defines the culture for that team.  This may not often align completely with the culture of the organization. Hence the possibility of conflict and messiness is very real.

Throughout my HR stint, I worked in various organizations in different industries, including a startup.  Each organization had a distinct culture that was driven by those at the top with the most influence on their peers. Some places made it easier for people to work together, others tied up the organization in red tape, and still others had leaders at different levels that made employees ask "who interviewed him / her and what did they see in them that made them select that candidate.

As you can probably tell, leadership and culture has fascinated me for a long time.

Here's a fascinating article that I came across on the things that separate best #workplace #culture from others.

Excerpt - "It's important to note that creating a positive workplace culture is an ongoing process that requires continuous effort and attention. That’s the only thing the best and worst cultures have in common."

Read the rest of the article here.

Photo Credit : pexels-minan1398-1313814

Pics from Stress Management Workshop

 Here are a few pics of a workshop on Stress Management that I conducted for my client in the BFSI space.

The participants from the middle and junior levels from different functions of the organization.  I am thankful for their whole-hearted participation in the exercises and for their insightful questions during the workshop, which made the entire experience wonderful both for them and for me.  

While they identified the causes of stress on their own, I shared with them a guided meditation exercise, and a journaling method  both of which they found very useful.

Participant Expectations

Reviewing the Causes of Stress

Journaling

While they built their action play, they also shared on the sticky wall, specific things they will put into practice.

Learnings that they will put into practice

A Leader worth Admiring

Who do you consider to be a leader worth admiring? By admire I mean that you are so impressed by them (vision, accomplishments, style, etc) that you celebrate them, become their fan and would like to adopt some of their behaviours into your life.  

So... Gandhi? Hitler? Churchill? Your neighbourhood businessman? A preacher / priest? A film actor? A family member? A friend?  Well, that's your choice.

Now, consider this Ted Talk by Martin Gutmann (the trigger for this short article) that tries to understand this by asking if, by actually celebrating the wrong leaders, we are thereby creating an aspiration to become what might actually be an ineffective leader? If so, what could be the repercussions (on self / team / organization / society) when we celebrate the only shiny (media / social media) side of leadership?

There's a lot of food for thought in this video.  For me, one of the most provoking ideas was about what are the measures by which we tend to judge leaders.  Or rather, which measures are most appropriate to evaluate leaders?  

This further reminded me of discussions I have had during my corporate days while hiring candidates at any level or promoting employees. Practically everyone at the discussion had a different criterion preference when evaluating the person, and it would frequently take us time to understand the other person's perspective when we didn't understand and disagreed with the evaluation.

Things moved forward only when we shared our perspective on the factors we looked at when evaluating the candidate.

And the two final thoughts that struck me from this video:

• Is there a leader authentic enough to be worth admiring, particularly when we look at the current behaviours of some of the world's politicians and business leaders?
• How do I leverage my strengths to become a leader authentic enough to be admired?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

My views on DEI

 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion - these words are creating a lot of noise, especially on social media.

Here are my basic views on DEI.

Pics from Conflict Management workshop

 Here are the pics from my recent workshop "Growth Through Conflict Management" for an organization in the BFSI sector.

Due to situational reasons, the start was delayed, so I had to adjust time for some of the activities. Some of the topics covered were the Thomas Kilmann model, Patrick Lencioni's Conflict Continuum and Conflict Circles models, how emotions impact conflict, and the Ladder of Inference. The topics were  partly facilitated and covered through self-reflection exercises, facilitator-led discussions, group discussions, and role plays.

The participants were enthusiastic and fully involved in the group discussions, asking me questions wherever they needed to, during the day.  Here's how it looked:

Expectations

Strategies for Managing conflict

Qualities of an Effective and Ineffective Listener

Participants summarized what they learnt during the day

Do get in touch with me on +919820155778 or ryanbbarretto@hotmail.com if your teams want to resolve some conflicts and collaborate effectively for success. Or any other topic you have in mind.