I intend on writing some stories about People that I worked with

I am amazed at the tenacity of Humanity's ability to endeavor more than anything. I am indebted to the
Engineers, leaders and the teams who worked with me over the last two decades. While as a leader, you
are responsible for their growth and evolution, you must also ensure that the team stays relevant to the
Industry in a dynamic VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous ) world that we live in today.

Here is my view on how people can build confidence in their leader to ensure the relationship evolves.

According to John Maxwell, people generally follow the leader because:

1. They have to
2. They like you
3. You deliver
4. You help them grow
5. Of who you are and what you represent

However, I have witnessed the evolution down the list in my last two decades. When they see a larger
than life purpose, people rally around you, respect you and follow you as their Icon or Idol.

I believe that human evolution essentially depends on how we explore our limits, instead of letting past
experiences define us. I've always challenged that status quo mindset with everyone that I've interacted
with- to inspire people to go beyond what they think they're capable of. What always amazes me is their
ability to react, respond and stand up to explore their new unknown blind spots. More than any thing,
they felt that I only made them better.

To quote few examples, some of my colleagues shared these experiences that they've found inspiring.

I once challenged a colleague during my review one morning. I told that I wanted him to share his
personal insights on Industry 4.0 and how he intends to apply this in his customer environment, and
present his thoughts in an organised format before midnight. He frantically made dozen calls to a few
experts so that he could understand the concepts better and create cases relevant for the customer
environment. He sent something by around 11:50 PM. However, the story doesn’t end there. Today he
is ready to take a lecture on Industry 4.0, based on my trigger that day, and he is very confident that he
learnt more in that short span of time than he has in his past 15+ years of experience.

I found a similar story with another colleague in Bangalore. I gave him 24 hours to learn Artificial
intelligence (AI/ML) related concepts for the semiconductor industry and present specific use cases for a
customer environment. He is now so confident in the field that he started going deeper into AI/ML after
this episode and starting to pursue his career in this new domain.

A young engineer once asked me how she could build a career in new areas like Digital technologies. I
tasked her with reading up on block chain and sharing her insights into the same When she didn’t come
back for a few weeks. I followed up as a leader who was curious to know what is going on. She
responded saying that she couldn’t really understand the block chain at all and needed some more time.
After a couple of weeks, she came back with basic concepts. However, I didn’t leave the discussion
there. I asked her to come back with few use cases for A&D since she worked in Aerospace domain for
two years. Interestingly, she came back with 3-4 use cases for A&D including Kit management. To cut the
story short, she went on to do a pilot on this for a customer. Then I told her that if she continues to do
few more, she can become a block chain expert over the next 3-5 years. When I didn’t hear from her for
a few months, I sent her an email on the next steps she could pursue but she came back with a surprise!
She had moved into a Block chain CoE group at the company and was leading the presales for block
chain group. This transformation from a novice to an expert leader happened over a course of just 12
months! The human potential when we put our minds to things is limitless.

To summarise,

● Explore limits by constantly evolving (Learning & changing) to the needs of the Industry.
● Ensure that everyone of us stay relevant to the Industry and your teams are relevant to the
Industry as well.
● Find rebels and fund them. Don’t expect everyone in your team to be the same as you. Always
look for people with new lateral ideas and include themin your team and support them to try
those ideas.
● As leaders, teach your employees to take risks, but help them through the journey. Risk taking is
a key skill where people attempt ONLY when they see their leaders willing to support them even
if they fail.

I am gifted to work with such amazing people who are willing to take on new challenges , explore deep
inside themselves and set new benchmark every year! I am sure you will have more stories to share ..Pls
go ahead and share your inspiring stories as well..