Lead From Within | Transitions Intl - Part 3
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Transitions Intl / Lead From Within
20 February 2014 In Character, Coaching, Integrity, Lead From Within, Leadership, Life, Personal & Professional Development By Lalita Raman

How Close Are You To Your Ideal Self?

Photo Credits : Lalita Raman We have our ideal self, the self we want out of life; the motivational core that focuses our hopes, aspirations, dreams, purpose, and calling. It is our source of positive affect that helps the drive for intentional change. This is the self we want to be. How many of us are close to our ideal self? We have our actual self or real self and there is our ought self. Our ought self is our understanding of what others want us to be and do. Actual self is who we are and what we do. The actual self over time, right from childhood, changes. What happens when our actual self doesn't match the ideal self? That is when the process of reflection and retrospection begins. New Year is a formal step to grow, develop and continue the path of learning and an improvement on our-self versus where we were.Yes, this should be a continuous process but I think New Year is a good time to take stock. A time to ask ourselves how close are we to our ideal self. No, this is not about New Year Resolutions. So how do we get there? 5 key questions to ask - For Full POST REFER

19 February 2014 In Change, Character, Habits, Lead From Within, Leadership, Life, Personal & Professional Development By Lalita Raman

The Essence Of A Simple Life

Photo Credits : Lalita Raman The sun shines brightly, the sky is blue, the wind blows gently on your face and November-March is the best time to have several dates with nature. I enjoy hiking and being up, close and personal with nature. I went on a hike on Sunday and it was up one of the shortest but steepest peaks in Hong Kong. The path was gravelly with the downhill more challenging than the uphill. With each of these hikes along a gravelly downhill path, I can't help but think about life and the challenging moments she throws at us. I tread the path downhill with care, caution yet overcoming the fear that I will go tumbling down. That is where focus, mindfulness and believing in myself helps a lot. How similar is this to life in the down and out moments? I have also observed that people whom I meet in these hikes are friendly, smiling, willing to help and seem more relaxed and filled with eagerness to reach the top of the hill and explore their own fitness or new routes or adventures. You'll most likely have an exactly opposite experience in the hum drum of the city if you were to

19 February 2014 In Character, Coaching, Communication, Emotions, Habits, Lead From Within, Leadership, Life, Personal & Professional Development By Lalita Raman

Live With Hope

Photo Credits : Lalita Raman Once there was a young warrior. Her teacher told her that she had to do battle with fear. She didn't want to do that. It seemed too aggressive; it was scary; it seemed unfriendly. But the teacher said she had to do it and gave her the instructions for the battle. The day arrived. The student warrior stood on one side, and fear stood on the other. The warrior was feeling very small, and fear was looking big and wrathful. They both had their weapons. The young warrior roused herself and went toward fear, prostrated three times, and asked, "May I have permission to go into battle with you?" Fear said,"Thank you for showing me so much respect that you ask permission." Then the young warrior said, "How can I defeat you?" Fear replied,"My weapons are that I talk fast, and I get very close to your face. Then you get completely unnerved, and you do whatever I say. If you don't do what I tell you, I have no power. You can listen to me, and you can have respect for me. You can even be convinced by me. But if you don't do what

18 February 2014 In Character, Comfort Zone, Habits, Lead From Within, Leadership, Life, Personal & Professional Development By Lalita Raman

Leadership and The Art of Taking On A Challenge

I go the gym daily and on Sunday I decided to try something different and attended a class called,  Bosu Blast. Trying anything new is challenging but this workout was more daunting than I had expected. As I was trying to balance myself, step in and out of the BOSU ball, I realized that I not only had to maintain my balance but control the right muscles to be able to maintain my stability, use my core, and be quick and coordinated with the music and the rest of the class. Phew, easier said than done. I was lost in the first five to seven minutes, especially on some of the moves and to top the discomfort, I lost my balance and twisted my ankle. At that moment, I decided to control my monkey mind and focus on what I wanted to achieve, learn which muscles I need to control to maintain my balance and yet be agile. Bottom line, I decided not to be spooked by a ball but believe in myself. The workout was for an hour and after adopting the attitude of dare, try, observe, learn, I thoroughly enjoyed the last 40 minutes. No, I was not close to being perfect but I

18 February 2014 In Change, Character, Coaching, Comfort Zone, Communication, Habits, Lead From Within, Leadership, Life, Personal & Professional Development By Lalita Raman

Leadership And The Art Of Communication

Last week on Wednesday, I was attending a meeting and one of the conversations was about organizing events where we could bring out the best in Women and show diversity of women by getting those who practice it to share their experiences. Along with this, some of us were of the view that we should combine this talk with some fun, food and frolic. While this conversation was going on, I suggested that maybe we should consider a theme party and before I could finish my statement, I heard a woman who was dominating the meeting till then, cut me off by laughing and saying “oh God, no, I hate fancy dress parties”. For a second or two I was upset but decided to smile. I smiled, because at that moment I had a flash of this particular extract from Pema Chodron’s quotes that I had read the day before. “It’s not life that causes suffering, says Buddhist teacher Pema Chödrön, it’s our story about life—our interpretation—that causes so much distress. When we practice interrupting the story we’re telling ourselves, and learn to ride the wave of emotions that inevitably come up in life, we can find a new freedom and flexibility in

17 February 2014 In Change, Character, Comfort Zone, Emotions, Integrity, Lead From Within, Leadership, Life, Organizational Leadership, Personal & Professional Development By Lalita Raman

Leadership and Bias

"She is quiet; she has probably nothing interesting to say", "Investment bankers are all extroverts and make a lot of money", "Oh you are Indian; you must have grown up in a caste system", "She is successful and has come up the ranks on the fast path. She must have achieved this because she is a flirt and has used her influence", "A leader is one who manages team and is part of senior management". What do these statements sound like to you? Asian/American, Male/Female, Extroverts/introverts, rich/poor, aggressive/meek is the common single story we hear or are categorized into. You are categorized, stereotyped and generalized and not seen for your uniqueness, for your passions, your interests. Nor do you see others. Bias creeps in our day-to-day life, and communication. This comes from our culture, our exposure or non-exposure, and our experiences. But the real question is do we get so taken in by others beliefs and by our limited experience that we fail to see the uniqueness of the person in front of us. Do we fail to see that one person or a group of people don't represent an entire country or gender? Can Bias be fixed? "I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the

19 November 2013 In Change, Coaching, Communication, Employee Engagement, Lead From Within, Leadership, Life, Organizational Leadership, Personal & Professional Development, Talent Management By Lalita Raman

The Strength Based Resonant Team Leader

A month back, I conducted a workshop on Tips and Tricks To Engage Employees. The focus of this workshop was employee engagement using a neuroscience perspective. While discussing the neuroscience aspects, one of the points I highlighted was the importance of leaders and managers recognizing the strengths of the people who work with them in their teams or organizations. Strength is the key binding factor in providing certainty, feeling that we have the power of choice in what we do and being recognized for our talents because we operate from our area of strength. It provides the endorphin to help our brain move towards an engaged and reward state. One of the participants had a view that in some industries only command and control works and there is no time, especially given the deadlines, for recognizing strengths or working on creating an environment of Certainty, Recognition, Choices or Connection. An interesting discussion ensued in the workshop once this comment was made. One of my coaching clients during one of her earlier sessions was sharing her challenges at her work place. She has been with her organization for eight years and she was describing how the head of the business was a very tough

18 November 2013 In Change, Character, Coaching, Comfort Zone, Communication, Conflict Leadership, Lead From Within, Leadership, Life, Organizational Leadership, Personal & Professional Development By Lalita Raman

Leadership In Troubled Times

The CEO of the Company was having his monthly meeting with his direct reports to discuss achievements, strengths, opportunities missed or well used and way forward. Jack, the CFO of the company had attended several of these meetings and felt the quality of these meetings had deteriorated. In the moments of silence, whenever he was an observer, he felt these meetings had become agreeable in nature and no brainstorming was encouraged. Just in the last meeting he had raised an objection to the way the revenues were being earned and the way the company was going about increasing its market share and how in the medium to long-term the company may not be able to hold its market share. He also had concerns on the franchise value which he thought he will bring it up later. Despite presenting solutions he was left with the feeling that by raising a different perspective, he was considered possibly a rebel. The room didn't celebrate his passion for the business nor appreciate his concern. "Don't trouble trouble till trouble troubles you because if you trouble trouble, trouble will trouble you". As a kid I used to play this tongue twister with my friends. Today in many organizations and

18 November 2013 In Character, Coaching, Communication, Lead From Within, Leadership, Personal & Professional Development By Lalita Raman

Eight Leadership Lessons From Dogs

I love and admire dogs. I don't miss a chance, whilst walking, running or hiking, to stop and say hello to the dog and if the owner looks friendly enough, have a word or two with the dog and pet the dog. I don't own a dog as yet. I have always wanted to own a dog but not owned one because I feel guilty that I'll not be able to spend time with my dog. So whilst I do want to own a dog, It has not happened yet. I love all animals but dogs have a special place in my heart. This post is based on my observations of dogs that I have met in various walks of my life. There is a lot each of us can learn from dogs. What do they teach us? For FULL POST CLICK LINK For Coaching, Facilitating and Speaking Connect. About Lalita Raman

17 November 2013 In Change, Character, Coaching, Comfort Zone, Communication, Conflict Leadership, Customer Service and Sales, Employee Engagement, Lead From Within, Leadership, Life, Organizational Leadership, Personal & Professional Development By Lalita Raman

The Power Of Reframing

Have you been in meetings where you interpret something that has been said by your boss very differently from what one of your colleagues may have interpreted? Have you had moments or days when you feel everything is going wrong, until you see someone else having a worse time which pales yours in comparison? Have you observed situations where two people could have faced the same situation, yet one considers it as a challenge to be overcome whereas the other person dwells on it, complains about it and their body language and facial expression conveys that they are having one a nerve wrecking experience? How many times have you for any small mistakes made, stated that "I have messed up" instead of "I made a mistake"? When I coach leaders, executives and professionals, I hear negative statements about who they are or what they are not good at or what they cannot do. The cues is not only verbal but also in their body language and facial expressions. When I listen to what is being said, the way it is being said and sense the cues, I ask of my clients to reframe the thought, the feeling, the fear in a positive way. Reframing is the art