The 2021 Year In Review Newsletter
A Year of Learning & Yearning
For me this year it’s been about learning as a strategy for myself, learning new skills, learning new behaviours, adapting to the unknown and learning to thrive as we emerge through the vortex of change.
There is also a deep Yearning within me to explore new avenues. The Yearning to connect when restricted to travel or meet others, and then when more free, really embracing the beauty of new and different things around me and the world.
It’s also been a year of trying for me and I love this quote by Tony Robbins:
LEARN
During this year, I’ve had to constantly remind myself that change is really the only constant – even when I thought a part of my life was a firm or a solid, I have been using these approaches to cope with change.
🧘♀️I have learned that a quiet mind is not a mind with no thoughts, rather, it is a decision you make to embrace every emotion and thought within you.
⛰I have also learned “separation from the analysis” is helpful. For example, I love to hike. When I get to the edge of the moor or foot of the mountain I don’t really think ahead. The reason I can do this is that I know where I want to go, how to get there, and the purpose of my hike beforehand. This way, I clear my mind of all analytical thinking—about the past and future—and I can get into the present more easily.
As many of you who have been reading my posts this year would know, learning a new physical activity, embarking on creative adventures, and impacting the world with purposeful missions sparked a flurry of superb advice and learnings
During the restrictions, how learning a new skill or having an extra focus on our hobbies can bring light and joy into our lives. This strikes me as even more important as this morning, as a family in lockdown 3, we discussed how we will bring some light and joy into our lives with extra focus on our hobbies.
In this article, it is revealed that hobbies can make workers substantially better at their jobs and by spending time with hobbies one can boost their workplace skills too.
Within an organisation, I can suggest that it’s important to learn to have an adaptive culture – especially during this vortex of change.
I have learned that culture has also been defined as a shared set of values (what we care about), beliefs (what we believe to be true), and norms of behaviour (how we do things). What I learned in this article is that the pandemic has accelerated three interlinked types of transformation affecting every industry: the adoption of digital technologies, the development of new business models, and the implementation of new ways of working. Of which it is shared that there are 7 elements of adaptive change.
Another learning from this year is boosting morale, especially during the lockdowns we have experienced on various occasions. From my life experience, combined with this amazing read – in this graphic, I highlight some top gems which you may find valuable.
🧠ENCOURAGE PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY
In all the teams I have worked in, across 4 continents, creating an environment of fairness, no favourites, encouraging outspoken views whilst deeply embracing inclusion & diversity builds trust. With individual & collective trust that you can be yourself, a fabric of psychological safety is woven that allows all to focus & excel on the mission.
🏫EMPHASISE LEARNING OVER WINNING
Team members, of all ages, need to feel they are learning daily in structured and unstructured activities. Providing skill-based programs, shadowing days, internships, assignments & sabbaticals creates loyalty & focus that propels success.
🙌IDENTIFY AND CELEBRATE LITTLE VICTORIES
Stop often to shout about the successes calling out rockstars, heralding the teamship, the wins, & the delights!
One thing that these recent years have taught me, is to adapt and take on a new perspective on whom I desire to be going forward in this new world and I do this by simply setting intentional goals.
If you wish to have a look, I have a 4 step approach that may help you develop your own special talents into skills the world will need.
1 – I listed all my accomplishments in every new and established area of my life in 2020 and laid them out like a huge jigsaw to look at the real-time picture of me!
2 – Then I focused on what I really loved doing, what new skills I have learnt and what the new year demanded I do differently than before?
3 – Onto the evocation of making them SMART – Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic (always a challenge for me as I veer off into the impossible!) and Time-Bound
4 – And then the “pièce de résistance” is a wow breakthrough goal that must spirit and catapult me to a new level!
Depending on your goals, note that the ability to acquire new skills and knowledge quickly and continually is crucial to success in a world of rapid change.
My top advice would be to identify what areas you need to address and then seek out the best courses and resources for you. And don’t forget to ask others around you for help, ideas and insights.
If you wish to be inspired on which skills you would like to learn, there is a great article that highlights the top skills that we need by 2025. If we develop the following skills we can harness this new-epoch-of-tech-momentum for good!
I was inspired by an article titled ‘Learning to Learn’, which shares that most leaders have grown familiar with the concept of self-awareness. They understand the need to solicit feedback and recognize how others see them. But when it comes to the need for learning, our assessments of ourselves—what we know and don’t know, skills we have and don’t have—can still be woefully inaccurate.”
Especially during this year, I am sure you may agree with me on this, but having emotional fitness and resilience is a skill that needs to be learned, in order for us to cope with this vortex of change.
I shared an interview where I gave you some amazing pointers:
1. It may surprise you but I think and worry a lot! I have increased my productivity by scheduling a dedicated “worry hour” in a ringfenced space early morning, my most buoyant time, to focus on what is on my mind and what I do about it!
2. Building resilience with my “self-esteem file” a place where I collect all the positive, kind, and meaningful inputs I receive so I can revisit when I am low! Strong self-confidence is a key ingredient to pushing through setbacks and failure.
3. Improve communication with emojis to convey emotional information quickly online and use it with your work team, family, friends, or partner. For example:
👯 I’ve got your back!
🌵 This is a prickly subject
👀 I see how hard you’re working
🙊 I don’t feel like talking yet
🧠 I’m stuck in my head
In the midst of managing our emotions, as shared in this article, we can learn how to become resilient – note that perception is key.
It is shared that resilient children tend to meet the world on their own terms.’ Though not especially gifted, these children used whatever skills they had effectively. Of which they believed their circumstances did not affect their achievements.”
From my experience, especially this year, it is vital to keep learning new skills – especially during this season of constant change and have as your secret weapon the ability to learn and adapt.
Yearn
Leaning onto the next segment of my newsletter, my big party this year reminded me how much I yearned to just enjoy, explore and have fun with family and friends.
And I tell you… this year I have yearned – so much and I am so so privileged to be able to lean into one of my deepest desires – travelling
I have been able this year to be able to live so close to nature, which allowed me to observe the daily power of, for example, the tides as they are moved by the magnetic gravitational pull from the moon.
Additionally to this, seeing the beautiful dramatic sunrises and sunsets reminded me of a saying from my Buddhist and Muslim friends who say “Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without”.
This love of travel transported me to the wonderful quote by the great Thomas Cook: “[Travel] provides food for the mind; it contributes to the strength and enjoyment of the intellect; it helps to pull men out of the mire and pollution of old corrupt customs; it promotes a feeling of universal brotherhood; it accelerates the march of peace, and virtue, and love; – it also contributes to the health of the body, by a relaxation from the toil and the invigoration of the physical powers.” —Thomas Cook (Cook’s Excursionist, June 1854)
A lot of us have Yearned to travel over the past couple of years, however, due to the restrictions – there have been some limitations, which may have altered your view of travel. I read an article where there is a forecast of a 20% reduction of corporate trips by 2023 and a new repertoire of skills and innovations needed for Travel planners, organisers and suppliers!
However, I am to be transparent with you. I am very hopeful about the future of travel. I was invited to an incredible event hosted by BTO, where the big focus was ‘Frictionless Travel’. Innovation led growth, digital progression and dramatic changes to real and virtual travel were explored.
My speech was centred on many of these elements with a feisty open Q&A session in everything from my recent travelling experience to Thomas cook of which you can watch the full video here.
Also, when you visit my website, please let me know your thoughts. I would love to have your inputs on what you would like to see on my website, and what sort of content you would like to see/read. Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below ⬇
As you can possibly tell by interacting with me and this video, I have always considered myself a glass half full, positive and can-do type of individual, distilling & simplifying troubling issues then exaggerating to myself the benefits and upside of any situation!
When I came across this lovely little sketch note my heart wanted to sing out loud as I shared it with you!
Because in addition to thinking in an optimistic way, looking for solutions, expecting good results, success, and focusing on making life happier, this graphic opens up new thoughts around the essence of acting with positivity! An investigator and broadcaster of beautiful things, digging deep in the mud to find joy.
My optimism also pervades within an organisation, as it is revealed that the next generation of leaders is focussed on purpose and being mission-aligned within their career choices.
The research shows that the underlying cause of this burnout isn’t individual, it is systemic, living in the culture and the workplace. Beyond their workplaces, organizations are also called upon to adapt their operations and strategies to tackle and report on the environmental, social and governance impact of their organizational policies.
After two years of uncertainty with only more uncertainty insight, demands greater agility, humanity, and clarity than ever before. Our community of Young forward-looking leaders highlight their approaches to work, suggesting certain practices to support more inclusive and sustainable work environments in the months and years ahead.
I have shared a great deal on impact and purpose this year and this is an important cross-generational conversation that is continuous I think! Especially during this vortex of change, it is no surprise that some of us still yearn to find alignment with our purpose.
However, in the process of finding your purpose it is important to remember you don’t just “find” your calling, you fight for it.
I have observed that as we yearn to be aligned with our purpose, it makes life easier when your personal brand is clearly defined. And my top tips to breathe life into your personal brand are:
Telling Your Story 📖
If your personal brand isn’t telling a story, you’ve already lost half of your potential audience. Allen Gannett, chief strategy officer at Skyword and author of The Creative Curve explains it best:” The most effective personal branding strategy these days is to build a true narrative, very clear on your areas of focus and their intersectionality.
Be Consistent & Authentic 🙌
Being consistent is very similar to having a clear focus—it’s much easier to get recognized for a couple of clearly defined topics if you consistently create content and brand voice around it. “Ensure that your personal brand promise stays authentic and consistent, both online and offline,” explains Fyiona Yong, director and millennial leadership coach (ICF ACC).
Be Ready to Fail – It Happens ✨
Failure is tough, and all of us generally want to avoid it – that’s human nature. However, to have a personal brand that rises above the rest, you need to have a failure. Walt Disney spoke of this often when he reminisced about his failed first attempts at creating an animation brand. “I think it’s important to have good hard failures now and again. I learned a lot out of that. Because it makes you kind of aware of what can happen to you. ”
I have always had a deep sense of curiosity and love to learn new stuff, which means that I am often at the “beginner stage”. In the middle of this year the lovely Graham and I started to learn to Dance Jive together to perform at my Big Party in December the Chuck Berry Hit “You Never Can Tell” and oh my what an experience.
Our Amazing Dance Teacher and Therapist Glenda Harper demonstrated such patience and skill to get us from two-left-feet syndrome and a pretty frustrated squabbling pair to a real performance that was at least broadly entertaining!
We learnt steps by rote, more patience, rhythm and a bit more respect for each other as we started to breathe life into the performance and have fun. The discipline, the exercise, give it a go – it’s uplifting!
Never underestimate the power you have to take your life in a new direction.” “Every moment is a fresh beginning.” “Life’s not about expecting, hoping and wishing, it’s about doing, being and becoming.” “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.”
Here’s to a breathtaking and delightful 2022 – thank you for your engagement all year and know that you all lift me daily. Believe in yourself and all that you are, make sure you have your own Personal Learning Strategy and it’s ok to Yearn to do and be more
Here’s to a Happy & Productive 2022