63rd Independence Day

Today India celebrates the 63rd anniversary of Independence. This motivated me to pen an article on the freedom we should seek as individuals & professionals.

The word Freedom has many connotations, but I chose to focus only on the one’s relevant to the theme of “self development”. As individuals we should all seek;

Freedom from Prejudice
As professionals we all assume that we are un-prejudiced in our approach to situations & decisions, but if we look closely at our behavior we start noticing that prejudices creep in unconsciously. This is bound to happen as we tend to use generalizations in absence of known facts. These generalizations are fed to us during the time that we develop as individuals through our families, school, friends, society, college & the organizations we associate with. In most cases we continue to operate in narrow boundaries of our experiences & therefore do not find too much of dissonance between these generalizations and reality. The biggest impact is felt when we step out into a globalised world economy where we need to deal with people, situations & decisions which are completely different from what we have generally experienced. Interacting with people from different countries require us to develop the finer nuances of sensitivity & acceptance for which the starting point is mutual respect.

Freedom from Ignorance
Here ignorance does not refer to the lack of education, but the failure to keep oneself updated on what is happening in our own organization, industry, country or the world economy. Most people seem to assume that since they belong to all these entities, they would automatically be abreast with all developments. The only developments which people know are the one’s which they are a part or the one’s which are generally communicated. Data is not information & knowledge by itself. In fact the ability to sort through the mountains of data & have a perspective on what it means can be called information, while how to use it turns it into Knowledge. Most of us are content to let the flood of data wash over us & allow ourselves to be fed with one sided interpretations of some of this data. The ability to seek other balancing perspectives & to ‘connect the dots’ between different data points is also extremely important. Beyond all of this is the constant need to keep oneself abreast with the current & forecasted developments which have the power to change all existing paradigms. Ultimately it is only when we can see the waves of change, can we ensure that we surf them successfully.

Freedom from the Past
This is another aspect which all of us fall prey very easily. Just because the future is unknown, we choose to steer our path based on what has happened in the past. The best way to describe this is to drive a car with your eyes on the rear view mirror. I would not say that the past is irrelevant & does not provide us with any learning, but only that it is no indicator of the future. In today’s world the forces which are shaping the future are so dynamic that whatever we know today would change dramatically as we move into the future. The only way that we can ready for the future, is to have the right skill-sets & attitude so that we can embrace the changes which the future holds. There will be no place for complacency & ‘resting on past laurels’ as past performance is no indicator of the future

Freedom from Inflexibility
All the above points would have correctly indicated the need to also seek freedom from any semblance of inflexibility. The future only belongs to those who prove themselves adaptable to the changes in technologies, tools & processes. Only those who are willing to reinvent themselves when the need arises & then again and again, will survive in the tough test of future global competition. The faster we realize this, the better we will be equipped for future challenges. Choosing to be inflexible is like the ostrich burying it’s head in the sand. One can choose not to see the changes around us, but it does not mean that these relentless changes will stop or go away. Adaptability will prove to be the key skill for the current & future generation of leaders. The best way to build this skill-set is to challenge oneself with assignments, projects and roles which are completely out of the comfort zone. When faced with such uncomfortable situations, we are forced to bring to the forefront our innate ability to draw on all our competencies.

I am sure that there can be more such aspects of Freedom that we can strive for & I look forward to hearing from all of you on additions to the list.

Happy Independence Day.