“You are your most important professional project”

Self-leadership is a new concept for many of us as we grow professionally. As we become more responsible, the world asks us to be at its service. Moreover, the concept of “leadership” is generally reserved for the service and conduct of others, not of ourselves. As Pablo Picasso said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to stay an artist growing up.” Similarly, it is essential for young professionals to develop a growth mindset (as opposed to a fixed mindset). The Self-Leadership (SL) program at Self-Leadership Lab and the University of Geneva is designed to foster growth, build self-confidence, sustainability, and initiative.

I obtained my Executive MBA at the University of Geneva in 2018, with a specialization in aviation management. At the time, I was following my curiosity to start a sustainable travel business and to enter the academic world. After my MBA, I started working on a voluntary basis as a Self-Leadership coach, then as a coach manager at the University of Geneva. This path allowed me to pursue my dream of doing a doctorate in business administration. So instead of developing businesses myself as an entrepreneur, I am now helping others to develop theirs.

At the time, although I was familiar with the Japanese concept of Ikigai, I didn't know how to incorporate questions like “What you love,” “What the world needs,” “What you're good at,” and “What you can get paid for.” The SL program offered me a structured approach to mapping and aligning my personal values and goals with the demands of my environment to achieve serendipity. In a way, you can say that after going through the reactive stage, then proactive, the whole world lined up to help me achieve my dreams, as Paulo Coelho would say.

The management literature on value innovation helps professionals resolve the trade-offs between value creation and cost reduction in order to place a business in a unique strategic position. Likewise, the SL program taught me how to accept paradoxes, how to work with compromises, and how to find synergies in my career. If you try to be everything to everyone, you may end up being nobody for anyone! Without such an experience of re-anchoring their career, many experienced managers may find themselves personally dissatisfied and professionally devalued.

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“You are your most important work project”

This is a phrase that I have often repeated to many managers during coaching sessions. Whether you're presenting to customers, developing budgets, managing workflow, managing workflow, joining a new team, overseeing a multinational... wherever you go, that's where you are, and you're there! The thing that can make every aspect of your daily work smoother and more fulfilling is learning more about yourself and how you interact with your environment. Imagine how much time you spent on an important project at work: Are you ready to give yourself and your life project that same amount of time and attention at least once?

We live in an age of artificial intelligence (AI) and in a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) world. If professionals and businesses don't stay curious and adaptable in a constantly changing world, they risk becoming obsolete, disappearing, and depending on paths laid out for someone else. Half-committed career choices will no longer be enough. But no matter how the world changes, if you have enough conviction behind your choices, your inner compass can stay on the safe side of your path.

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The final step of the SL program is to develop three well-thought-out scenarios for the future:

Generally a moderate, intermediate, and daring dream, or short, medium, and long-term plans. During the SL journey, you will gain daily practical advice to achieve these scenarios, such as: prioritizing tasks, managing stress, mobilizing resources, being assertive, networking, and positioning yourself in the right place at the right time.

By adopting the 4-step SL program, you will be able to gain greater self-awareness, improve your decision-making skills in situations of uncertainty, and strengthen your communication skills. You will learn to answer questions such as: how do you manage complex situations as opposed to complicated ones? What are the requirements of my environment? What are the needs and benefits of my managers (or customers) that I can satisfy? Are our efforts sustainable? ... etc. In general, the SL program should guide you through the steps to answer these questions and provide you with a structured approach to reduce the risks associated with change.

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Intrapreneurs and entrepreneurs now understand that their job is to learn.

And also to learn how their teams learn. Knowing how your employees are learning allows you to change the direction of your team as the world changes. Reaping the benefits of learning and experience in a department or business means better results at lower costs. And the growth of a business allows for career promotions, much like a rising tide that lifts all the boats in the port with it.

Ambitious companies and professionals share common desires for responsibility, diversity of thought, constructive feedback, the search for sustainable synergies, collaboration and innovation. The SL program's 360 degree survey facilitates the process of accepting the views of others. And it could be the most valuable exercise of your career, seeking different perspectives and discovering unknown strangers, opening up a world of possibilities.

We now know that having a bad manager is one of the main predictors of an employee's discomfort and the low level of innovation in a department or a company. Which makes me say that the only responsible thing a professional can do is to explore their dreams, be a good person, and live a fulfilling life!

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I leave you with one final thought about the growth mindset; I don't agree with the English proverb “Curiosity killed the cat.” Domestic cats became one of the most successful species on the planet because they were curious about humans, approached us, and allowed us to feed them, love them, house them, etc. So, “curiosity saved the cat! ”

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Ash Ganzoury

(www.ganzoury.com)

Sustainability, Entrepreneurship & Self-Leadership (SESL)

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Ash is pursuing a doctorate in Strategy and Entrepreneurship with a specialization in Psychology at the Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado Boulder. Before joining CU, he taught Self-Leadership at the University of Geneva and Strategic Leadership in the MBA programs at the University of Tampa, while conducting research on an entrepreneurial project through the University of South Florida's student innovation incubator and the I-Corps grants from the National Science Foundation. He holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master in Architecture, Engineering and Business Administration, and has over a decade of experience in various sectors around the world (United States, Canada, Australia, Australia, Europe, Europe, Middle East, and Africa). His research interests cover several aspects of Sustainable Entrepreneurship, International Business and Organizational Behaviour.

At the time of writing this article, in addition to his other activities mentioned here, the author was also a volunteer coach at the head of the Self-Leadership chapter at the University of Geneva.

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Feel free to comment below to share your views on this topic and to suggest new topics that you would like us to address through the lens of curiosity or self-leadership. So far, I've received requests to post about how organizational science lessons can support romantic relationships (!) , sustainability, habit building, and spirituality. Links to the other articles will be added here, and this article will be updated based on reader feedback.

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