I was invited as a Speaker for a session on Leadership by a leading global advisoryr company into risk advisory, insurance broking and solutions, that helps clients around the world turn risk into a path for growth.
Now, just to share a little context with you all here- this is a company who has been through a huge M&A exercise in India and their Teams across various divisions went through this massive Transiti on. And if you have been through one yourself- you know that it is no less than a Career Transition.
Doubts, insecurities, assumptions, fear of the uncertainiity are some of the inevitable factors that not just crosses each mind (except for the Top Stakeholders in the entire journey) but actually keeps them occupied. There are a lot of challenges and barriers Employees go through during an M&A, some of them being-
- Resistance to change
- Lack of communication
- Confusion and frustration
- Lack of confidence in management
- Fear of the unknown
- Lack of support
- Stress
However, If the process is managed well it goes a very long way, building a strong foundation, fostering the right culture for long term growth & success.
We all know that Employees are central to the success of any M&A.. And It so happens, that whenever any such event is happening people tend to get carried away and forget that they are the centre of their world too. If not planned & executed properly, people begin to trust whatever they hear through the grapevine and insecurities seep in. They begin to question their role, their future and even their job..
So when I was invited to conduct a session on Leadership- While most of the transition process was complete, there still was a sense of obscurity, fatigue, demotivation and lack of vision and belongingness.
Incase you are going through a similar time here is the question I want to ask you- How can you become a Powerful Leader? Some of the points I spoke about are as follows-
- Are you a Leader?
I started with this question and only few hands went up. Now, that’s how we think..Aren’t we all Leaders? Aren’t all of us leading this one thing called –LIFE? No, actually Our Life! How good or bad the Life is depends on the Leader of that life. This is the beginning of Powerful Leadership! How can you lead anyone else, if you don’t consider yourself a Leader first.
- What is Leadership not?
Leadership is not about the Position alone-as a lot of us may think. Leadership is not about Authority or one’s ablity to command by virtue of the seniority in age/experience/role and Leadership is surely not expecting people to follow.
- Framework for Powerful Leadership
In order to be a powerful Leader, one must understand the aspects involved to demonstrate Leadership and most imporantly lead by example.We discussed this Framework in detail that comes in handy especially at times when you it gets dark and low.
- Secrets of Inspiring Leaders
This was an incredible exercise where the secrets emerged from within the group and played an integral role to get the ball rolling leading to a healthy discussion and brainstorming. This is where all these Leaders began to see the common threads between them and how they are all looking for similar values.
- Stress- One big Barrier
Stress is another unavoidable part and parcel of our Life. Given the stressful work involved in the Insurance Sector and to add to all of it, during an important Career Transition like in this case- the Merger & Acquisition, it had reached at its peak. Using some phenomenal techqnies and exercises, everyone learnt to reduce the Stress and also acknowledged the price they pay because of not being able to fight it.
The session ended with a Bang- as you can see in the Pic.. 🙂
All the Stress seemed to have melted in the air recharging all the energy that came alive in all these beautiful people.. I have had a wonderful opportunity to coach this group of Leaders who are doing great work in their respective roles in their organization. While we all enjoyed all the learning, the cherry on the cake was when at the end of the session, I asked yet again- Are you a LEADER? And this time- all the hands in the room went up and with great vigor, energy and ownership.
Indeed Coaching helps people not just only through this critical phase of Transition, but also empowers them to turn around a situation that could derail you totally off course into an opportunity, which may catapult your career and relaunch stronger. Well, as the end I want to remind you what I remind myself- Nothing is permanent and this shall pass too! Don’t lose your mind no matter how insecure you feel at the moment, trust your journey and yourself and you will be taken care off! 🙂
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