Lessons from 2022

Getting to the final day of the year, I can’t help but reminisce about the year that has been. 2022 has been one of the best years for me in terms of personal learning and growth, yet one of the most challenging years for me in terms of losing that connection with myself. May be this is a ‘dear diary’ mash up of my thoughts, may be this helps someone, may be this brings a smile to someone’s face, may be this prompts someone to challenge my line of thinking. Here are my top 5 learnings of 2022, mostly from “trial and learn” experiments, observations, discussions and introspection.

1) Feeding soul-food to different parts of your identity- Any supply chain and procurement professional would tell you that 2022 has been one of the most volatile, uncertain and challenging external environments we have seen in a while. The thing with challenging environments and high performing teams is that, challenges just invigorate them to get into problem solving mode and finding creative solutions. Having an opportunity to make an impact and real difference navigating these turbulent times, our team got into the mode as well. It was well into October that I realised, I’ve been so busy catering to this one area of my life that I did not give due attention to the other parts of my identity. The traveller and photographer in me missed going on early morning hikes or overnight camping trips to the middle of nowhere, to catch some sunrises. The friend in me missed travelling together with my tribe and gulping down a cold one, on a warm beach, discussing life and politics back home in Kerala. Traveller, photographer, dancer, chef, procurement professional, business leader, mentor, mentee, friend, husband, son; I am all those people and for the most part of this year, I did not give enough attention to many of those roles. Finding that balance again meant a conscious effort to think through the different priorities and being a lot more intentional with the 24 hours I was given every day. This year has taught me that it is quite easy to put your life on auto pilot mode and let it cruise, but the joy of being intentional with your time, taking those vacations, planning those reunion trips, hiking that mountain at dawn, all of it is indeed necessary and does fill one’s soul. PS- The cover pic is a photo collage of my work from a road trip in New Zealand last month. The photographer in me was super happy I made that trip.

2) Creating a safe space- “I had some mental health challenges this year and talked about it to my manager. She was understanding and helped me navigate the tough time. I’m thankful for that.” This statement from one of our team members in a team call, was one of the happiest moments for me this year. We were discussing all the things we were thankful for this year. All through the past 2 years, as a team, we made a conscious effort to talk regularly in our team meetings, about mental health challenges, to share openly among the team and get guidance and support from each other and professional support where needed.?To see that together, we have been able to create a space for team members to openly talk about it in a team call and feel comfortable with the support received was quite heart-warming. It was one of those moments where you feel incredibly happy and proud to work for an organization like 味好美 that provides ample resources, support systems, and conversations about mental health to be able to make this a priority in our day to day working. When individuals are able to bring their whole selves to work, they are at their creative best and teams are able to achieve their peak potential. This year has taught me that it all starts with creating the right space and environment.

3) “I do not pass on extra pressure of targets to my teams” - I didn’t quite comprehend fully when one of the business leaders I admire, talked about what makes his team a high performing one. “I do not pass on extra pressure of targets to my teams. We focus as a team, on doing the right things, the right way, to the best of our abilities, every day.” I had so many unanswered questions with that statement. How do you handle all the external factors you cannot influence? How do you manage the tight deadlines? How do you manage the stretch deliverables? Without really passing on the pressure to the teams, how do you go beyond? Even when I reached out to this individual to learn more about what he meant, I wasn’t fully convinced. It was time for me to do a bit of “trial and learn” on the concept this year. At the end of a year of experimenting with this concept and making mistakes and learning through the process, I am beginning to appreciate the sheer power of the concept. My biggest learning from this year is, “Doing the right things, the right way, to the best of our abilities, everyday”, can be a really powerful way of approaching work on an individual as well as on a team basis. As generic and high level as it sounds, if it is executed together and executed well, it makes for an enjoyable experience of achieving something together.

4) Power of network and mentors- I’ve always thought to myself that I was not good at networking or making connections. Thanks to imposter syndrome at work, in full swing. More on that at a different time. I had some personal challenges this year and needed some guidance and support from mentors, coaches and my network this year. I was more than pleasantly surprised at how many people from my network offered to give me guidance and support at a time when I needed it the most. From lending a supportive ear, to giving me practical advice, giving me more connections to talk to, opening up opportunities and perspectives I had not even thought of and even hand-holding me through the challenges. I did not always have things to offer in return for the time and wisdom shared by these people. I am super grateful this year for all of you (you know who you are) for helping me navigate a personally challenging time. I had always overthought about reaching out to my mentors, asking myself if it was worth their time. My biggest personal challenge this year also taught me about, not only the power of that network but also to think about my network as genuine human connections and relationships to nurture.

5) Perspectives not answers- 2022 has been one of the best years for me in terms of personal learning and growth. I read up countless articles and actively consulted many individuals I admire, about a wide variety of topics ranging from mental health, being a leader, commodity markets, external supply chain challenges, supplier relationships, photography, marketing, pricing strategies, cultivating relationships, the list goes on. In the past I have taken many of these advice and run with them. My big aha moment this year was the amount of information with contradicting views that I came across. Depending on who I was speaking to, people would suggest 10 different ways to navigate the same situation and all of them had a point. I realized somewhere along the way that, as with formal education, the purpose of such advice or literature is not to give you answers. It is to open your mind to different perspectives, so that you can make a more informed and more thought out choice and way forward. In a constantly evolving world where management textbooks written just a couple of years back may no longer be relevant anymore, this was an eye opener for me. For instance, hybrid work models, Teams calls, video conferencing, all existed in different forms but never as a daily way of working life, prior to 2020. So much has changed in the past couple of years, that no one has all the answers. but everyone has a different perspective to offer and it does open one’s thinking just a little bit more, to look at the same thing from a different angle.?

That's a wrap for 2022. I can't wait to see what 2023 holds in store for all of us.

#learning #mccormick #yearendreflections #introspection #mentalhealth #leadership #thankyou #gratitude #lessons