Reflections: a beginning to remember and the promise to deliver

If the journey ends here abruptly at this moment, how would you like to be remembered, if remembered at all?

This question comes to consciousness quite often and probably keeps a lot of us awake at night. The milestone of one-year completion in Grameen Danone could be the perfect occasion to shed some light regarding this topic and capture some key learnings for me to strive further.

Tipping point strategy- a well-known but relatively new term to me meaning the point at which a series of small changes or incidents becomes significant enough to cause a larger, more important change via focusing on the right set of people and critical processes to expedite changes. It has remained at the core of this journey since day 1.

Developing and enabling talent pipeline- this is also a strong personal drive in all the contexts I have ever worked. Upfront resource deployment in this builds sustainability of the business. In Bangladesh most of the young professionals are unaware of their true potentials and capabilities. Through robust guided self-discovery we can enable enormous untapped talents. So this will remain key initiative in this organization in the days to come. 

Objectively selfishness- another new term I have come across very recently but following the philosophy since the beginning. In simple words it’s about taking tough decisions at individual level for collective good. In many instances’ leaders step back from taking tough calls and this indecisiveness makes larger group of people suffer and creates imbalance. We have to have the ability to rise beyond individual biasness to cater the cause of the ecosystem.

Accountability by design- accountability can be expected only when the roles are well defined and clarified. The only other way around this is having a group of people driven by end to end thinking. This is extremely difficult feat to achieve. Hence, the best way is to visualize and regularly discuss accountability in detail levels.

Umbrella leadership style- absorbing external pressures and engaging team with positive energy to create synergy. Leader should absorb maximum heat for others to function properly.

Showing vulnerability- a leader neither needs to look strong in all junctions nor needs to have all the answers. It’s ok to show vulnerability and reach out for support. We don’t have to be lonely at the top, this journey has taught me this lesson. Creating an environment where people feels comfortable and appreciated does not require a hard shell for the leader to separate himself/herself from other teammates. Spread the dream to make it a shared vision for a group of driven people. 

Understanding global contexts in local reality: knowing global picture and universal context is amazing and it’s extremely crucial to understand local context to find the interlinks and connections.  

Simplicity- its enormously difficult to keep things simple and human tendency is to overcomplicate things based on personal bias. It’s pivotal to be conscious of that and regularly enforce simplicity and detail orientation.

Furthermore, guiding conflicts into synergy by appreciation and valuing individual differences creates the free-flowing environment where people with differences blossom to their true potentials in an inclusive way.

Above is the mix of reality and aspirations of my journey with Grameen Danone. A demanding yet rewarding year gives the glimpse of the path ahead. Together we are ready to face the challenges with joy in heart and determination to make a difference to provide essential micro-nutrients to Bangladeshi kids at a delightful and convenient way.

Disclaimer: this article reflects my personal views only.