Are we what we believe we are?

It's been exactly a year since I came back from a 1-month Advanced Management Programme (AMP) at INSEAD.

When I came back I felt a changed person. Not a different person, but a better one. And, to be honest with you, I felt a better person (also) because I naively thought my divine gift for my 40th birthday was to have met there my better half. But looking back to this past year, even though the person proved to be a liar and a cheater, I still feel that participating in the AMP was a turning point in my life. Not for the reason I initially thought of, but for many others. Below are 10 lessons I've learned or reconfirmed:

1.      Work never ends, so we need to make sure we stop from time to time.

It's been exactly 10 years since I realized that work never ends and that if I want to avoid feeling unhappy in my job/life I would better regularly plan time to recharge my batteries. I now regularly plan some time away from the office after big projects/efforts. I was surprised to discover that many of my colleagues at AMP seemed to have a hard time saying no or allowing themselves to relax and recharge. I think we should never accept too many assignments in too many boards if they will end up overwhelming us. Too many leaders unfortunately neglect the importance of energy management and therefore are unable to last long because they don't know how to recover and regularly recharge their batteries.

2.      We are what we believe we are.

Our beliefs can truly determine the way we feel and the way we are. This year, for example, I was a political candidate in the local elections in Luxembourg city. I had the choice to either believe that:

a.      I might not be successful because I am not a native Luxembourger and so far only Luxembourgers were elected in the City Council or that

b.      the very fact that I'm not a native Luxembourger can be a huge added value because almost 70% of the inhabitants of the capital are non-Luxembourgers, which makes my story and profile the closest to most of our citizens': similar challenges and experiences of starting fresh in Luxembourg, making new friends, learning new languages...

I made the choice to believe the second and obtained a fantastic result: almost 5000 votes! In addition, I continue to receive messages of support from unknown people who identify themselves with me and encourage me by saying that they believe in me. I feel so blessed!  

3.      Enjoy the ride as much as getting to your destination!

We all know a story of a person who saved her money/ best outfit/ best bottle of wine or whiskey for a special occasion and never managed to enjoy it after all. I'm an entrepreneur and I truly enjoy creating new things. Since 2015, when I became Luxembourgish, I dedicate an important part of my time to creating learning resources for learning Luxembourgish (click here to see the list of the resources I've published). I'm always excited when the first products come from the printing house and we start delivering them to our distributors. But I am also super excited at all the other stages: working on a new concept, looking for the partners I need to make the project happen or deciding on the right marketing strategy. And this applies also to preparing a trip and going away: I take my time to enjoy as much as I can every step of it.

4.      Be part of an association, a political party, a team!

It's been more than 25 years since I started to be involved in different teams, associations, boards, commissions. We had an impact, we made good and less good decisions, we learned from each other. Often there was a lot of jealousy and fight for power and control of the decision-making process and I learnt that this exists in all corporations and it's called politics. However, no previous experience was richer compared to the fantastic time I experienced this year by being part of a 27-people team in the framework of my political commitment with CSV Luxembourg. I've spent most of my career as an entrepreneur and have set up different companies in different countries. I had to be though and compete with the very best. I didn’t know how I would feel and act in a team with other 26 incredibly competent, dynamic and committed people. It proved to be such a joyful learning experience even though we were competing for the same seats in the local Council! I found out that I am a great team player (as pointed out by some team members!) and enjoyed very much working with and for the team. Our success in the elections was surely thanks to this extraordinary team work and dynamic that I continue to cherish.    

5.      Do your work with passion or look for a new job.

I feel fortunate to be able to do what I love on a daily basis. I took many risks since I set up my own company, Languages.lu, in 2004, I dealt with many challenges, and the biggest of all remains the recruitment part. There are so many people complaining about their work. And I cannot stop to wonder why they don't look for something else that would make them happier?

6.      Believe in people

No matter how many disappointments we might encounter, we need to continue to believe in people and don't put everyone in the same basket. Each person is unique and the fact that some people abused our trust doesn't mean that everyone else will deceive us. I personally had some big disappointments in the last few years but still genuinely believe in the good in people. I trust that in the long term the bad things one throws at us would somehow get back to him/her.

7.      Never stop learning.

I've been 8 times at Insead (4 times for my International Directors Programme). My last executive course (the AMP) made me so much more aware about how biased we are in our judgements. We interact, live and work with people from different cultures, countries and social status. We make on a regular basis (too) many assumptions; we are over confident; we have specific impressions, misperceptions or expectations anchored by our family, friends, Board or work colleagues; we constantly look for confirmations of our own beliefs or we are so comfortable in our position that we are attracted like a magnet by the status quo. 

The more I learn, the more motivated I am. The world is changing and if we want to remain competitive, we have to keep learning. There is a lot of disruption in the business world; companies using disruptive business models. If we are not aware and stay in our field, we don’t see it coming. We don’t see the changes that are taking place in business. So, for me, learning is very important. It helps me think of new ideas and see things from different angles. We all need to reflect and learn from others. And when I don’t go to Insead ore another executive course, I continue to learn from those I am surrounded by. Interestingly enough, we seem to be a sum of the 5 people we mostly spend our time with. I invite you to look around you and check who you spend your time with, it might be an interesting analysis and even an eye opener for some.

8.      (Sometimes) Less is more. We all heard or said that less time but quality one is preferred to more time but less quality (i.e. watching constantly your phone screen). The point I want to make is different because it refers to talking in public. I remember at AMP last year I had 5 minutes to present my work ref gender equality. I prepared 2 slides and filled my time slot with a short list of the initiatives I've started in Luxembourg in this area. And even the short list was quite long. Since then I've learnt that it's better to choose just one point to catch the attention and make people curious about my expertise instead of quickly delivering a list that wouldn't make it justice anyway.

9.      Travel, travel, travel

I realized that I only visited 40% of Europe and 13% of the world as I tend to go back to the same countries I like. In this context, my objective for the next 10 years is to go to discover new countries and increase my number from 32 to 100. Who wants to come along?

10.  Time is the most valuable gift I could give/ receive to/ from my loved ones.

I particularly like to offer experiences and trips to my loved ones because these allow us to spend more time together. Having lunch/ dinner or just a cup of coffee with someone I appreciate has so much more value in my eyes than sending an expensive gift. So, if I invite you for coffee, lunch or dinner, know that I particularly like you.  

Daniela Lacramioara (Clara) Moraru is a serial entrepreneur who set up companies in Romania, UK and Luxembourg, and an INSEAD certified independent director with expertise in Marketing & Communication. She holds an MBA from John Welsh College of Business, Sacred Heart University, with a double concentration in Marketing, respectively International Business, a certificate in Global Management from INSEAD and a Master in Management from Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu.

Ms Moraru is CEO of Group Moraru sàrl which runs Languages.lu, a language training centre specialized in tailor made courses for companies and individuals, as well as in language camps for children and teenagers during all school holidays. Since 2015 she has conceived and published 6 different learning resources to learn Luxembourgish, the last being a mobile App for iOS entitled 365 Days Luxembourgish.

In 2013, Ms Moraru has been recognized as “Woman inspiring Europe” by the European Institute for Gender Equality of the European Commission for her contribution to promoting inspiring female role models.