During my\u00a0travel to Delhi and \u00a0Gurgaon last week, I was grateful\u00a0to meet few friends and colleagues from the past, and learn about their personal experiences, which included\u00a0positive\u00a0and challenging ones. \u00a0One theme that stood out during past weeks\u00a0is the ‘richness and wisdom of life experiences’. \u00a0My personal experiences may also have led to the topic.<\/p>\n
That raised a question and thinking in my mind:<\/p>\n
“Who would you hire for a leadership role? ”\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Would you look for someone with a wide\u00a0range and depth of personal life experiences, especially tough ones (in addition to the ‘non-negotiable competencies’ for the role)? \u00a0If failure,\u00a0disappointment or grief have not been a part of those, then the character and resolve have not been tested or developed sufficiently. \u00a0It would also be worthwhile to search\u00a0for how one has\u00a0progressed through those experiences, managed, learned and evolved from\u00a0it.<\/p>\n Life experiences come in various forms\u00a0involving a range\u00a0of emotions, challenges and evolution. \u00a0Challenging life experiences are the ones that truly test and build one’s character. \u00a0They also hold the potential to break down a person’s resolve and few\u00a0may find it extremely hard to\u00a0recover. \u00a0Many find new ways of coping and managing, with partial or continued recovery.<\/p>\n Couple of key elements of life experiences are depth<\/strong> and variety. \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>When one goes through the deep emotions, feelings\u00a0and can emerge from there, there seems to be a stronger emergence with transformation. \u00a0In such cases, there seems to be a process of reflection through pain, adjustment, resolve, action and feeling of personal growth. \u00a0Some people choose to do very different work that involves\u00a0high personal meaning and less tangible rewards, while walking away from lucrative jobs.<\/p>\n Noticeable traits of individuals who have gone through tough life experiences and have evolved are a strong Resolve<\/strong> and Calmness<\/strong> in the face of hardship and adversity, Humility<\/strong> (which comes with the realization that not everything is in one’s\u00a0control, difficult things can happen to anyone), Respect <\/strong>(including empathy for other human beings), Openness <\/strong>(to exploring), strong Internal Value System<\/strong> and high\u00a0Spiritual Intelligence\/Quotient<\/strong> (strong belief system to help navigate through good and difficult\u00a0times). \u00a0Have you noticed\u00a0others?<\/p>\n