My Greatest Crucible

Write freely about your greatest crucible and describe it in the following ways:

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How did you feel at the time?

Back when I was at the University, I was a judge at an academic competition fair. The theme of the event was the development of an analytics tool for the assessment of human resource management. The project had two finalists, basing on merit and performance, we had to choose one project, but the first runners up was done by an individual who was disabled. In this case scenario, I was left with the decision of awarding the best project or give credits to the disabled participant who had done his best to come up with a successful project. I decided to go with merit, and I gave the award to the best project. I literally felt bad about the decision I made because I felt that the other participant had put in extra effort than any other disabled member had done.

What resources did you call upon?

I decided to base my decision on merit. I called upon the use of merit as a decisional factor as it would also be unfair to the individual with the best project to be discredited on the merit that the disabled participant had put in more effort.

How did you resolve the issues, if you have?

The decision was difficult to make, but I knew that I had made the right call. I convinced myself that I did what was right, and I was not biased at all. I knew deep inside myself that the first runners-up deserved an applause for the project as it was much more challenging for him but all in all the best project deserved an award.

How did it shape you and your views about the world?

I was able to realize that you cannot fulfill the expectation of everyone in the world. Since then I have always based my decisions on merit, merit has since then been my base of decision making.

All the decisions I have made in regards to employee performance, appraisals and any other form of awards should be merit based and there should never be any leeway for poor performance.

Describe any relationships, such as those with mentors that had a transformative effect on you and your leadership. What did you learn from that relationship and how did it shape who you are?

Once in my life, I felt I needed to have a mentor that would help me structure my leadership skills. So on one evening I wrote an email to Jack Welch, a top CEO in America. Luckily he replied to my email and went ahead to request that we meet up for a one on one chat. I met him, and we had a great conversation. It was the greatest time of my life.

Following up with the first visit, we went ahead to have Skype video call where I was able to consult with him on any matters that came across my mind that I felt were critical to my development of leadership skills. I was able to improve my leadership skills, the management of pressure from responsibilities, people management and communication skills.

Jack Welch taught me that it is important that a leader listens at all times. People need to be heard when they have something in mind, maintaining an open mind as a leader creates a platform where you are able to interact with everyone and even get new insights from your employees. To this day I have been able to use this skills and it has seen me growing into a better leader and a wise one for that matter.

Describe any other experiences that triggered significant leadership development.

On one occasion while in campus, we were subdivided into groups each group being given the task of reading through a book and writing a summary of each chapter. I saw everyone was indecisive on the paradigm we are going to use to achieve the task at hand. I stepped up and assigned each member several chapters to read on; I gave out a timeline of reading and summarizing and the final deadline for the submission of the deadlines.

All the group members abided by my choices and all timelines and deadlines were followed to the latter. The book review was successful, and we passed the assignment. From that moment onwards I have always believed in myself and my leadership abilities.

In looking back on these experiences, what did you learn from them?

I actually realized that in life tough decisions have to be made, one has to step up and call the shots else nothing can be done. I knew that I had the ability to make the tough calls and organize people to handle their responsibilities to the best of their abilities. I have learnt that I should always give my best to all the activities that I engage in.

In what ways have they helped you to grow?

All the skills I garnered in my earlier life in leadership such as communication skills, advocacy for the rights of all employees, sharing of responsibilities and the delegation of duties have impacted in my career as a leader. I have been able to gather all the experiences I have and I have managed to lead teams in different organizations handling different structures of activities.

How can you use these experiences to reframe your life story and to understand yourself and your life more fully? Are there ways in which these experiences are holding you back today?

The experiences that I went through during my younger days have significantly helped in shaping my current life. Through the tough decision-making situations and experiences at work, what I am today has been shaped by my earlier life.

My experiences in my early life have contributed positively to my leadership skills. None of my earlier life experiences are not holding me back in any way, as a matter of fact, they are motivating me towards the perfection of my leadership skills.

Transformation from I to We.

Are you on the heros journey? Do you ever see yourself as the hero of your own journey?

Life situations have a way of changing people, employment and being at a leadership position changes an individuals attitude from the I perception to the We perception. Over the years of leadership, I have led teams to successful project delivery and achievement of the set goals.

The Heros journey has been very fundamental to the progress of my career. I always motivate my employees to believe in their abilities because the end result is what defines us and it is what matters most. We make sacrifices and work round the clock to achieve our set goals and plans. I have for a while seen myself as the hero of my personal life journey; I have been fundamentally responsible for every action I take, and this has helped me forge out a track record that I am proud of.

Have you made the transformation from I to We? If so, what triggered this transformation for you?

Yes, I have been able to make the transformation from I to We. I was able to learn from the experiences at work that we all need to work together, and when I succeed in doing my job well, then my employees look good.

After the achievement of the set objectives of the development of a company software with the IT department. We did a presentation of the project to the board proposing for the adoption of the software as an in-house program. The board later reviewed our proposal and we were given the go ahead to have the software used in the company. We were congratulated as a team, and hence forth I learned that if I look good, my team looks good.