From the Desk of Caspar
How self-aware are you?
This was a question I spent time debating with a journalist friend yesterday. It was in the context of finding the villain in the hero’s journey for anyone on a quest for a big bold goal.
The hero's journey was coined by Joseph Campbell and describes the stages that a person goes through on any quest such as the call to adventure, the mentor, the abyss, and the transformation among others.
The villain is the thing, person, or status quo that the hero has to do battle with and has to overcome in order to achieve their quest.
It struck me that from all the people I’ve studied, learned from, and worked with - and from my own experiences - is perhaps the single biggest chokehold and therefore a contender to be a generic villain for any audacious goal is the psychology of its leaders.
That to my mind roots itself in self-awareness and being prepared to go on the journey to uncover the truths about yourself so that you can lead yourself and your team on your quest.
I reflect that so many of the tools in the Be More Human framework point to exactly this. Being aware of where you focus your time - be that the past, present, or future, being aware of what your internal story is and where that internal compass is, right through to your habits.
As a friend once said to me, if you aren’t comfortable with introspection, perhaps you should take a long hard look in the mirror.
As always, my musings are as much for myself as they are for anyone else!
Tip: On your quest, on your drive for big bold goals, who is your villain, and could it possibly be self-awareness? How self-aware are you?
Real Life Teamwork
Who else dives straight into a project and prefers to pick up the instruction manual afterward?
It was my daughter's 10th birthday two weeks ago. The main present was a basketball hoop which arrived yesterday and required assembly.
I’m not a fan of detailed instructions. I know enough though to know how important they are. No one wants to get to the end of the project and find three bits of unused metal and a bag of screws.
If you know your weaknesses and can compensate for them, they’re no longer a weakness.
In my home team, my son Columbus is all over the detail. When sailing, he’d be figuring out the manuals for the electronic navigation. It was the same thing last night as we figured out the best way to put together the assembled kit.
You don’t need all the answers yourself when you’re part of a team.
World Class Teams
As many organisations grapple with the challenges of making buildings safe in terms of air quality for Covid and beyond, it's great to see the world-class team at Pathogen Reduction Systems Ltd leading the thinking (and rigorous scientific testing) and to be sharing insights for the Infection Prevention and Control Community at Knowlex. #pathogenreduction
PRS is a team I’ve been involved with since inception and it’s brilliant to see them moving forward and getting the recognition for the amazing work they are doing to make buildings safer.
Lucy Loves
I thoroughly enjoyed speaking to Lucy Gourlay on her show this week, talking about rubbish cooking, failure and what it means to be more human. Thanks Lucy for the invite.
Thought for the Day
How often do you tell others what they're really good at? A little motivation goes a long way. What would happen if you did it a bit more? #buildpeople #superpowers #bigboldgoals #bemorehuman
“Thank you for today - I’m thrilled with how it went.”