Day 7 - The Road to Galway
Waking up refreshed this morning in Derry was nice. After a fun night with the group eating Indian food and having Roop, Divya and Ranjit ordering for us, I got a decent night's sleep. They are such a pleasure to be with and it has been extraordinary watching them grow on this trip. It was a slow morning that allowed me to reflect on the experience thus far. A lot of ideas have been swirling but most of them have been introspective. The roughly four hour bus ride to Galway provided ample time to contemplate.
Jan started the ride with a survey of everyone's thoughts and takeaways from the class so far. Everyone had an original take and it was interesting to hear what stuck out to each individual person. Themes like building relationships, discomfort, resiliency and vulnerability circulated. I agreed with all of those sentiments and have touched on each in some way over the last week. My take was vulnerability. My life has been fraught with maintaining a strong and hard exterior, keeping weaknesses buried for fear of judgment. When I looked at the Walled City of Derry yesterday and the fear of differences that lead to it, I thought about the wall I put up around me. Fear of weaknesses. Fear of judgment. Fear of being vulnerable. Fear of loving without reciprocity. It's easier to disengage and guarantee a result instead of engaging and facing the unknown. I've been hammering away at my wall for the last couple of years and I've seen rays of light peering through the other side. On this trip, I've had the opportunity to put it into practice with complete strangers. Leadership is all about trust and your relationship with others. Trust in yourself and trust in others. Jan told us that you can't lead until you fix yourself first. Part of that is having self-awareness and expressing vulnerability so that others can trust you to accept their feedback. Being vulnerable and allowing others in on this journey has allowed me to establish trust and get honest feedback that will improve my interpersonal skills and leadership qualities. It's a great benefit when you can pilot these concepts through a course like this and receive unfettered and inconsequential results. This learning experience has been immeasurable and fun to boot.
For an introvert like me, the constant social interaction has caught up and I used the bus ride to have some solitude. It was helpful to recharge my batteries for the remainder of the trip. I miss my wife terribly and can't wait to see her in a few days. This is the first time in a long time I've traveled abroad without her and I know how much she would have loved to seen the Irish countryside. We are now in Galway and will be visiting the Cliffs of Moher tomorrow morning. Look for some breathtaking photos tomorrow.
Congratulations to Steven, my roommate the past few days and friend, for completing his MBA at the conclusion of this course!
Jan started the ride with a survey of everyone's thoughts and takeaways from the class so far. Everyone had an original take and it was interesting to hear what stuck out to each individual person. Themes like building relationships, discomfort, resiliency and vulnerability circulated. I agreed with all of those sentiments and have touched on each in some way over the last week. My take was vulnerability. My life has been fraught with maintaining a strong and hard exterior, keeping weaknesses buried for fear of judgment. When I looked at the Walled City of Derry yesterday and the fear of differences that lead to it, I thought about the wall I put up around me. Fear of weaknesses. Fear of judgment. Fear of being vulnerable. Fear of loving without reciprocity. It's easier to disengage and guarantee a result instead of engaging and facing the unknown. I've been hammering away at my wall for the last couple of years and I've seen rays of light peering through the other side. On this trip, I've had the opportunity to put it into practice with complete strangers. Leadership is all about trust and your relationship with others. Trust in yourself and trust in others. Jan told us that you can't lead until you fix yourself first. Part of that is having self-awareness and expressing vulnerability so that others can trust you to accept their feedback. Being vulnerable and allowing others in on this journey has allowed me to establish trust and get honest feedback that will improve my interpersonal skills and leadership qualities. It's a great benefit when you can pilot these concepts through a course like this and receive unfettered and inconsequential results. This learning experience has been immeasurable and fun to boot.
For an introvert like me, the constant social interaction has caught up and I used the bus ride to have some solitude. It was helpful to recharge my batteries for the remainder of the trip. I miss my wife terribly and can't wait to see her in a few days. This is the first time in a long time I've traveled abroad without her and I know how much she would have loved to seen the Irish countryside. We are now in Galway and will be visiting the Cliffs of Moher tomorrow morning. Look for some breathtaking photos tomorrow.
Congratulations to Steven, my roommate the past few days and friend, for completing his MBA at the conclusion of this course!
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