I recently joined Brillio and as part of the onboarding journey, we were taken through the company culture and values. One of the four values is an Entrepreneurial Spirit, to always challenge the status quo with a ‘can do’ attitude.
Smart people, by their very design and nature, will not automatically be “yes” men. They will question, analyze and reason with any requests that are made of them and, if they disagree with your position, they are going to tell you so and they will not do what you ask them to do if they know it is wrong or is going to bring harm to you in the long run. Professionals are not going to tell you what you WANT to hear…they are going to tell you what you NEED to hear.
Whether at work or in our personal lives, when we make up our minds, many of us are reluctant change it and we are more likely to stick with the decisions we made. However leaders like Jeff Bezos, Obama and Steve Jobs are famous for changing their minds frequently, often within days. Once in an interview Tim Cook said, “Steve would flip on something so fast that you would forget that he was the one taking the 180 degree polar opposite position the day before.”
Being open to the views of others, factoring in aspects you may have missed or not realised earlier are all signs of someone who is open minded and humble enough to admit he/she may be wrong. There is always a chance I may be wrong and it’s perfectly okay to admit it.
Only if we listen with an open heart and mind, only if we are open to constructive feedback and opinions will we be surrounded by people who will challenge the status quo and help us become better individuals.
Have you ever challenged the status quo? How did you approach it? What was the outcome? Would you do anything differently next time? Share your experiences, below.
Kenrick Vaz 