Welcome to the Deep Dive. We're your shortcut
to strategic knowledge, taking complex sources
and pulling out the key insights you can use.
And today we're looking at personal and professional
transformation. Not just the ideas, but the real
practical principles used by a leader who made
it to the C -suite in tech. a really tough, fast
-moving field. Yeah, we want to get past the
usual buzzwords. We're really digging into the
specific things, sometimes the uncomfortable
things that actually lead to success. Like, what
really drives growth on purpose? How do you handle
massive risks? Right, and how do you build your
own sort of personal system for innovation? And
the sources, they really circle around this core
idea. If you're comfortable, you're probably
not growing. you're stagnating. So we're going
to explore this whole framework for, let's say,
sustained discomfort and how that way of thinking
really fuels innovation. OK, let's unpack this
because it sounds like the whole foundation,
the starting point for this leader success, it
comes down to something seemingly simple, but
something that takes real professional guts,
relentlessly asking why. It sounds basic, doesn't
it? Yes. Gut. The sources are clear. Asking why.
again and again, is, well, the most powerful
tool there is for real dialogue, for deeper insight.
It's the difference between just looking at data
and actually getting the why behind it, the cause,
the implications. Exactly. And this means, for
you listening, you need to think about what you're
doing with your seat at the table. It's not just
about being there. No. You have to actually use
that position, challenge the assumptions, ask
the questions, even if everyone else seems ready
to just move on. That takes courage, like you
said. A specific kind, yeah. The courage to dig
for what's real, even if it makes things awkward
or shows that maybe the established way isn't
the best way. So critical thinking isn't just
a nice -to -have skill. No, it's mandatory. It's
a requirement for actually moving forward strategically.
Okay, but let's get practical. The advice given
is call it out right then and there. if something
feels off, if you disagree, how do you actually
do that in a high stakes meeting without derailing
things or looking like you're just being difficult?
That's the tricky part, isn't it? It's not about
being aggressive. It's framed as being helpful.
Ah, OK. See, if you hold back a really fundamental
question, you're actually hurting the whole effort.
The idea is to phrase your why. Like, hey, if
we just clarify this assumption now, will the
whole project be stronger? Rather than just,
I don't get it. Exactly. It's about pushing the
collective thinking forward, not just showing
you have a question. That makes sense. So that
courage to ask why. It connects directly to the
next big theme, doesn't it? This whole idea of
growth needing discomfort and calculated risk.
Yes, absolutely. We heard this consistently from
the source material. The biggest lesson, personally
and professionally, the value in actually seeking
out discomfort. If you want to grow, you have
to step outside what you know, what's comfortable.
You have to push your limits. And this is where
the story gets really interesting. The source
talks about a huge risk they took. A life -changing
one. The move to the U .S. Right. With a spouse
and two four -year -old twin boys, just based
on the idea of finding new professional opportunities,
that decision apparently reshaped everything.
And that's not a small thing. That's a massive
gamble involving the whole family. But the crucial
word is calculated. It wasn't random. It was
based on seeing that staying put, staying in
the predictable zone, meant stagnation. This
is what defines a transformation person. Someone
who finds routine difficult. Yeah, the source
says, if my today look like yesterday and my
tomorrow will look like today, it becomes difficult.
They actively look for the change. And it's fascinating
how that huge real -life risk connects to a sort
of daily philosophy that Kobe Bryant analogy
comes up here. Always trying to ratchet it up
by an inch. Yeah. It's such a great metaphor
because it's not just sports, it applies everywhere.
What's that extra inch of challenge you can take
on this week? Maybe it's a project slightly outside
your expertise. Or leading that tough meeting,
challenging senior people perhaps. Growth happens
when you do things. When you try that extra inch,
see what happens, and you venture into that unknown
space. Okay, so if you embrace that transformation
mindset, constantly pushing, where does that
lead in today's business world? It seems to point
straight towards digital transformation. And
crucially, the role a tech leader needs to play.
And digital transformation, it's just a necessity
now. It's not some buzzword. Think about your
own life, booking flights, restaurants, paying
bills. It's all digital. Exactly. Consumers demand
it. So businesses have to adapt. They don't have
a choice. But this changes the game for tech
leaders, doesn't it? It's not just about implementing
the latest cool tool. No. Definitely not. The
focus has to shift completely. You need to look
at business processes end to end. How do we use
tech to get real, measurable business outcomes?
So tech people need to stop thinking like just
tech people. And start thinking like business
leaders? That's the toughest leap for many. You
have to truly understand how the company makes
money, how it creates value for customers, or...
how it runs efficiently inside. Right. And any
tech project must tie directly back to those
business goals. You can't just do innovation
for innovation's sake. That's just wasting time
and money. The focus always has to be on the
end user, solving their problems, adding value.
Always. I want to unpack some of that C -suite
language we came across. The source mentions
connecting the dots east -west and north -south.
What does that actually mean in practice? It's
about breaking down silos, you know, the walls
between departments. East -West could be linking,
say, sales and marketing insights directly with
your supply chain planning. North -South is more
about the vertical link, connecting the big picture
strategy from the executives all the way down
to what people are doing on the front lines.
So it's about seeing the whole system. Exactly.
If you only fix a tiny problem in one department,
like optimizing one marketing tool, that's just
a point solution. A real business leader thinks
systemically. They understand the whole value
chain and solve problems across it. And to understand
that whole value chain, you need a broad skill
set, right? Which brings us to the next key point.
Being really intentional, almost selfish about
your own development. Yes, this is really practical
advice. You have to manage your career with your
own agenda. Are you consciously building new
skills every year? Are you adding more value?
You can't just wait for someone else to plan
your growth. If you do, you'll probably fall
short. You need to drive it. And the sources
say building that kind of indispensable skill
set means getting experience across different
areas, different industries, different technologies.
But importantly, they point out, you can often
do that within one large company. By moving around.
Yeah, moving between functions. Maybe start in
a client -facing role, then move into finance
or HR or operations. Get that broad perspective.
There's a great example given, wasn't there,
about early career training? At Tata Steel. The
leader started as a metallurgical engineer, but
spent a year learning the entire business, from
raw materials to customer delivery, finance,
everything. That kind of experience is invaluable.
It teaches you that core business principles
are transferable. Once you understand how value
is created, really understand it, you could apply
that thinking anywhere. So you become the driver,
not the passenger in your career. You make the
news, you don't just report it. That's a good
way to put it. And recognition. The sources say
that's just a byproduct. If you focus on making
a real impact, driving real change and innovation,
the recognition tends to follow. But making that
impact sticking to your own agenda... That takes
some serious self -awareness and that's where
this idea of a personal board of directors comes
in. Yes, and this isn't just about having mentors
who pat you on the back. Right. Your personal
board should be people you genuinely aspire to
be like. People operating at the level you want
to reach. And the crucial difference. You have
to explicitly ask them for critical feedback.
Yeah. The tough stuff. Yeah. Not just encouragement.
That's the hard part. How do you set that up
so they actually give you the unvarnished truth?
You have to be direct. Go to them and say, look,
I need you to tell me what I'm missing. Where
are my blind spots? What political currents am
I not seeing? You're basically asking them to
be your toughest critic. Exactly. You need that
counterbalance, especially when you're taking
big swings aiming high. Because the sources say
you don't expect 100 % success when you're pushing
boundaries. Yeah. You shoot higher, except some
misses, but you need that network giving you
the objective reality check. OK, so let's bring
this all together. To sustain this kind of high
impact transformation, Two final things seem
essential, inclusion and resilience. Right. And
inclusion, again, is framed as a business necessity.
It's not just the right thing to do, although
it is. Inclusive teams simply perform better.
They get better results. The source used that
phrase, if you want to go far, go together. Simple
but powerful. And for leaders, especially those
from technical backgrounds, engineers, for example,
who are often solution focused, it means shifting.
Shifting from being the person with all the answers
to being the leader who asks the right questions.
To unlock the team's potential. Exactly. And
making sure those quieter voices, the ones that
might hold crucial insights, actually get heard.
You need to amplify them. And all this happens
against a backdrop of constant change, constant
disruption, which demands resilience. Huge amounts
of resilience. But resilience here isn't just
about toughing it out. It's defined more actively.
It's about moving fast. Yes, sometimes falling
down. But the key is getting back up fast. Recovering
quickly. That's the critical part. So when things
inevitably go wrong, when there's failure or
disruption, you need the systems and the culture
to learn from it immediately. Right. Learn fast,
make sure it doesn't happen again, and then get
back on track, driving to that next milestone
even faster than before. That cycle speed, failure,
learning, rapid recovery, that's what keeps high
impact change going over the long haul. Precisely.
It's the engine that sustains transformation.
So, what does this all mean for you listening?
It seems that the path to being a real catalyst
for change involves, well, intentional self -critique,
taking strategic risks, sometimes huge ones like
moving your family across the world, and leading
by asking brave questions, not just having answers.
And we've heard that recognition should ideally
just follow naturally from making a real impact.
But here's a final thought to chew on. What if
you were consistently making a difference, adding
real value, but that recognition just isn't coming?
Thinking about that personal board director's
concept, what specific part of that strategy
could you, or maybe should you, leverage to become
your own best advocate? How do you ensure your
significant impact is actually seen and valued
by the organization when it isn't happening automatically?
Something to think about. Harness that power
of transformation within yourself. Be courageous,
be critical, and never stop looking for that
extra inch of growth.