hey everyone welcome back I am SunDeep Mehra
your host and a lot more and this is SunDeep
talks a leadership awakening podcast you know
what happened to me last week I walked into a
government office doesn't matter which one okay
and I just stood there for a moment Not because
I was lost or confused. I stood there because
I felt nothing. Literally nothing. Think about
that for a second. You walk into a place that's
supposed to serve you, that your taxes pay for,
that exists because of people like you and me,
and you feel nothing. not anger, not frustration,
just emptiness. I've been thinking about this
feeling a lot lately. Because I think it's everywhere
now. We have all felt it. Somewhere, somehow.
You know when you call a helpline and you can
tell the person on the other side, it's just
reading from my script I would say. or when you
submit a form and it disappears into some black
hole for months or when you ask a simple question
and get bounced between five different departments
that feeling you get that's what I'm talking
about something died somewhere along the way
and I don't think we are talking about it enough
look I have spent years studying leadership,
embodying leadership, not performing, experiencing
leadership, understanding leadership, and creating
my own leadership model framework and a philosophy
and everything around it. I mean my whole journey
is about leadership. I've worked with organizations,
I mean watching how system works and don't work.
I have created my own organization and here's
what I have realized most of our public systems
okay from public system I mean I'm not going
to the private systems because they have their
own challenges and own situation that we will
discuss in our other episodes but here I'm specifically
coming to the public system that are mean to
do certain tasks certain obligations they have
and having them means way much bigger thing than
a private system in many ways at a ground level
I would say so most of our public systems have
lost something fundamental they have lost their
soul so does the private in many more ways yes
again I am saying we are coming to public system
okay right now we are covering that part and
I know that sound dramatic but Just hear me out,
okay? Remember when you were a kid and you thought
about government workers, public servants, people
in those roles? There was something noble about
it, right? Like these were the people taking
care of everyone else. My grandmother used to
talk about the local government office like it
was... run by family friends. She would go there.
They would know her name. They would actually
help her solve problems. What happened to that?
I was talking to someone recently. Can't say
who because of privacy and position. But they
work inside one of these systems. And they told
me something that broke my heart. They said,
Sandeep, I came here to make a difference. I
really did. But after two years, I realized this
system doesn't want me to make a difference.
It wants me to follow the process. Follow the
process. Not help people. Not solve problems.
Real problems. Follow the process. Just follow
the process. That's when I realized we are not
dealing with bad people or something that we
think sometimes goes around the systems. Rather,
we are dealing with systems that have forgotten
why they exist. Let me ask you something. When
was the last time you dealt with any government
service and felt like they were genuinely happy
to see you? Not pretend happy. I'm okay. There's
a huge difference and we know that Not fake professional
courtesy Actually happy that you showed up because
now they could help you with I mean something
at least something a real gesture of happiness
a feeling of euphoria inside them because they
have seen you and you are coming and they are
very hopeful about that they are very positive
about that and very glad about that i'm guessing
it's been a while and here's the crazy part it
doesn't have to be this way i have seen what
happens when a system remembers its purpose I
have seen government offices where people smile
because they mean it. Where problems get solved
instead of shuffled around. Where innovation
happens instead of just maintenance. And it's
not magic at all. It's not some impossible dream.
It's what happens when people inside these systems
wake up. But first, let me talk about what we
are really dealing with here. You know how sometimes
you are in a conversation with someone but you
can tell they are not really listening. They
are just waiting for their turn to talk. Or worse,
they are just going through the motions. That's
what most of our institutions feel like now.
They are going through the motions. And when
institutions go through the motions, something
happens to the people who depend on them. We
start going through the motions too. We lower
our expectations. We accept delays. We normalize
dysfunction. We start thinking, well, that's
just how the government works. But that's not
how the government is supposed to work. That's
how a broken government works. Here's what I
have noticed. Most of the time. And tell me if
this resonates with you. When you have to deal
with these systems now, you prepare for a battle.
Isn't it? Am I right? You gather all your documents.
You clear your whole day. You mentally prepare
for frustration. You shouldn't have to do that.
These systems were built to make your life easier
not harder. So what went wrong? I think what
happened is we forget that systems are just people
and People forget why they were here Somewhere
along the way the job become I mean, I mean the
job became about protecting the process instead
of serving the person The rules became more important
than the results. The hierarchy became more important
than the help itself. And slowly, very slowly,
the soul got squeezed out. But here's what gives
me hope. I would say a lot of hope. I have seen
what happens when even one person in a system
decides to wake up and lead a vacant day. When
they remember that their job isn't just to process
forms or follow procedures, their job is to help
human beings. Everything changes from that. I
mean from that moment everything changes. The
energy changes, the conversation changes, the
outcomes change and it spreads. Let me tell you
what awakened governance actually looks like
okay and and listen it carefully it's very amazing
you walk into an office and before you even speak
someone makes eye contact with you real eye contact
i'm talking about like they are seeing you as
a person not just the next number in line they
don't immediately ask for your paperwork They
ask, how can I help you today? And here's the
key. They actually want to know the answer, not
just a formality. When you explain your situation,
they listen. They ask follow up questions. They
think about solutions, not just which form you
need to fill out. If they can't help you directly,
They don't just send you to another department.
They walk you there. Or they make a call to make
sure you get to the right person. They treat
you and your time like it matters a lot. Your
problem like it's worth solving. You're worth
their attention. And this isn't fantasy. I mean
I have experienced this and I'm sure many of
you do I have seen this and Every time it happens
something inside me lights up Because I remember
oh, yes, this is how it's supposed to work Now
if you work in one of these systems if you are
listening to this and thinking but SunDeep You
don't understand how complicated it is. How many
rules there are. How much bureaucracy. I mean
how much of this I have to deal with. You don't
understand. I get it. I really do. But here's
what I want you to consider. You have more power
than you think. You can't change the whole system
overnight. That's true. But you can change how
you show up in it. Within a second you can do
that. You can choose to see the person in front
of you as a human being with a real problem,
not just a case file. You can choose to explain
things clearly instead of using jargon. You can
choose to take an extra minute to make sure someone
understands what's happening. You can choose
to care. Always. And if you are someone who has
to deal with these systems, which is all of us,
in many ways, okay? Here's what I want you to
remember. Yes, please. Don't let broken systems
break your faith in what's possible. Never. Behind
every dysfunction is a person, is always a person.
who's forgetting their purpose and people can
remember they can always remember and behind
every frustrating process is someone who originally
designed it to help even if it's not helping
anymore and processes can change behind every
cold interaction is a human being who probably
came to that job wanting to make a difference.
And that desire is still there, buried under
layers of routines and rules. The awakened leadership
model that I talk about, it's not just for governments,
nations, political parties, systems, organizations,
CEOs, people, big titles only. No, it's not about
only about them. Yes, I do it with them, but
it's not only about them it's for the individual
because everything starts with an individual
even if you see as a system consider one system
doing that that too is an individual unit so
it's always about individual a individual nation
individual government individual system individual
organization person with inside that system an
individual inside in any position so it's always
about one first and It's and it's for anyone
who touches another person's life through their
work It starts with remembering why you are there
It continues with choosing presence over process
and It grows when you treat every interaction
interaction. I would say Like it matters really
matters. I'm talking about Because it does matter
my dear friends it does matter look I know this
might sound idealistic okay I know some of you
are thinking come on Sandeep the system is too
broken too big too entrenched but but that's
exactly the thinking that keeps it broken you
keep thinking that it's not possible Every system
is just a collection of individual choices. And
those choices happen person by person, moment
by moment, interaction by interaction. When enough
people choose differently, the system becomes
different. Okay, I want to leave you with something
to think about, okay? What if the next time...
You are in a position to help someone, whether
that's at work, in your community, in any system,
anywhere or just in daily life. You ask yourself,
how can I bring a little more soul to this moment?
Yes. What if you choose to see the person in
front of you? I mean, really see them. What if
you choose to listen like their problem actually
matters to you? What if you choose to help in
whatever small way you can? That's how system
changes. That's how every system can do wonders.
That's how governance find its soul again. One
awakened person at a time. One conscious choice
at a time. one human interaction at a time I
hope I have shared what I was looking for and
it has reached you in a most meaningful manner
and I am quite optimistic about that so I would
like to end this Just thanks for listening and
just this is SunDeep talks a leadership awakening
podcast And until next time just I want you to
remember one single thing You have more power
to change things than you really think And start
with how you show up See you next time