My challenge of being authentic and the lesson

 

As I slow down my MBA commitments (I will be done with 80% of the requirements by the end of this year), I have more time to write! 

The last two years were quite transformative. As I reflect, the challenges I have faced were coming to mind. 

One of the first skills I learnt in business schools was empathy. They made us reflect on ourselves and how we deal with ourselves and others in the first quarter. Then, we had a negotiations class where they asked us to negotiate with another person given a certain situation. 

We had one on one negotiations with a really smart peer that went on for two hours. High quality peer group is probably the most valuable thing that one is exposed to in a good business school. 

Practicing empathy day-in day-out and such an extended period of negotiations gives you certain skills. It becomes second nature to assess what the other party wants and what the other party really needs. You may not know them exactly, but you do get somewhat of a gist. That kind of knowledge is very helpful and powerful, but it comes with a lot of responsibility.  

It may not even be a conscious action to think that way. What your mind is exposed to, you become and take on those qualities! 

In my case, I found it a huge challenge - this applies to both professional and personal situations. I did not realize until I got into a couple of weird situations, seemingly from nowhere. The universe had its way of showing me that challenge. 

The challenge was "I kind of know what they want", " I kind know what they need", " I can probably make a deal or  I can play around a little bit to make this work", but would I be authentic to myself ?  

So, I had to shift my attitude! to never give up authenticity, before I could be peaceful again. 

It was a lesson -  as I extend my skills, it is important to keep a check on any negative side effects.

The overarching lesson for me was, it is not worth it to get something or achieve something at the cost of your authenticity! 


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