Recently, I bid farewell to the company where I spent the first two years of my professional life. As anyone would tell you, your first job – much like first love - is the one which is hard to forget and leaves you with many fond memories.
I learnt a lot from my stay there and from the leaders in the organisation. As I set out to step foot in a very uncertain domain, I thought it would make sense to seek advice from these leaders. They are all experienced fellows running huge offices and managing a lot of happy (I was) people. So, I requested some of them if I could steal 20 minutes of their time to soak in any advice they had. And, all of them (well, almost) happily agreed. So, in pointers, this is what they had to say to me:
Change your communication strategy based on kind of people you meet
Listen
Be empathetic
Focus
Persist, stay the course
Be approachable
Be honest even if you don’t like it
Acknowledge if someone does something good
Grow together
Most of this is not rocket science, but it always helps to hear someone say it to you. And, it also serves as a reminder lest we forget these small yet important things.