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As adults, saying "Yes" to serve in the best interests of one's organisation, clients, career, relationships and community carries inherent trade-offs. Over time, the "tipping" effect leads to rolling hindsight gaps, evergreen in the mind.
Look closely into your own review mirror to find the prospective threads of progress:
1) Understand the story.
2) Evaluate the impact/influence to date.
3) Lift the lessons.
4) Acknowledge the experiential upside.
5) Reframe the "should haves" to "I choose to...".
Know and transcend your blind spots. Let's Talk.
I choose to grow as a Resilient Leader. Let's Talk.
Ignite my Resilient Success potential. Let's Talk.
I opt for agile decision-making. Let's Talk.
Some conversations shape us in subtle but transformative ways...
This week, a client reached out for a chat. Having "survived" the past four years despite the odds, he acknowledged his mental and emotional fatigue. He felt lost and scared. I shared a 2020 Lift As We Rise webinar/podcast re: the state of mental health - one which, unknown to me at the time, would shift my approach from one-and-done strategy consulting to enabling success.
Over my career, I have observed that even the most accomplished leaders and athletes go through phases of deep vulnerability. Global statistics report that 49% of entrepreneurs suffer from at least one form of mental health challenge during their careers. Researchers at San Francisco University found that founders of start-up business are driven by the "no pain, no gain" theory and are twice as likely to experience depression, be admitted for psychiatric disorders or have suicidal thoughts and six times more likely to have ADHD. Digitisation and virtual reality are likely to increase mental health risks - the World Health Organisation warns of this.
Everything in life has a trade-off. As South Africans, we are damn proud of our resilience - the "just get on with it" culture can become a hard armour and beneath, unhealthy consequences can fester - physically our health slides, mentally our motivation slips, emotionally we become disconnected or dissociate, relationally/socially we stop showing up, and financially, we are less abundant. This attracts negative experiences and situations, because we become hyper-alert to danger, the cortisol rises and stress modulators short circuit, compromising decision-making and judgement. In SA, one in three people will be challenged with a mental health disorder.
Wherever you are at at this point in 2024, become aware or more aware of what the inner voice is saying. There are plenty reasons and valid distractions to ignore it, postpone it, hoping that it will go away. That is denying yourself the chance to thrive. Rise above the resistance, take action, then success will come. When you've done that, lift others around you because only then, can we thrive sustainably.
Success is a feeling. Own it, nurture it and invest in growing it. Switch it on and make it shine bright.
StratAstute Consulting offers Resilience Success coaching for decision-makers, professionals and rising stars in business, sports and healthcare. Our coaching programmes include optional resilience analysis and evaluations. Let's Talk.
Registration for 2025 Participation is open to schools and pupils aged 6 to 18.
Let's GO >>>Design >Make >Test >Race.
Access learning content on how to set up teams, compete and prepare for the World Finals.
Play Your Part and join the Challenge to take South African STEM talent from Pupil-to-Pinnacle.
Momodou Ceesay, Deputy Head of Engineering, Construction and Building Services and STEM Ambassador, speaks about STEM education in the UK, Brazil and prospects for bright young minds who aspire to succeed in motorsport.
Listen to the conversation on YouTube.
Ready to Play Your Part as a school, team. sponsor or volunteer? Let's Talk.
Seugne Bosch is our lead female volunteer at F1 in Schools South Africa and a former World Finals competitor. Today, Seugne works as a cyber privacy consultant, representing a specialist, future-focussed profession. She is a role model to young females who aspire to enter and succeed in STEM industries.
How our female lead volunteer got on track with F1 in Schools.
During high school, I was always very interested in the sciences but never had the courage to explore STEM fields - it was very male dominated and representation for women was lacking. I first heard about F1 in Schools when I was 15 years old. Being a Formula One fan from a young age, I was excited to get involved in the challenge but doubted myself.
I attended an international school in China and joined a diverse team, representing South Africa. My teammates represented their countries, being Singapore, Taiwan and Canada. It took quite a lot of courage from my side to apply because it was an all-boys team. However once I got started, I soon found out that I did actually have the required IQ and confidence to play my part. This realisation opened up to an entirely new and exciting world for me which has shaped my professional journey.
My role in the team was sponsorship management and the project management of the car design.
Highlights from her journey.
My team, Team Qi, competed at the 2010 World Finals in Singapore. Interestingly, there was a girls team from South Africa that competed in the same year and they won an award for perseverance. We won the award for best website.
I have a ton of core memories from the experience. Two core memories that stand out for me. The one is meeting the Formula 1 drivers and Tony Fernandez, entrepreneur and founder of the Caterham Formula 1 team. The other is the hands-on experience with designing a competitive car and then presenting our design portfolio to the F1 in Schools World Finals judging panel.
Some challenges and her the team overcome them.
Most of my challenges were internal because representation was severely lacking for girls/women. It took a lot of courage for me to explore the depth of my own skills and to excel.
There are still a lot of stereotypes surrounding gender where girls are always made to believe that they are not good enough, strong enough or versatile enough from a very young age. The biggest challenge for any girl to face is to ignore all that criticism and believe that she is capable of whatever she sets her mind to achieve. I want girls to have that confidence and to contribute their perspectives and insights. Mostly, never to fear failure or feel guilty if they don’t succeed on first attempt.
The ROI delivered to the school and to sponsors.
F1 in Schools gives learners the opportunity to explore a diverse world of career opportunities. It helps build self-confidence and presents an opportunity to showcase one’s skills. When a young person’s talent is recognised, it motivates one to excel, to innovate and this supports the team’s success. The sponsors benefited from our culturally diverse team which offered them multi-country representation, one being China and the other being our home countries.
Key learnings that she continues to apply today.
I learned a lot from F1 in Schools - it is the reason why I have the courage today to take on opportunities, even when I think I cannot do it.
You do not need to be Einstein to be able to excel in STEM fields. What matters most is passion to explore and learn new things daily. Another key message is to never be afraid to be innovative. If you have a fresh idea or a different perspective, explore it.
What participation can offer to young STEM talent in SA.
Participation doesn’t just teach students the basic skills of STEM. It shows you a world of opportunities, possibilities and, most importantly, allows students to think laterally. We need more “out of the box” thinkers in this world. Remember that diversity is key to making STEM fields thrive.
Our lead volunteer’s “Impossible” goal for F1 in Schools ZA.
An “impossible” goal would be to secure enough funding to help our South African F1 in Schools teams and participants reach their goals and dreams.
Advice to young South Africans who want to achieve extraordinary success.
Learning does not end when you complete high school or university. Never stop learning and never give up.
My motto to every girl out there is: “Take up the opportunity even if you think can’t do it”.
