NorthStar at Work

The Future of Work: a multigenerational perspective | A fireside chat

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 18:31:43 GMT

"The Future of Work: a multi-generational perspective" a 3-part father-daughter conversation series

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 18:31:22 GMT

The Future of Work: a multigenerational perspective | 3-part conversation series -Ep#3(pt2) Nov2020

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 18:30:59 GMT

The Future of Work: a multigenerational perspective | 3-part conversation series -Ep#3(pt1) Nov2020

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 18:30:24 GMT

"The Future of Work: a multigenerational perspective" | 3-part conversation series | Ep #1 Sep 2020

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 18:10:45 GMT

Tips for Mind over Matter | Snippets from 2020 Holiday Special Interview Series

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 18:09:51 GMT

Mind over Matter: Personal definition of 'grit' from #FemaleFounders and Women Leaders

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 18:09:19 GMT

Mind over Matter: Meenakshi Iyer, Personal Agility and Collaborative Leadership Skills Coach | USA

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 18:08:41 GMT

Mind over Matter: Nisha Jethwa, HR Leader | London, UK

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 18:08:18 GMT

Mind over Matter: Katherine Spinney, ACC | Leadership Coach, USA

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 18:07:17 GMT

Mind over Matter: Brenda Patterson, Agile Transformation Leader, USA

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 18:06:37 GMT

Mind over Matter: Aanchal Gupta, Founder - Conscious Culture, DEI Consultant, TEDx Speaker | India

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 18:06:02 GMT

Mind over Matter: Chressance V. Moche, MBA, PMP®, SAFe® ASM | Virginia, USA

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 18:05:16 GMT

Mind over Matter: Tanvi Agarwal, Artist, Creator, Founder - SillyStrokes, Kolkata, India

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 18:04:36 GMT

Mind over Matter: Tiffany Castagno, PHR, SHRM-CP | CEO, CEPHR, LLC | Pittsburg, PA, USA

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 18:03:50 GMT

Mind over Matter: Mindee Mosher, Action Coach - Better With ROSE

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 18:03:21 GMT

Mind over Matter: Smita R., MBA, PCC, Program Manager at Coacharya

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 18:02:43 GMT

Mind over Matter:Inspiring stories of grit from Female Founders&Women Leaders | 2020 Holiday Special

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 18:01:48 GMT

Future of Work and Women - Finding Mentors, Sponsors, and Allies #IWD2021 #ChooseToChallenge

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 18:00:12 GMT

Session #4:Choose to Challenge:What and How? Interactive Workshop: Interrupting Gender Bias #IWD2021

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:59:44 GMT

Session #3: Women in Leadership: Achieving an Equal Future in a COVID-19 World #IWD2021

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:59:18 GMT

Session 2: Future of Work and Women: Finding Mentors, Sponsors, and Allies #IWD2021

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:58:49 GMT

Session 1: Navigating Career Pivots - Interactive Talk by Mindee Mosher, ACC - Sat Mar 6 #IWD2021

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:58:10 GMT

Future of Work: Power of the Female Perspective - a global conversation Mar 6-27, 2021 #IWD2021

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:57:41 GMT

Future of Work: Power of the Female Perspective March 6-27, 2021 | A Global Conversation #IWD2021

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:57:15 GMT

NorthStar Nuggets | Ep. 5 Curiosity and Collaboration

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:56:31 GMT

NorthStar Nuggets | Ep. 4 Personal Agility 101

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:55:49 GMT

NorthStar Nuggets | Ep. 3 | Understanding Unconscious Bias

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:55:18 GMT

NorthStar Nuggets | Ep. 2: Inclusive Design and Remote Work

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:54:53 GMT

NorthStar Nuggets | Ep. 1 | Informational Interviews 101

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:54:27 GMT

Session #4: Organisational agility – what it really means and why it’s so important. - Erika Barden

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:53:48 GMT

Session #3: The Future of Leadership - Katherine Spinney, ACC

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:53:25 GMT

Session 2: Re-entering the professional world? Re-inventing yourself? You’ve got this!-Mindee Mosher

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:53:04 GMT

Session 1: Collaborative Leadership: an Inclusive Approach to Organizational Agility-David McConney

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:52:41 GMT

Keynote: The Pace of Change and The Future of Work | 4IR and The Future of Work May 11-16, 2020 #4IR

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:51:55 GMT

4IR and the Future of Work: A Global Perspective | May 11-16, 2020 - Conference Replay | #4IR

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:51:23 GMT

Future of Work: Women Shaping the Pandemic Pivot, Mar 19-26 | A Global Conversation #IWD2022

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:50:52 GMT

Future of Work Conference 2021 - Speaker Experience - Jay Polaki #IWD2022 #BreakTheBias

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:50:30 GMT

Future of Work Conference 2021 - Speaker Experience - Kim Meninger #IWD2022 #BreakTheBias

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:50:03 GMT

Exploring Intersections Ep. 13 | Culture, Language, and Gender with Akua Nyame-Mensah

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:49:02 GMT

Exploring Intersections | Ep. 12 Vulnerability AND Resilience w/ Suba Lakshminarasimhan, ACC

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:48:37 GMT

Exploring Intersections Ep. 11 | The Asian-American Experience

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:48:05 GMT

Exploring Intersections | Ep. 10 Gender and Entrepreneurship

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:47:32 GMT

Exploring Intersections | Ep. 9 Power and Gender - Part 2 w/ Hema Srinivas

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:47:05 GMT

Exploring Intersections | Ep. 8 - Power and Gender

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:46:25 GMT

Exploring Intersections | Ep 7: Culture, Language, and Gender - Part 2

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:45:39 GMT

Exploring Intersections | Ep 6: Culture, Language, and Gender

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:45:00 GMT

The NorthStar Café | Ep. 7 Staying Relevant amidst the 'Great Reset'

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:43:21 GMT

The NorthStar Café | Ep. 6 Career Pivots into Tech

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:42:47 GMT

The NorthStar Café | 3rd Annual Future of Work Conference Preview

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:42:15 GMT

The NorthStar Café | Ep. 4 Future Of Work Conference - 2021 Participant Experience

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:41:37 GMT

The NorthStar Café | Future of Work: Women Shaping the Pandemic Pivot

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:40:45 GMT

The NorthStar Café | Ep 2 - Building My Runway Special - Part 2

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:40:11 GMT

The NorthStar Café | Ep 1: “Building My Runway” Special

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:39:24 GMT

ICW2022 - Coaching: Looking Back and Looking Ahead - Ep.5 Ft. Sriharsha B., CAL®, Senior Agile Coach

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:38:28 GMT

ICW2022 - Coaching: Looking Back and Looking Ahead - Ep.4 Ft. Anjali Leon, Agility and Product Coach

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:37:59 GMT

ICW2022 | Coaching: Looking Back and Looking Ahead - Ep.2 Ft. Kim Meninger, MBA,PCC, Executive Coach

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:36:33 GMT

Coaching: Looking Back and Looking Ahead - Ep.1 Ft. Priya Ramesh, MCC, Executive Coach | ICW2022

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:09:02 GMT

A Coach’s Journey into the Future | Panel Discussion with Coaches from Canada, India & USA | ICW2022

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:04:04 GMT

Conversations That Matter | Season 1

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:00:35 GMT

'Being agile' while getting started as a solopreneur: a first-person account

183:814033152 (Meenakshi Iyer) — Thu, 20 Feb 2020 19:51:40 GMT

'Being agile' while getting started as a solopreneur: a first-person account
( also published on LinkedIn on Feb 20, 2020 by Meenakshi Iyer )

About eight months ago, when I decided to go from being 'employed' to being 'self-employed' and start off as 'solopreneur', I also made a conscious choice of 'being agile' in what I call 'my personal transformation journey'. After all, if I was going to make #agility the centerpiece of the next phase of my career, I'd better practice before I preach. The Agile Manifesto , Scrum Values , and continuous learning-continuous improvement using PDCA (plan-do-check-act) framework were the prominent tools in my toolkit - coupled with tons of grit and perseverance and a steady #growthmindset.

Here's some of what I've observed and learned so far:

Writing down my WHY - not typing it on my laptop, but actually physically writing it down using my hand, pen and paper - helped me immensely! It not only helped me articulate my purpose for others, but also clarify it for myself. Next, I moved on to writing down the Who-What-How pieces of the puzzle - this is my version of a vision board . Who is my target audience? What services do/can I offer? How am I going to do provide these services - in-person/virtual/group sessions, one-on-one coaching?
Crafting, practicing and refining my ' elevator pitch ' turned out to be a refreshingly enjoyable iterative process. I quickly realized that practicing in front of the mirror while helpful was definitely not enough! I scoured the internet ( Eventbrite is a fantastic starting point, Meetup is another good one, and LinkedIn of course) for free and/or inexpensive training programs and networking events - this gave me the opportunity to practice my pitch in a safe space and get some immediate feedback based on the listeners' nonverbal cues and extent of follow-up from them or the lack of it!
Focusing on 'give before you can get' is something I've always believed in, but it's been by far the most significant learning I've had in the past few months. The more I give, the more I learn and borrowing from Paul Coelho's words , the more the universe conspires in my favor. The ways I've chosen to give are in sync with my WHY and so in my case, some of the ways I've chosen to give are: providing free ESL training to guests of a local food pantry, volunteering to do regular social media posts on behalf of a lean-agile women's group , and volunteering as a reviewer of speaking submissions for a global scrum conference. Each of these and my other 'give before your get' pursuits are not only intrinsically tied to my professional objectives but are also aligned to my personal values of fairness, integrity, respect and empathy .
Discovering the power of the internet and online communities has been yet another huge learning! In the last eight months, I've attended a full-fledged global remote conference , two fairly inexpensive out-of-state leadership conferences that were simulcast/re-broadcast at a co-working space near me , numerous live webinars all of which have been free, and a few Meetup group meetings that were 100% virtual! The connections I've made through these virtual platforms are absolutely no different from any that I've made in physical environments - and the quality of content, learning and interactions is just top-class! I've learned to value every single conversation and interaction I have - be it virtual or in-person - because every conversation, every interaction is a learning opportunity, simply waiting to be grabbed!
'Sharpening my axe' and 'slowing down to speed up' have also been some of my key practices during this time. In addition to all the free learning from webinars and TED Talks, I also did a few paid training programs including earning my Scrum Alliance Certified Scrum Master credential. Next, I've signed up for paid Coach Training (via Coacharya ) to become an ICF-credential professional coach. Now, I consider these investments - and not, expenses - and they are all aligned with my personal goals and my vision for my business.

My personal step-by-step guide for getting started as a 'solopreneur' and setting up NorthStar Solutions and Services:

In keeping with my focus on #beingagile , I chose to build an MVP (minimum viable product) for launching my business - I stuck to the basics: name of business, website name, business cards, social media presence and of course, networking.

I chose to start with articulating my personal brand since NorthStar is an expression of a combination of my personal values and experiences, and my professional experience, skills and abilities. Since my business is knowledge work-oriented and I choose to work from home, I focused on doing everything possible to contain my expenses.

Get a business license as per local government regulations. Several free online resources and free/inexpensive in-person classes on how to set up your own business are readily available.
Keep personal and business identities 100% separate.
Get a Google account for your business venture and create an official-sounding email address - it's free .
Get a Google Voice number and use that for your business - it's free . (This way you don't need to publish your personal cellphone number and you get the benefit of using both phone numbers from the same phone. p.s. I use an Android phone.)
Get a business card - use the real estate on both front and back of the card to convey your WHY-WHO-WHAT-HOW. This helps you buy time to build your website(I used Vistaprint to create mine.) p.s. I prioritized designing my business cards over building my website because, in my case, I am the brand, and attending local events in person has been a priority for me. I also know that for the foreseeable future, I am going to generate business through personal connects - so, my website traffic is mostly from me directing people to it, and not the other way round.

Other things you can do while you create your website are:
build a pitch deck using PowerPoint, Keynote. p.s. I created mine more for prospective clients and not for investors.
get a Zoom account (free) so that you can get started with business meetings via video conferencing. The free Zoom account provides unlimited 1:1 meetings and has a 40-minute session limit for meetings with more than 3 people.
get a Calendly account (free) to provide your potential clients a hassle-free way of scheduling meetings with you - no more back-and-forth via email/phone

Build your own website - start with a landing page to make it easier. (I tried Wix, Webflow, and 1&1 Ionos). Get feedback on your website from a diverse group of your friends, family and business colleagues. The more diverse the group, the broader the perspectives. Ask pointed questions such as: "What message does the website convey to you?", "What is the ease of use on your mobile phone?". Remember that your website is meant for your target audience - I used Human-centered design principles to stay on course.
Create social media accounts - and establish a cadence for posting content (I prefer LinkedIn and Twitter). Ensure that your content is reflective of personal brand and business purpose. Most importantly, show up no matter what and be authentic and thoughtful with the posts - because words are powerful!

In closing, I'd like to say that perhaps, the most important of everything I've learned is that it takes a village to start a business! My journey - in the last eight months, and in the future - is a testimony to the Ubuntu philosophy of "I am because we are".

I'm all about #payingitforward - I'm available to chat if I can help answer any questions or if anyone would like to talk more about 'being agile while getting started as a solopreneur'. Thank you for your time and attention and my best wishes for your next (ad)venture - let's remember to be humble, be hungry and be kind!

Immediate action requested: please use email responsibly

Sat, 15 Feb 2020 22:08:17 GMT

Immediate action requested: please use email responsibly
( originally published on LinkedIn on Oct 17, 2019 )

Email is a 'good servant but a bad master'; but unfortunately,

several of us are already in 'email jail' before we know it.

How many emails have you received since you started reading this article?
Were they all addressed to you directly OR were just forwarded to you (often without an introductory message for you) OR were you simply one of the dozens of recipients who were CC'ed on the email?
How many of them required you to do something or respond with a decision or feedback?
How many were simply for 'FYI' purposes?

In my experience, 'email jail' is a sad reality at the workplace: it's not uncommon for the count of unread emails being used as a false measure of busyness and/or positional power. Nor is it uncommon for folks to check their email even while on vacation or when out sick - after all, who wants to come back to 2,271 new emails on their first day back?!

How might we redefine the use of email so that it adds value for BOTH the sender and the recipient?

How about if we think about the quality of User eXperience for the intended recipient(s)?
How about if we treated every email like a customer interaction that's intended to create value for both parties?

In trying to answer these two questions, here's what I've come up with:

"Look before you leap."

Is this email truly necessary? For instance, if it's something truly urgent, shouldn't we be talking to someone instead of drafting an email?
Do we really need all those 12 people on CC in the email?
Should we 'reply to all' by default?

What's the call-to-action for the recipient(s)?

Why should the recipient(s) read your email(s) first?
What do you want the recipient(s) to do after they've read it?

Know how much to write AND when to stop the ping-pong game.

Can we say what we need to say, effectively, using bullet points OR do we need paragraphs?
Do the recipient(s) have to scroll a few times to get to the end of this email? If so, will they retain/understand everything in this email? (BTW, think about how often we finish reading emails that require us to scroll down even once...)
Is this the third (or more) time we're writing back on the same thread? If so, isn't it probably time to talk?

Avoid using email if it's solely to create a 'documentation trail'.

Are we using email as a mechanism to defend ourselves at some point in the future, if someone were to contradict or misquote something we've said today?
How does this reflect on the level of trust and transparency at the workplace?

A quick litmus test for whether 'email jail' exists or not could be in our honest answer to this question:

Is email being used to get work done?

Is email work in and of itself?

Email is a powerful tool - it can make or break careers and companies - and it sure has! So, the next time we're about to click 'Send' - let's pause for a second to be sure that our email is indeed going to serve a purpose. Because if it's not, nobody is going to complain about receiving one less email, are they now?! :)

Want to future-proof yourself? Strengthen your CQ!

183:814033152 (Meenakshi Iyer) — Sat, 15 Feb 2020 21:40:30 GMT

Want to future-proof yourself? Strengthen your CQ!
( originally published on LinkedIn on Nov 18, 2019 )

This post from Atlassian led me on an interesting connect-the-dots journey: from Thomas Friedman's NYT Op-ed piece on Curiosity Quotient (CQ) - to - MIT's Hal Gregersen and his phenomenal method of 'Question BurstTM' for what he calls 'Catalytic Questioning' - to - Lisa Bodell's (CEO of futurethink) TEDx Talk titled "How Simplification is the Key to Change" in which she talks about the importance of asking 'killer, provocative questions.'

Friedman argues that Curiosity Quotient (CQ) is crucial to learning and innovation . Gregersen has discovered that Curiosity is a core quality of great leadership . He defines curiosity as the ability to ask questions that are "catalytic, that transform something from what is to what in a very amazing way might be" . This goes against the widely held belief that 'great leaders have all the answers', doesn't it? However, as Lisa Bodell so brilliantly puts it in her talk: "if you want a better answer, ask a better question."

Why is a high Curiosity Quotient (CQ) so valuable?

The top three skills as per the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report for 2020 are: Complex Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, and Creativity , all of which are predicated upon a high CQ.
CQ is the perfect antidote to confirmation bias and leads us to better answers by helping us uncover otherwise unseen, undiscovered facts and perspectives.
CQ is the first step towards building empathy , which in turn is key to being inclusive .
CQ encourages business agility by helping establish and promote a culture of continuous learning and growth mindset .
CQ paves the way for well-defined problem statements .

How to build your/your team's CQ?

Be intentional about using prompts such as: "What have we not considered yet?", "What if...?", "How might we...?" during team meetings and other interactions.
Encourage quieter/introverted/virtual team members to participate by seeking out their perspectives; use video meetings even if one team member is remote/virtual.
Be humble; listen to understand and not to reply.
Be respectful; ask only those questions that further the cause/inquiry.
Take inspiration from Gregersen's https://4-24project.org/ or Question BurstTM .

My mentor once said to me: "What's got you here may not be enough to get you where you need to be." Whether or not we know to ask the right questions will determine not only the course of our journey but the destination itself.

The power of pausing...with purpose

Sat, 15 Feb 2020 20:26:23 GMT

The power of pausing...with purpose
(originally published on LinkedIn on Jan 13th 2020)

In today's hyper-connected, always-on world, busyness is a status symbol, and our need for speed often overtakes our sense of direction. Between balancing our personal lives and our careers, keeping track of the 24/7 news cycle, and curating our social media presence, it's become almost impossible to shut off our devices and our brains. Slowing down, taking a break and pausing to reflect have become rather daring acts, or have been relegated to being associated certain milestones (project completion) or occasions (anniversaries).

Why is it so hard to hit the pause button?

being busy can be a source of pride sometimes even purpose
taking a break or taking some rest is considered more of a reward as opposed to being a necessary part of the process
pausing or slowing down is often mistakenly associated with inaction or laziness or even worse, incompetence.
fear of missing out or being left behind forces us to be always on, always available and always busy

And the price we pay for not pausing with purpose, of not slowing down, ranges from not being able to be present in the moment, to experiencing emotional/physical burnout, to being too busy to learn/grow from experience.

Why is it so important to pause/slow down?

Slowing down allows us to take back control of our lives and our experiences. It provides us with greater clarity, and the opportunity to listen, observe and take cues from our environment and those around us.
Pausing with purpose, pausing to reflect allows us to learn and grow from experience, which in turn helps us make better decisions.
Slowing down is a vital element of self-care. We can't pour from an empty cup - pausing to refill is what helps us complete the marathon successfully.

In this compelling TEDx Talk , Ralph Simone impresses upon us the need to stop being busy and start being focused. He also talks about how slowing down allows for the space for grace - which according to him, is a space where our full attention intersects with the present moment. How powerful is that! Ralph then challenges us to try out the following four experiments in order to help us ease into the practice of slowing down: breathing slower, eating slower, easing into the day, and driving to the speed limit.

Are you ready to slow down and pause with purpose?

Additional reading:

https://psychcentral.com/blog/why-you-cant-slow-down/

https://hbr.org/2010/05/need-speed-slow-down

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/the-organization-blog/slowing-down-to-speed-up