Understanding Human Psychology

  Yesterday, I had the immense honor of receiving the GEN AI Jam Team award for the third time. It was a truly surreal moment, made even more special by the fact that I was wearing the same dress I wore for the previous two wins at ITAD in 2017 and ES in 2021. It was a hat trick, not just in terms of the award, but also in the attire! This experience has reinforced my belief in the power of convictions and the incredible things we can achieve when we work together as a team. I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be a part of such an innovative and inspiring community.

  My leader often keeps saying this, "A good coaching session is like therapy." Coaching is a space where we, as coaches, hold many emotions for the client.  At times what we can see the client's low spiral emotions are coming from irrational beliefs about the world, which the client is unable to perceive. In the course of the session I have come across times when the client goes into a vulnerable zone and starts to shed of the old belief and attempts to form a new belief. This process, not easy definitely, makes clients face a tsunami of emotions. Overwhelmed the client may also break down and cry. How as a coach we hold the space for the person to just be? Usually I have seen the period of new belief formation come after a strong realisation the client feels about a situation, in the course of the coaching conversation. This is generally followed by hmmm and aha and loads of pauses. Silence plays a beutiful role here for allowing the client to absorb and adopt the new b...

  Recently I was designing a workshop on problem solving, when I included the concept of design thinking as one of the topics. I understood it as one of the most effective ways to approach any business problem. I delved into it deeper for understanding and realised that it can act as a guiding tool in any situation. Design Thinking isn’t just for designers of a product or a service—it’s a way of solving problems that fits right into our daily lives. At its heart is the stage of Empathize. The first step towards this approach. This step reminds us to pause and truly understand others’ needs, feelings, and perspectives before jumping to solutions.   Imagine you’re planning a surprise party for a friend. Instead of guessing what they might enjoy, you take a moment to step into their shoes. What do they love? A quiet dinner with close friends or a lively gathering? By empathizing, you ensure the party is a heartfelt success, not just a ticked-off task.   In life coa...

  LXD, a powerful tool, has grown significantly over the years, for managing learning in both in-person and virtual environments. the knowledge you gain out of LXD courses is versatile from the understanding of technology use in learning, to understanding of different learning environments need to be managed, to understanding universal design principles, to understanding the theoretical foundations of LXD.  The pandemic accelerated this growth, as remote work became the norm. LXD's ability to set up consistent development environments from anywhere became even more valuable. It helped learning content developers, learning program owners and learning professionals stay effectively productive, regardless of location (in person or remote). To keep up with the times, LXD has embraced new technologies. The number of tools which I use as a learning professional today in the classroom is nothing compared to what I used 10 years ago.  As LXD continues to evolve and take shape, wi...

  Life is like a dance to the rhythm and melody which is unique to each person. As coaches, we aren’t the ones orchestrating the music for any client or even leading the dance; instead, we are like musical notes. The notes are essential elements that guide, uplift, and harmonize with our clients’ journeys. The client is like the orchestrator of his own life’s music. Each coaching session is like creating a symphony of growth, clarity, and purpose, where the client is both the composer, orchestrator and performer. Here’s how, in my experience, coaching mirrors musical notes, with each aspect adding depth and resonance to a client’s life. I will divide this into 5 sections of musical notes, depicting 5 different stages in a coaching session.   1. The Opening Note: Establishing Trust and Rhythm The start of any coaching relationship is like the opening notes of a song. It sets the tone, establishes the rhythm, and builds trust—the foundation for everything that follows. I...

 In a recent coaching session, I worked with an employee struggling with repeated quality errors and mistakes. As we dove into the conversation, he shared that he was constantly anxious about how his work would be perceived. He worried that, no matter what he did, something would inevitably go wrong. This led him to overthink every detail, which only seemed to create more mistakes, ironically reinforcing his fears. He described the cycle as exhausting and frustrating, feeling as if he was never able to meet the mark he set for himself. In his words "It is exhausting to be fearful." Listening to his concerns, I could sense that a significant part of the issue was his fear of being judged. He was so focused on the potential for negative feedback that it had become a self-fulfilling prophecy, overshadowing his confidence and focus. I paused, then asked him, “If you could quiet that inner fear of judgment, what would you say to yourself instead? And how would that feel?” He took ...

  The past few days have been a whirlwind of self-exploration as I dive into a course on Positive Intelligence by Shirzad Chamine. It’s a transformative approach that’s reshaping how I envision my future, encouraging me to live more fully in the present. The course is all about activating what it calls the “Sage Mind”—essentially, cultivating a mindset rooted in awareness, presence, and genuine happiness. In many ways, it aligns closely with mindfulness, yet it goes beyond by offering tools to ground myself in the here and now, savoring each moment as it unfolds. One of the most impactful aspects of Positive Intelligence is how it encourages daily practices to strengthen presence. I’ve found myself more attuned to my thoughts and emotions, reminding myself to pause and truly be where I am. This daily focus has been instrumental. Whenever I feel my mind drifting into worries about the future, or reminiscing about the past, I gently guide it back to what’s in front of me, fully engag...