Hi! My name is Uday Kiran.
Thank you for landing on this page. You would be a friend and a well wisher. And most of all, you must be curious as to what this is about.
On a cold wintery evening in Jan 2018, I was sitting in front of my Boss, concerned. I had taken the choice of stepping away from the role of a Business Leader for over 20 years, to embark on a new journey. To become a Leadership Coach. Drive transformation. Explore the world of Behavioural Change. And to chart my own course.
Most of which I was very excited about, but had no clue how I would fare.
It meant that I would be out of the business ‘limelight’. Career pivots away from business roles are rare and slow. It was a concern I put on the table.
My boss looked at me for a while and asked: ‘Uday, you are a big fan of Sachin. So tell me the best three reasons you remember him for?
It was an odd question in that moment. But I played on. ‘Well! He is the greatest batsman. An all time great cricketer. And a great team man’
‘Ok. And what did you think about his captaincy?’
‘I don’t think he had a great time captaining the side. He gave it up eventually’
My boss leaned forward and said ‘Right. Imagine how difficult it would’ve been for Sachin to give up the captaincy of the Indian cricket team and all the ‘limelight’ that came with it. It would’ve been a very tough call. But then he decided to focus on his bigger picture - to become the greatest batsman in the world and win games for the country.
And today, no one mentions his captaincy. Big deal. He made a bigger story by charting his own course’
Silence, sometimes can make penny drop seem loud. I think that moment changed it for me.
Two years on, I’ve stepped on being a Leadership Coach. And renewed my passion for Storytelling and Writing. Some of the best work that I do currently has to do with helping leaders and organisations find and tell their stories better.
#1MinuteStories started off as a series of posts on Linkedin. The idea was to put up authentic, well researched stories that can be read in a minute. And then cue the reader to use that story to make a point.
This #1MinuteStories Newsletter will bring you the stories I post directly into your inbox. First.
And then sooner or later, the time shall also come..
‘To talk of many things: Of shoes - and ships - and sealing wax - of cabbages - and kings - and why the sea is boiling hot - and whether pigs have wings’
I aim to put in a couple of posts every week and I hope the rhythm sets me in.
But do give a bit of an allowance for a guy charting his course.
Thanks Much for signing in!