Waking Up To Your World
The answers are around you.
According to Harvard researchers, the most successful people are “World Aware”.
We’ve never been a fan of defining success in one particular way. Success for some is a title, seniority, a house, and a nice car…whereas success for others is simply getting out of bed.
That’s why we like Harvard’s definition - being World Aware.
World Aware is the reward for being curious about the people around you, a topic we write about a lot. It means being in tune with the wants, needs, and motivations of others, and then adapting your approach accordingly.
It’s not about being subservient or changing your values because some boss or organization told you to, but using your observations to adapt and lead your life based on the values you hold as a human.
It’s very different from the friction and burn of torrid cultures and expectations, or the pressure to fall into a particular genre, class, or definition of success.
World Aware, in its simplest form, is you being human.
So how does this manifest itself at work?
World Aware is the person who can tune in to the quiet voices in a meeting and encourage them to share their thoughts.
World Aware is the person who recognizes that they have innate bias and don’t have all the facts.
World Aware is the person who picks up the phone versus sending a long email because it’s best-said face to face.
World Aware is the person who asks for help.
World Aware is the person who accepts incomplete ideas.
World Aware asks why when everyone else is asking when.
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You won’t find World Aware in any job description.
It’s not found in burn-out cultures that reward power and politics.
And it’s not found in people who don’t listen.
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World Aware is found in the bosses you love.
The cultures you want to work for.
And the colleagues who have your back.
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World Awareness beats in the hearts of the leaders we love. It drives them to be something more than the mechanics of work, and the relentless thirst for profit.
Their success is a direct measure of just how world-aware they and their organizations, really are.