Dr. Krish Kandiah
Founder, Home for Good; Consultant; Social Entrepreneur
An advocate for fostering and adoption, Dr. Kandiah is the founding director of Home for Good, a charity seeking to find permanent loving homes for children in the UK foster care system. He is the author of 13 books including his latest, Faitheism: Why Christians and Atheists have more in common than you think. He is a regular broadcaster on the BBC and a contributor to the Guardian and Times of London. An international speaker and consultant, he offers both creativity and academic reflection to bring strategic change, culture shift and innovation. Dr. Kandiah and his wife have 7 children through birth, adoption and fostering.
What would it look like if our homes and our organizations and our leadership teams were places of opportunity for all sorts of people? In his talk, Krish Kandiah talks about VIP leadership. He empowers leaders to live out their potential by maximizing vision, inclusion, and proximity. He reminds us that VIP leaders know the difference between seeing problems or seeing opportunity.
Vision
Krish says, “Leadership is about having vision to see things differently than everyone else. When other people see problems, you see opportunity. When other people see chaos, you see a way through.” The difference between a visionary and a visionary leader is twofold. A visionary sees things differently while a visionary leader helps other people to see things differently. Leaders with vision take people on a journey; they are tour guides.
How are you helping others to see things differently when it comes to their personal leadership and the position they have on your team or in your organization? Where is one place you can add vision to a particular circumstance?
In what ways could you help others to see things differently when it comes to their leadership and the position they have on your team or in your organization?
Is your team or organization one that sees opportunity or problems? In what ways can you begin to see opportunity out of problems?
Inclusion
Krish describes the difference between hospitality and prejudice. He says, “Hospitality welcomes them in. Prejudice makes people lock their doors. Hospitality makes people open their doors. Prejudice looks at the outside. Hospitality looks at the inside. Prejudice leads to segregation. Hospitality leads to solidarity. Prejudice comes from being risk averse. Hospitality values deemed risky. Prejudice sees problems. Hospitality sees people. This is the power of radical inclusion.”
In what areas do you need to change the way you lead in order to be more inclusive?
What is your team or organization doing or not doing to support radical inclusion? What would that specifically look like in your context?
What are 3 ways your team can positively impact the culture of your organization by becoming more hospitable?
Proximity
Krish talks about the kind of leaders who create barriers or use brute force to accomplish a goal or achieve status—these leaders are often exemplified as those who lack understanding proximity. The greater leaders are those who learn and love by being proximate to people. They will, in turn, create lives of great purpose for themselves and the people they lead.
Are there any ways you are putting up unnecessary barriers in your life? In what ways could you change those barriers to move toward more proximity?
In what ways, within your closest circle, are you ‘setting the table’ to invite others to become their best selves? In what ways could you start to move toward being a ‘set the table’ leader?
ACT
Reflecting back on each of the three areas of VIP Leadership: vision, inclusion, and proximity, which ONE area can you act upon this coming week?