Lead Like You

CHAPTER 10Finding our authentic selves

In 2015, I had the gift of training as a Search Inside Yourself certified teacher. Search Inside Yourself was born at Google when one of Google's earliest engineers put together a team of leading experts in mindfulness techniques, neuroscience and leadership. They developed an internal course for fellow Google employees, lovingly called Search Inside Yourself, before they left Google to set up as an independent, non-profit leadership institute. I was selected along with three other Australians and seventy-six people from all around the world to fly back and forth between Sydney and San Francisco to learn how to embody and facilitate their two-day emotional intelligence and mindfulness leadership program.

One of the many things I loved about this training was its experiential nature. It was perfect timing for me, as I was still very much in the process of trying to work out what I was doing with my life. If I am honest with myself, I probably did the training because I was still looking for a product or brand that would make it easier for me to sell what I do, because I still didn't really value my own capabilities and reputation at the time. Whatever the reasons were, I received many gifts from doing it.

In addition to meeting some truly inspiring, compassionate and like-minded people, one of the benefits was that they invited us to explore our own values and vision for our lives and our leadership. I had not imagined getting clear on ...