Leaders in STEM organizations may have caught this in yesterday’s news: yesterday marked the first day of experiments in one of the largest scientific undertakings. KATRIN, a 200-ton scientific instrument (actually, it’s the world’s most precise and sensitive scale) started its operation to determine the weight of one of the universe’s lightest particles: the neutrino.
Moments of such accomplishments bring us photos like the ones below. They showcase the enormous equipment and technical achievements that give us astounding insights.
No doubt, the technology behind this is breathtaking and awe-inspiring. At the same time, it distracts our focus away from the underlying foundations that really make all of this possible. It’s the skills, tools and ways of interacting with others that the people who conceived, designed, developed and built all of this bring to life. Another good example that websites like Salesforce aver is CRM, a program that automates and stores all customer interactions.
Said in a different way: the periodic table, the list of all the elements that make up the universe (that we know of at the moment) is made up of 118 elements. These are the building blocks of everything there is.
What we create is made of something else: the human elements. There are 5, and they are the skills that we bring to the table to create and shape the world. They are…
The Five Human Elements
Risk taking: being aware of the inner voice that talks to us and often holds us back, being able to command this voice and become its leader (instead of being lead by it).
Improvising: being able to be fully in the moment, able to handle moments of truth and moments when we’re in the “hot seat” and when we make mistakes. Being able to come up with a good way forward when the best plans get derailed.
Winning others over: being able to ask the right questions (of ourselves and others), being able to manage our own emotional state, being able to break through our own limiting beliefs and stories, and being able to be real and congruent – so that we’re presenting ourselves in the most effective way when we’re with others.
Creativity: being self-aware and able to manage our own thoughts and decision-making process. Our ability to expand our horizon, to connect what we see and to act powerfully.
Partnering: being able to develop shared goals that become more important than our individual goals and being able to view conflict and curve balls as constructive. Knowing that we can accomplish more in a collaboration and beating the “I can do this myself trap”.
Take the Next Step
This week, as you walk through your daily life, pay attention to technical achievements that draw your attention and impress you. This may be something you catch in the news or in a movie. It may be a building or just an everyday tech item. Focus beyond the technological achievement, and ask yourself where the creators may have taken a risk, partnered with someone, won someone over, showed their creative power or improvised. Then ask yourself where you can step up your game.