Bye Comfort Zone — Hello Social Sabbatical!
May 17, 2023, 12:06pm. I am about to leave my desk to search for something edible in our kitchen when I receive a reply to an email from mid-October of last year. Subject: “RE: Status of your application: SAP Social Sabbatical* for global engagement — 2023”. My initial confusion (I had been rejected after the final interview round but was asked whether I wanted to join a waitlist) quickly vanished for immense excitement: I would be going to Jakarta in July for 4 weeks!
From there on, everything went very quickly. Weekly prep calls, internal alignments, many introductions, a lot of laughter, jitters, excitement. Today, 6 intense weeks of preparation are coming to an end. My flight to Jakarta is next week. During all this excitement, I want to pause for a moment and reflect on what I learned so far. Of all the great preparation and inspiration that was shared with us, these five thoughts stood out to me:
Listen first.
This one resonated very strongly with me. No matter whether in business or private life, listening with an open & curious mind always helps. You show appreciation and respect for the other person and can gain valuable insights. Quite frankly, most people talk too much (do the meetings/calls you attend at work also overrun more often than not?). But when you talk, you usually repeat what you already now. When you listen, you can learn something new.
For more, check out Ernesto Sirolli’s amazing TED Talk.
You are biased. That’s okay, just be aware of it.
Everyone is biased. We have a certain perception of the world, shaped by what we experience, where we live, how we were raised. And biases distort our judgement. But that doesn’t mean we are not able to make good calls. In fact, the opposite is true when we are aware that we are biased. With this awareness, you can reflect and challenge your own believes. The picture suddenly becomes much larger, and you can look at it from different angles to better understand it.
Stereotypes are not necessarily incorrect, but they are incomplete.
‘Wait what — are you saying stereotypes are correct?’ might has been your first reaction reading this. That’s not exactly what I am saying. Stereotypes are perceived as something bad, and they are. But not because they are necessarily incorrect. To a certain degree, some of them might even be true — but it is like looking only at a single page of the entire book. You are missing most of the story! Stereotypes are bad because they are incomplete. They draw a single picture of a person or culture and ignore all the rest, thereby promoting misunderstandings and antipathy. They also lead to generalizations and defamation. That’s why it is so important to not buy into a single story but try as good as possible to get a holistic picture (e.g. by listening first ;)).
To learn more about the risk of a single story, check out the fascinating TED talk of Chimamanda Adichie.
It’s okay to admit that you are out of your comfort zone.
As simple as it sounds, this was a revelation for me. When you enjoy challenging yourself as I do, it is normal to be out of your comfort zone. But most of us, including myself, don’t like to admit it. It might be perceived as a sign of weakness or something else. However, if you think about it, most of us have these feelings regularly. No matter if it’s a new job, at sports, being in the spotlight or going to Jakarta for the frist time. It is normal (and good!) to go beyond the known and to be uncomfortable. So why not admit it? Why not tell your friends or colleagues how you feel in such a situation? We all have been there, and it can create much more understanding and empathy.
Go with the flow.
As if immersing oneself into a completely new environment was not challenging enough, all the excitement and preparation naturally also creates expectations. Expectations from the client organization, from the team, and especially from & towards myself. Thankfully, those who have gone through the Social Sabbatical before had some good advice: Stay flexible, and go with the flow. It’s a journey, just as life itself, and will have its ups and downs, but learn to embrace the experience and stay positive!
I am beyond grateful for this amazing opportunity and the careful preparation laid out for us. In my initial application, I said my very first thought when hearing about the program was ‘Oh yes, I really want to do this!’, and it hasn’t changed for a second. I can’t wait to meet my team and roll up our sleeves to help other ambitious people make an impact for the better!
And since this journey is way too cool not to be shared with a broader community, I will take you with me over the next couple of weeks to share more insights, experiences and what exactly we will be doing.
Take care & stay curious! It’s too boring to stick to what you already know ;)
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*The SAP Social Sabbatical Program is an award-winning portfolio of global pro-bono consulting programs that enable SAP employees to share their knowledge, skills and expertise with innovative non-profits and social enterprises all around the world. It builds upon SAP’s Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy to create equitable access to economic opportunity, education & employment, and the green economy.
