Asish Datta is an IATD certified self-leadership architect with a diverse industry experience of more than three decades, helping individuals and businesses attain maximum effectiveness. He has just authored a book, “Navigating the dark hole”, that captures the essence of his leadership journey. Recently, he was in Pune to promote his book, where he spoke to Arpan Sarkar from Exmatters about his upcoming book.
Arpan: What is this book all about?
Asish Datta: This book is a collection of the key action points from my real-life experiences at different levels of leadership, which will not just help but empower young leaders with the right knowledge, and action steps to navigate their way through the challenging corporate environment.
As I always say, leadership is not about leading others but about leading self. If we can successfully lead ourselves, others will automatically follow us.
A special focus in my book is on ‘You are the Problem. You are the Solution’. The world of leadership is a lonely one. There is not much help that will come our way. We have to help ourselves. Even if external factors create challenges and conflicts, we must manage them if we are affected. The sure shot way to exponentially grow is by becoming problem solvers – for self, team, and organization. My book deals extensively with this subject.
Arpan: Have you always thought of becoming an author?
Asish Datta: I had to go through a very rough period at the start of my corporate journey. Between 1991 and 2000, I quit two jobs, developed toxic relationships with people in the workplace, failed miserably to communicate effectively to get things done, and fell victim to the organization’s internal politics. The work-related stress affected my family relationships as well.