The three C’s imbibed in Thoughtworkers
To be remarkable, to stand out of the crowd has nothing to do with extraordinary things. Being heedful and aware of simple things gets us there. The latter creates an extraordinary impact.
Lean and meaningful thought process in thinking and execution is something I look up to in every Thoughtworker. Rome wasn’t built in a day and the same ties with the values and culture within an organisation.
Here I go, covering in this article the three C’s that is imbibed in every Thoughtworker as a value which is not preached but practised in day to day lives.
Cultivation
Everyone of us will have someone in life whom we always look up to, who inspires us and guides us through the best and hard times. One thing they do with or sometimes without consciousness is to give us their life learnings. They help us distinguish between the right from the wrong and basically cultivate us without any contentions with values and beliefs.
Thoughtworks is one such organisation I look up to (I bet many) for their values and beliefs. Here goes my observations of how cultivation plays a role in Thoughtworks.
A token of simple gesture:
The very first day I joined Thoughtworks I noticed there were no cubicles in the workspace and every team member was seated together exchanging fun and laughter patting each other for their growth. I saw a lot of collaboration within the teams and I noticed one entrancing gesture followed by everyone in the office.
No food and beverage was served to people whereas people fetch and relish food from the cafeteria by themselves. After they are done, people are considerate enough to clean their place, the cutlery and plates they have used by themselves. This was a simple but unnoticed gesture in many places where people just walk away once they are done eating, leaving the cleaning part to the support staff. This simple but valuable gesture made me realise we are all no big compared to other humans and this reflected the lean but rich culture cultivated by Thoughtworkers through the way.
The feedback time:
Regular feedback loops imbibed in the culture of Thoughtworks has helped me identify the best focus area for myself and reflect as an individual to produce creative work outputs. Feedback conversations with peers at Thoughtworks has always been an experience of reflection of the past to identify the strengths on the first go.
Flipping through the other side of the coin, feedback conversations have also helped me to identify pitfalls and encouraged me to consider them as stepping stones to march forward. Feedback loops have helped me understand that there are no criticisms within Thoughtworkers, it’s all about taking constructive feedback and being a better version of ourselves.
Being rich in culture does not happen in a day or two. It is a legacy that’s lived and carried forward for generations to come.
Courageous
Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. — Winston Churchill
Being courageous and honest goes hand in hand. If we compromise one of them, the other crumbles. It is always comfortable to be courageous in an ideal working situation but it takes a lot of courage to accept mistakes and failures. We can choose to be courageous to accept mistakes only when we feel accepted for the mistakes we make and not being judged.
Being courageous is a virtue followed by Thoughtworkers even in the toughest of situations. Here goes an example that I experienced personally in my initial days of Thoughtworks. There was a situation where the entire team that I witnessed was courageous enough to put the people first and also convince the client partner to be on the same page. As Thoughtworkers we were able to help them understand its “People over processes”. It takes an enormous toll of straightforwardness to get this done and promote mutual respect for the team members. It was definitely not an easy path to pursue but the benefits reaped on being courageous is wholesome.
Curiosity
“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. — Albert Einstein”
Curiosity is the fuel to learning. It’s not about getting into execution directly but to always question “Why” we are up to something. This thought process of questioning “Why” will lead us to a different cosmos of thinking and you can widely see Thoughtworkers asking “Why” for any thing we are up to.
Some of the “Why” question I have observed frequently among Thoughtworkers
Why Thoughtworks?
Why do we want to solve it this way?
Why should I take up this task/journey?
Why did we fail in a particular instance?
I have seen a lot of “Why” questions on social impact scenarios which ties to another value of Thoughtworks to be inclusive.
As humans we are all given the gift of curiosity by nature. We tend to hold back questions because we think we will be judged. If there are no judgments and biases in our workplace, then it becomes much easier to speak our heart out and ask questions.
To conclude
Thoughtworks has been my second home without any doubts for the affluent culture and learning curve I acquire from Thoughtworks values. The three value C’s of Cultivation, Courageous and Curiosity binds together to the lean and rich Culture of Thoughtworks. Every day at Thoughtworks is an excitement to explore ample opportunities, to benefit and to be a part of the culture imbibed within Thoughtworkers.
Once a Thoughtworker, always a Thoughtworker!
