Nikki Bush in conversation about the concept of anti-fragility and developing a purposeful relationship with suffering with leadership expert, Rachael Nyaradzo Adams. Rachel’s question: “What if you can find new eyes to see things wisely, even when you are going through some of the most difficult of times?” This is such a relevant topic for where we find ourselves today: in a deeply disrupted world. Rachel was named one of the 100 Young Influential Africans of 2019. She is the founder of Narachi Leadership, where she merges tools from neuroscience, psychology and ontology as she works with corporates, entrepreneurs, teams and individuals. In this work, she offers her expertise as a facilitator, ontological coach, advisory partner and speaker. Rachel has received numerous awards for leadership and academic excellence including:

  • the Mandela Rhodes Scholarship
  • the Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellowship
  • the Mellon Mays Leadership and Service Award
  • the Mellon Mays Scholarship
  • the Felix Scholarship.

For more information visit www.nikkibush.com or www.narachileadership.com

This conversation covers:

  • The concept of anti-fragility and how it relates to dealing with disruption, and the building of resilience.
  • The role of suffering.
  • Developing a purposeful relationship with suffering.
  • Victimhood and resentment.
  • How emotions can help us interpret the world.
  • The downside of resisting disruption.
  • How can we gain from disorder?
  • The importance of stopping and sensing, before taking action.
  • The power of choice.
  • Our curious entanglement with the need for comfort, and our avoidance of discomfort.
  • Whose responsibility is it to make things better; to make a difference?

“Anti-fragility: things that we gain from disorder. All living, natural things change with disorder and actually become stronger because of disorder; not despite it but because of it.”

Rachael Nyaradzo Adams, Narachi Leadership

“If we are in a purposeful relationship with suffering, then we may find that, in fact, our ability for growth is actually heightened.”

Rachael Nyaradzo Adams, Narachi Leadership

“At the core of our journey is the understanding that where we have ended up in our lives, is an outcome of all of the choices that were made; and some of those choices are unconscious, and some of those choices are conscious choices.”

Rachael Nyaradzo Adams, Narachi Leadership

“Victimhood is the identification with a past experience and choosing to stay with it, and building an identity around it. It is very self-limiting, and what that leads to is resignation. Resignation as a mood state means that I start to believe that there are things in life in which I cannot participate, because I am a victim of circumstances.”

Rachael Nyaradzo Adams, Narachi Leadership

“The person to solve the problem is the person who perceives the problem.”

Rachael Nyaradzo Adams, Narachi Leadership

“Anti-fragility calls us to sit with the chaos, to be okay with it and to accept it as a fundamental aspect of life; and then to say “Well, what does it tell me? What does it invite me to learn?”

Rachael Nyaradzo Adams, Narachi Leadership

“Organizations are an ecosystem of emotions: it’s people’s different emotions, being in relationship with each other. I think that it’s important to give it space, because emotions have an intelligence: they reveal to us the way in which we are interpreting our world; the way in which we are responding to the relationships that we have.”

Rachael Nyaradzo Adams, Narachi Leadership

“Allow yourself to sit for a little bit and let the pain, let the difficulty, and let the hardships show you what it wants to show you. You will find the treasure there.”

Rachael Nyaradzo Adams, Narachi Leadership