Every day we’re making a lot of progress to launching the scholarship. In addition to providing funds, one of the goals of the foundation is to enrich the experience of every applicant. To that end, welcome gifts, volunteering opportunities, community meetups and even the application for the scholarship itself – they are all targeted to help applicants build skills in Mindset, Grit, and Working Out Loud.
Working Out Loud is a concept coined by John Stepper. In today’s interconnected and fast-paced world, success is not solely determined by individual brilliance or expertise; it thrives on collaboration, community, and the power of networks. Enter “Work Out Loud” (WOL), a transformative approach that empowers professionals to harness the full potential of collaboration, share their work openly, and cultivate meaningful connections.
At its core, WOL is a mindset and practice that encourages individuals to make their work visible, actively contribute to the success of others, and build purposeful networks. It is a departure from traditional silos and closed-door practices, ushering in a new era of transparency, generosity, and collective growth.
In this digital age, where information flows freely and barriers to communication have diminished, the power of working out loud has become more evident than ever. By sharing our ideas, progress, and challenges with a wider audience, we tap into the collective intelligence of our networks and unlock opportunities for collaboration, feedback, and learning.
Moreover, WOL is not just about broadcasting our work; it’s about building relationships that transcend geographical boundaries and professional hierarchies. It’s about finding like-minded individuals, diverse perspectives, and unexpected collaborations that fuel innovation and drive personal and organizational growth.
John even created a guide to help people facilitate their own work out loud circles. I envision where a community will build around the Sujeeth Foundation and we will be able to connect applicants to each other as they strive to determine their passion and achieve their purpose. To help with that community building I’ve gathered John’s guides in this blog post:
- Week 1: Attune your attention
In your first week, after getting to know your other Circle members a bit better, each of you will pick your own individual goal. Then you’ll take a step towards that goal by creating a “relationship list,” an initial list of people related to your goal. - Week 2: Offer your first contributions In Week 2, you’ll make simple contributions to people on your relationship list, deepening relationships in a small way. Just reviewing the list will further attune your attention to your goal, and the small steps you take each week will gradually increase your sense of empowerment.
- Week 3: Take three small steps
In Week 3, you’ll make a simple adjustment to managing your time, you’ll add to your relationship list, and you’ll offer another kind of contribution. These small steps will help reinforce and expand your practice. - Week 4: Earn someone else’s attention
How you present your contribution can make all the difference. This week, you’ll practice refining the way you write your messages and how you approach people in general. These exercises will make your contributions feel more personal and valuable, and more likely to be effective. - Week 5: Make it personal
Most people think far too narrowly about what they have to offer. This week can change that for you. The exercises will help you understand how the broad set of things you may take for granted - what makes you you - can serve as the basis for meaningful connections with others. - Week 6: Improve your visibility
It’s hard for anyone to discover you and your work when you’re invisible. This week, to improve your chances of making connections, you’ll take a step towards improving your online presence. Then you’ll use your improved presence to deepen a relationship. - Week 7: Be purposeful
This week, you’ll do one of the most powerful exercises in your Circle: “A letter from your future self.” By articulating a longer-term vision of what might be possible, you‘ll increase the chances of that vision becoming a reality. - Week 8: Make it a habit
Although you’ve spent seven weeks thinking of your goal in terms of people and contributions, you’re still working on making it a habit and mindset. It’s natural, for example, to struggle with finding time to work your list or remembering to follow up. This week, you’ll explore ways to reinforce your new habit so it takes less effort and feels increasingly natural, and to overcome the inevitable challenges and setbacks. Then you’ll practice empathy (again) in a way that might surprise you - and will certainly distinguish you. - Week 9: Explore more original contributions
At this point in your Circle, you’re ready to further expand your range of contributions by making more of your work and thinking visible. Even if this is new to some of you or makes you uncomfortable, the exercises this week will help you take a step, allowing you to create something simple that’s also generous and useful. - Week 10: Become more systematic
Having a system can make things easier. This week, you’ll work with two simple systems, one for identifying new contributions and one for managing your relationship list. Then you’ll offer something which you may never have thought of as a contribution. - Week 11: Imagine the possibilities
So far, the focus has been on your individual contributions and connections. In Week 11, you’ll expand your sense of what’s possible by thinking more broadly about your network, your role in it, and what you might accomplish together. - Week 12: Reflect and celebrate
This final week marks the end of a process, and maybe a kind of beginning. You’ll reflect on what has changed for you and what might come. In your last exercise, you’ll make several additional contributions, including some for yourself. Hold this final meeting over lunch or dinner if you can - or come up with some other creative way to create an environment that’s conducive to celebration