Last week, MPI Fellow, author, speaker, and #shiftdisturber, Nilofer Merchant, visited our headquarters in Toronto.

For three days Nilofer met with, inspired, learned from, and fostered passionate discussion about the power of the individual, and the future of our workplaces.

Nilofer challenged each of us to think about our Onlyness. What is the perspective that only you can bring? What is the place from which you stand as an individual? What is the thing that defines only you? And how do you want to be perceived?

Nilofer taught us to claim our onlyness as strength. The better we define ourselves, the less we leave to be defined by others. It was a busy couple of days in Toronto. With some time to reflect we’ve polled MPI-ers and compiled what we think are the most resonant takeaways…

MPI presents: The Top 10 Things We Learned From Nilofer Merchant

• Individuality should be defined by the individual
• Social and evolutionary pressures force us to be the same; remember: there is value in uniqueness
• Uncovering inherent talent, rather than relying on assigned credentials, is the key to unlocking real value for organizations
• Embracing onlyness, not creating a brand, generates personal value
• For onlynes to be effective in the workplace we must foster onlyness in ourselves and embrace the onlyness of others
• Onlyness reminds us to ask: who are my champions; who am I championing?
• To be authentic, a personal brand must be organic
• Strength comes from personal experience
• Onlyness is not a branding exercise; onlyness is a way of being
• Don’t shy away from bringing personality into a professional setting

For more on our Nilofer, our Fellows and the #shiftdisturbers series, please click here.