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Leadership Energy In MalaysiaPosted by Nipun Mehta on Oct 28, 2014
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So, as we met for the first time, Rajeev explained: "I show the video of your Harker talk at all my trainings. Must’ve been over a thousand people last year!" How exactly is generosity relevant to leadership? It turns out that we spend 80 billion dollars a year on building leaders, but without much success. Originally, people believed that great leaders are born, not made. Then, we went through an era where we felt that those on the top were the gifted ones, or the ones with high competency, or those who were most agile and adaptive. Following that, we saw an era of command and control leadership and then a transformation leadership to create change. Rajeev’s thesis, though, is that leadership is none of the above. Rather, it’s a dynamic resource that is rooted into our inner capacities like compassion and forgiveness. Gandhi, Mandela, Mother Teresa are all exemplars of such leadership, and yet it is not something we can teach via books. It requires an ongoing commitment to an inner transformation.

Seeds of small ripples were planted even before I arrived. In the spirit of gratitude, the event organizers offered a hefty honorarium; when I asked them to pay that forward to a Gandhian NGO, they were very moved and in the spirit of even more gratitude, :) they gently gifted a plane ticket for Guri and routed both our return flights through India. Moreover, at the conference itself, they decided to boldly experiment with generosity. Instead of a commercial snack bar, they turned it into a pay it forward “charging station” -- complete with many Wisdom Crafts products, Smile Decks, lots of interactive art and much more.

At the end of half a day, one of the organizers noted that they received more than they would’ve in the span of two transactional days. And that’s just the financial ledgers. ;)

The day opened with a keynote by Francois Pienaar. He gave touching first-hand stories of Nelson Mandela, and his experience of winning the rugby World Cup and becoming a courageous symbol of forgiveness in post-Apartheid South Africa. The first time he met Madiba (as they called Mandela), he walked out to greet Francois and even spoke to him in his native tongue. Over the course of their long friendship, Francois came to recognize Madiba’s humility time and time again. On the previous night, during a car ride with Guri and myself, I asked Francois for the most defining value of Nelson Mandela’s character. Without needing to pause for reflection, he shot back instantly: “Selflessness.” Then, he continued: “Madiba constantly sacrificed everything, even his own family, for the benefit of others. I’ve never met anyone like that. I aspire to be like him, but to be honest, I don't think I can do it.”

That night, after the keynotes, there was a fancy, seven-course meal with about 100 heavy hitters from around Malaysia. I had the honor of being the only one invited to speak, and I themed my half-hour address on humility. Opening with the Dalai Lama story of bowing lower than everyone else, I said: "As leaders, we are expected to have answers, but it is our humility that will ensure that we don't forget about life's most important questions." Listening to some ServiceSpace stories, Woz was in tears -- as were others. (I think some folks were more impressed that Woz teared up, than they were with the content of my talk :)).
After the talk, a seemingly introverted Chinese man was the first to raise his hand. It surprised many. He was the president of MayBank. "I'd like to share a video," he said. It was a video on acts of kindness that his employees had done! Everyone started sharing stories of generosity. The message clearly hit home, to the point that even CNBC asked for an interview in the after hours. :) In perhaps the most touching moment, Francois came up to me and said, “You know, I was thinking of dropping my charity work to 30% but just wanted you to know that after tonight, I won’t be doing that. Thank you.” Although I felt like a small kid next to his 7-foot-plus frame, we hugged like two rugby players. :) It was a classic moment.

One feels blessed to hold space for such kinds of connections. After my talk, I remember one fellow thanking me with, “You inspire me to be a better Muslim.”

This was my first trip to Malaysia. And yet a bunch of people said, "It’s the first time we're meeting but I feel like I've known you for years." Sometimes, I figure that people have a sense of familiarity because of online videos and such. But then sometimes, I wonder if it goes deeper than that -- into a profound resonance of shared values. I don’t know, but I’m starting to develop a hunch. :)
Terima Kasih (gratitude) for this field of noble affinities.
Posted by Nipun Mehta | | permalink
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Nazrul Islam wrote ...
it will be great pleasure for me more if i would be in practically there with u,
Jyoti wrote ...