This is a picture of the Chinese character for water. One of the students made it for me in my journal. He said that this character holds a lot of power in China. Water is a powerful symbol because it is so adaptable. Think about all the forms that water can take and the power it has in each of them: ice, steam, erosion, irrigation, floods.
Flowing water will find its way over, around or through obstacles that are in its path. A successful leader is one who has this ability to adapt to finding ways around obstacles and is constantly looking at ways to change in order to be competitive. “Building the 21st Century Leader” is an article at Entrepreneur.com about successful leaders and they listed adaptability as one of the most important traits for success:
“…leaders need to design their whole company for adaptability, not just possess the trait themselves. Build an environment where workers are encouraged to express their points of view and to raise tough issues before they become crises. Have an organizationwide emphasis on learning from mistakes.”
The article gives an example of the CEO of a global bank who selects the biggest mistake made for the year and then sends that person around the globe to help others learn from it.
Many of the young women in this leadership program are afraid to speak in front of the class because they may make a mistake in their English. Consider this challenge in a second language when public speaking in your first language is such a big fear. I have emphasized multiple times that if they are not standing up and making mistakes then they are not fully participating and learning. Are you playing all out or on the sidelines afraid of making a mistake?
Drinking Water in China
It is a common site to see “scooter trucks” (my term) hauling large bottles of drinking water. Water from the faucet is not safe to drink; all of the drinking water is delivered to campus in these large plastic bottles. Several of the students in the Academy have dreams of providing access to safe drinking water in their villages that currently have only contaminated water.
Please leave a comment about learning from your mistakes or when you were strong like water and ran over your obstacles!