3 Lessons from Young Japanese Leaders

Setting:

I concluded two more, week long,  global leadership workshops for young Japanese leaders. In their own words the workshops were insightful learning experience. They feel confident and equipped as leaders. The young leaders are being groomed to  lead the AI revolution on the global front. They appreciated the content and effort that went in to get them ready to play the big game.

More interesting and fascinating were the lessons I received from the two weeks. The 3 lessons that I walked away with- be Adaptive, Intelligent  and Listen

1.  Adaptive:

English was not the primary language of the participants. They have to adapt to the growing global need of communicating in English. I came across this TED talk by Heather Hansen about “2 Billion Voices and how to speak bad english perfectly” which is an eye opener

The speed at which each participant adapted to my spoken English, which for them was new, unique and unheard of before was fascinating. This trait will be a virtue for the young business leaders as they work with culturally diverse and wide spread teams

For me. Made me think and question the times i have passed an opportunity to speak, or coach because I was unable to adapt quickly to the change in environment.

Its the limiting belief in the mind that keeps us from doing things which are important and need to be done.  We pass on because we think we are not able to because of a perceived notion. We believe that we need to be perfect. Its not necessary to be perfect, its important to start and adapt as we go along

2. Intelligence: 

The participants displayed exceptional ability to acquire, retain and apply the knowledge and skills  from previous experience. The demonstration of forming meaningful connections to the theory and practical taught within a short span of time was

For me- It was awe inspiring to notice the inspiring & intelligent connections that were made and presented at the end of the workshops.

I learnt that honing your intelligence at a high speed is a must have.  Intelligence is the differentiator whether you will continue your personal growth or stagnate.

3. Listening:

When you are talking you are not learning. We have heard this before, yet we are talking most times. Yes, not just the constant mouth chatter also the mind chatter

The deep listening that the participants engaged in during the entire program was like an art form. This deep listening opened up the space for some spectacular questions.  Questions led to detailed learning of the more difficult concepts

For me- The world around highlights the need to be found by being the loudest and most talkative. It is not a requisite though. A lot can and is being achieved by listening. Listen then question. The quality of your questions will determine the quality of your learning. 

So, what three focus goals can you set up for your self in the three areas – to Be Adaptive, Intelligent  and Listen?