Foundations of Intentional Leadership!!!

Today, I would like to share a story on an important leadership trait, through a learned personal experience.

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How many times do you as an individual forget a person’s name? Especially call someone by a completely different name, later to realize you were way off mark. And if it is an organizational senior leader that you addressed, OMG!

I was attending a session and one of the new leaders in the organization, whom I had the honor of meeting a few weeks before, was part of the panel of speakers. Out of sheer excitement, I went over and exchanged pleasantries before the start of the session and then settled down to listen in. The introduction of the panelists started and to my bewilderment, I realized that I had addressed him by a totally different name! And then it struck me, that he did not utter a single word or express anything to correct me during that brief conversation and continued to be poised and grounded!

I would like to reference the Thirukkural here, as this one draws an absolute parallel, to this scenario.

Kural: ?????????? ???????? ???? ????????

??????? ??????? ???.

Transliteration: Panivudaiyan insolan aadhal oruvarku

Aniyalla matrup pira

Translation: Humility and sweetness of speech are the ornaments of humans; all besides this is not worth or precious.

As a leader, every individual looks up to you, listens to you, reads every expression consciously or subconsciously and learns. In this instance, this leader could have immediately corrected me, however, he chose not to. He chose to not make me feel uncomfortable by pointing my mistake. He chose to remain gracious and generous. One trait that resonated with me since this experience is “Humility” - an eminent trait of leadership, a behavior that one can always master, however, only with intent and practice.

A beautiful leadership lesson well told with just micro expression, or in this case no expression!

#leadership #Thirukkural #leadershiptraits #inspire