Ten years ago, I travelled to Zurich to complete a Leadership course. It was one of my MBA electives. It wasn’t compulsory to do this on exchange program but I wanted to expand my network and explore learning in a different cultural setting. In the course, I presented an interesting topic titled “Leadership in Me”. I talked about leadership comes from within and what it means for me.
I remember vividly “Leadership in Me” among many other agenda. In essence, I used to think leadership is a skill set that is complex and only seasoned professionals can materialise. Subsequently, I spent most of my time exploring and learning from biographies of successful leaders with ambition to become one. Prominent leaders I admire include Jack Welch, Oprah Winfrey and my first ever mentor. Along with self-study, I constantly benchmark myself to others and find gaps to improve. At the age of 28 that time, I felt that a lot of work needs to be done.
The classroom vibe was extraordinary. Being surrounded by superiority and intelligent individuals was nerve-wrecking. This cold feet feeling was very common considering my humble beginning and lack of guidance to succeed. I made my way to attend an elective study in Zurich. Travelling from a small town to one of the most sophisticated places in Europe made me feel proud yet intimidated. Admittedly, I deliberately put myself out of comfort zone. I could make a fool of myself if I’d fail.
Leadership comes from home.
One of my course mates took the lead in presenting ahead of others. He inspired me with his one-of-a-kind speech where he did not relate the key topic from his professional world. Contrary, he delivered his leadership story as a husband, a dad, and mostly a hero for his family. He spoke about leadership comes from home, where his family ignited the leadership in him and shaped him to becoming a dynamic individual.
A dynamic persona is a leader’s key trait. His speech delivery was certainly impressive and still has an impact on how I view leadership today. I appreciate his story that I wish I’d recorded it.
Leadership comes from within.
Responsively, I spoke about leadership comes from within. Growing up with my siblings who are intelligent breed, there was a strong focus from my family on their academic achievements. The fact that I am not as bright, I find myself constantly left behind. A follower trying hard to keep up, impress, and prove my worth just to get attention. I hate to say this, but my desire to lead came from compounding years of being overlooked. “I can do this.”
Coming from a conservative country, a woman is often seen as successful when she marries a successful man. Simply say, a woman’s future is dependent on a man. To add, family has so much involvement in a woman’s livelihood especially when it comes to marriage. Female stereotypes were common and there was a lack of focus and guidance in helping girls to succeed. The only way to change this shallow perception in society is for women to lead by example. Only by taking this agenda to own hands can make women believe that they can be more than what society defines them to be.
Lead by example.
Fortunately, I met an inspiring mentor in my early career journey. She guided me and taught me ways to overcome self-inflicted inferior talk and developed me professionally. Social grace development was one of them. She was tough and I was eager to learn. “I want to be just like her.”
Along the way, I built courage and competed in an entrepreneur competition on national TV and earned third position. I didn’t win a big prize and was talked down by relatives and public for my foolishness. There was a list of ‘should have‘ thrown at me.
Blessing in disguise, the outcome opened many doors in my career and landed me in various corporate key roles. Plus, I leveraged this experience to constantly remind myself that the sky’s the limit. I have lead high performing teams and supported individuals to find their motivation.
Leadership in me.
The leadership in me comes from within. Studying and learning key traits from successful leaders is necessary. Who they are, what are their journey, how they made and continue making an impact to society.
More importantly, I learned that it is imperative to acknowledge who we are, reflect, understand our motivation to becoming a leader. A successful leader is what and how we define it to be. In my opinion, staying authentic and making a positive impact to society constitute a successful leader, doesn’t matter big or small. Leadership comes from within.
Photo by Chef’s Wife Diary