ONE of my passions is advocating good leadership. It is one of the reasons why even if I get thrown to different jobs or get assigned to different functions I always find time to conduct leadership training seminars to corporate institutions, NGOs and schools. My modules vary depending on the specific needs of my clients. There is, however, an essential element embedded in all of my activities, i.e., pressure.
Pressure (either physical or psychological) is a very powerful tool for self-awareness and for building character. It can break the hardest rock or can harden soft clay in the same manner that it can crack a tough guy or toughen up a feeble person. Having that as a premise, I always simulate forms of pressure in all of my games and activities in varying degrees to test people and bring the best out of them.
One time I facilitated a team building to a group of professionals in one of the cities I used to handle. With our limited time, I squeezed in a two-day module into a one-day activity. I was apprehensive at first but was later thankful I did so, the level of pressure and fun was doubled and so did the learnings.
With all the activities we had, I was quite struck with how differently the participants composed themselves under pressure. I had a game just to test them that.
In this particular game, the level of difficulty was very high. I gave them a task which made them mentally and physically exhausted. Yet the groups were so determined to finish the task laid on them. I noticed there were a few participants who at the start were taking the leadership role but when higher risks were at stake they suddenly left their posts and gave them to the others.
On the other hand, there were others who really surprised me because they were the quiet ones but when pressures came in, they stepped in to take the lead and risked being blamed had their group failed.
There were also others who were so engrossed to the goal of the game that in the process forgot to consider the human limitations of their co-players. One group was so careful that it took them like forever to make the next move while another group was a total opposite.
That day I saw three kinds of leaders: a carrot, an egg and a coffee bean.
1. A carrot leader -- a carrot is hard, but when placed in a boiling water, it slowly softens. A carrot leader would be that leader who at the start is so full of energy, very well directed, principled, grounded and firm. But when placed under a lot of pressure, he or she becomes soft and weak.
2. An egg leader -- an egg is very fragile. It is very soft in the inside, but when placed under a boiling water, it hardens. An egg leader would be that person who looks so soft, who does not assert, who always adjusts with the rest of the people but when placed under pressure, slowly hardens and becomes hard to the point of insensitivity.
3. A coffee bean leader -- a coffee bean is neither very hard nor very soft but when placed under fire, it would surely emit its aroma. The coffee bean leader would be that person who handles pressure well. When placed on a difficult situation, this person emits his/her aroma and the best of him/her comes out. Such is the leader we need in our government offices.