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July,
2007 Welcome
to Leadership Hand™, a monthly e-newsletter To ensure receipt, please white-list our address by adding "Info@" plus our domain name to your e-mail address book. 1. Honoring Who Came Before - A Visit to Beijing's Summer Palace We're gliding silently across a wide, peaceful lake on a marvelous Dragon Boat enjoying just a hint of breeze. The bow is adorned with the fierce, colorful head and elongated neck of a dragon. We sit inside his long body, in rows of seats that extend around his sides and down his middle all the way to the stern, which is accented by a lovely bench just in front of the dragon's upright tail.
"We" are Natalie from the U.S., Mercedes from Mexico, Graham from Australia, George from Indonesia, and others who have come to Beijing for a coaching conference on corporate social responsibility. The murmurs of conversation are companionable, interested, and interesting as we visit the Summer Palace--built in the late Qing Dynasty to replace the one previously destroyed. More than 800 years of history all told. The Dragon Boat smoothly arrives at Longevity Hill. As I meander through the courtyards, I hear periodic bursts of laughter coming from a small room. I approach and peer in the window. One at a time, people are being dressed in the robe of an Emperor or Empress and donning the respective head gear to have their picture taken on a throne. A small woman sets the stage with forceful precision by shoving people's hands into emperor-like positions or pushing on a head to ensure a more regal pose. The playfulness that glows from each person's eyes belies the woman's attempts at formality and authenticity. Then two strapping young men in their late 30s and two slim young women enter the courtyard, pushing an elder in a wheelchair. A wheelchair in a place that isn't wheelchair friendly! They, too, peer into the room, and seem to make a decision. Gently, they help the elder woman from her chair, up the few stairs, and into the room. Help her stand as an Empress's half-robe is placed on her shoulders and draped over her front, and then guide her up more steps to sit on the gold velvet throne. She holds her back straight as a head dress is put on her. The young men and women beam. There is such tenderness in the young people's gestures and actions! How much easier their visit would be without the challenges of the wheelchair the elder woman requires. Having made the first decision to bring her, how much easier to have let her sit outside the temples or this room or that shop while someone stayed with her and others went inside. It is an extraordinarily beautiful example of honoring one who comes before… mother, grandmother, great aunt, it doesn't matter. The act of honoring creates a lineage--strength flows into them from behind from all those who went before and that strength molded and shaped by them, and creates a full, rich present with new possibilities ahead. What power informs their actions and their future! What respect imbues them and their family! Respecting the one who comes before makes so much sense when we apply it to our families! But this practice holds an important lesson for our work families, too. If regardless of personalities, we honor the fact that someone preceded us or at a minimum, we acknowledge they came before as we take our place next in line. . . If regardless of the merit of their leadership tenure (or the perceived lack thereof), we include what was good about their efforts. . . If we take what those who came before put in place, and now make something more of it. . . Respectfully. . . Imagine being
a part of a group that consciously acknowledges the essential fact
that others came before, that without them we wouldn't be. What
additional strength might our own actions have? How would it be
to lead this kind of company, division, or team? How would it be
to work in it? © Copyright 2007, Beth Hand. Beth Hand, MBA helps leaders increase their effectiveness and satisfaction, now and for the future. She can be reached at (+1) 703.820.8074 or via her website www.leadershiphand.com. 2. Reprint Permission This is a copyrighted publication. You are welcome to reprint an issue on a non-exclusive basis provided you:
3. Subscribe • Privacy Click here to subscribe. To unsubscribe click on the link below. We value your privacy. We never redistribute, rent or sell your information to anyone or any entity. We
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