Leadership - Godawari, Central Nepal (I)
the adventure
​
"What you're trying to teach will be too hard for them to learn!"
​
So said all the well-meaning skeptics. It was not because they looked down upon the Nepalese, but because many of them had worked with the Nepalese and were familiar enough with their mindsets. Several explained their concerns: the typical Nepalese would prefer not to think too hard, plan too much, or organise things in a systematic and disciplined fashion. The servant leadership and mission planning skills that I was trying to promote would require too much of them. I would just come away frustrated and disappointed. And, so on.....
​
Their well-meaning advice gave me pause. Yet, I felt a need to test and push the developmental envelope. What if I could somehow deconstruct abstract concepts into a set of simple-enough guided steps that we could all learn, practice, repeat and spread? What if we could help these Nepalese leaders build their muscle memory through experiential learning? And, what if we could demonstrate that entrenched mindsets could be shifted? Should we not at least try?
​
So, try we did! We used simple diagrams, pictures and familiar parallels to teach operationally essential leadership skills, and we used experiential activities for the application of servant leadership lessons. Through this approach, the young Nepalese leaders in this course learned how to choose servant leadership practices instead of toxic behaviour and rigid mindsets. Trust building became associated with everyday processes familiar to most Nepalese, such as the steps for cooking Nepalese curry. Systematic thinking was introduced via a toast-making challenge, and reinforced by deconstructing the steps needed to start up and push off on a motorcycle. Empowered action was expressed in terms of specific step-by-step questions that would guide the taking of initiative, innovative problem-solving, and evaluation of solutions. And, mission planning was similarly framed in a simple but holistic five-step process.
​
Learning was not simply confined to the classroom. On Day One, for example, a night-time Leaders' March into the nearby mountains provided the participants ample opportunities to practice their servant leadership skills under uncertain and challenging conditions. After some 30 minutes of uphill hiking in the dark, it started to rain. And, the poor visibility and pouring monsoon rain was aggravated by the undulating and slippery terrain, devious leeches, shivering cold, and the numerous "stretcher casualties" that the teams had to bear. Some readily helped others in spite of personal discomfort and challenges, while some used the darkness and rain to mask their selfish behaviour. By the time we struggled to the summit several hours later, completely wet and shivering, everyone had had a first-hand taste of what would soon become a familiar challenge throughout the course: "how will I behave as a servant leader when things become hard?"
As they became exposed to the specific "hows" of each operational concept and skill, the participants started to realise that these previously-vague and high-level ideas were "learn-able". With a bit of practice, their confidence began to grow, and we could see some encouraging shifts in mindset.
​
On the last day, the participants were put through a much tougher finale Leaders' March, where they had to tackle several physical, intellectual and character challenges en route, while under time pressure. Despite these, they surprised themselves (and us) with a much-improved display of cohesion, discipline and selflessness. It was really quite amazing!
​
Indeed, there was no greater satisfaction than witnessing this osmosis process take place before our eyes. This was community empowerment in action! Beyond just talking, we were taking concrete steps, under Project Fresh Hope, to deepen their servant leadership and operational capabilities. We were also starting to create a unified set of operating procedures and frameworks that would guide the planning and execution of future missions. Working myself out of a job was now becoming a more realisable goal....
​
​
