Tune in for new post on my first 10 days at Schwarzman discussing what should one really make of our programme: it is leadership, but how? I wrote about reflection, listening, my concept of leadership and various personal matters. At the end, there is a bit of Chinese history too!
This is the question I get all the time: what is the Schwarzman programme really about? Actually, it is not so easy to answer. One could give the official line: Master's Degree of Management Science in Global Affairs. Of course, this as broad and obscure as it gets. I could share some modules I’ll be taking: Data and AI, Chinese Philosophy, Global Economy and Public Policy. Maybe one step closer, still, we fail to capture the true essence of the programme. Sharing the purpose of Schwarzman Scholars is probably the best approach: to train a new generation of global leaders for the 21st century with a deeper understanding of China. But how the hell does one train global leaders? Don’t blame yourself. Initially, I did not have a clue either.
Nearing the end of orientation, I am starting to get an idea. Imagine yourself in the countryside with a friend. Hiking in the hills, you notice a beautiful butterfly and start following it. After a while, it disappears. Looking around, you realise that you wandered deep into the forest and stand surrounded by majestic trees, lush vegetation and the sounds of wildlife. Suddenly, you are in a rich, dark and uncharted place where a sense of exploration, warmth and nervous fear strike you simultaneously.
This is how lessons of leadership embrace us in the programme. Its shrouds and flowers are everywhere. In our readings, lectures, other scholars, coaching, symbols, stories, even the online infrastructure. Our task is to find the way out of the forest. Throughout the endeavour, we may observe, collaborate, eat berries, drink water, craft tools, even cut through the shrubbery if so needed.
The point is, each of our choices during the programme is a leadership choice, which determines outcomes and with it our unique path towards the edge.
When we emerge, hopefully we are wiser and better people.
So, I just entered the forest with my fellow scholars. Actually, it is more of a thick jungle. What’s the first thing we do? Self- and environmental awareness.
The better we know ourselves and our environment, the easier it is to overcome challenges. Reflection and listening are the key skills of acquiring this knowledge. It all started even before we got here. In Winter, we were asked to write about our expectations and fears for the year and to make one minor commitment we will hold ourselves to. It sparked a lot of useful reflection. It was in that process that I realised how lost I am when it comes to finding my individual purpose, which is my objective for this year after all. But I also made a commitment, which I have been keeping for four days now since I joined my fellow scholars in London: I hit the gym every day. Since I left high school, I haven’t worked out. It is a small but significant change and I am really glad about it.
Of course, since we started the experience shifted into higher gears. First of all, we completed two Hogan Assessments: the Personality Inventory (HPI) and the Development Survey (HDS). These are comprehensive reviews of the bright and dark sides of one’s personality respectively, often used in the coaching of C-suite executives. These are fairly similar to the “16 personalities” tests, just much more accurate and elaborate, properly validated in scientific studies.
Receiving the results was quite thrilling but also a shock. It is rarely that I read two 15-page reports, which feel like looking into a mirror with macro-zoom applied.
My 2% Dutiful and 95% Mischievous scores on HDS could have hit me hard but thankfully we were not left alone with our thoughts. The assessment was a part of our ‘Schwarzman Leader Development Series’, a module taught by Todd Henshaw, who led and developed the leadership programmes of the US Military Academy at West Point and now coaches business leaders around the world. He helped us capture the right interpretation and put the surveys in context. If that wasn’t enough, our Careers Director, Julia Zupko became a certified Hogan coach to offer us individual, specialised training sessions. How amazing is that? I am so booking one.
Anyhow, what have I learnt?
One, self-awareness takes openness, reflection and data. While the surveys do not tell you what to do, they can pinpoint strengths, weaknesses and critical areas. Among these, probably the latter are the most important. In high-pressure situations, these are one’s attributes that can turn into so-called ‘derailers’. For example, my 95% ‘Mischievous’ score. The nice side of it is being risk-seeking, witty, charming, adventurous and limit-testing. But it can also bring out the worst of me: over-promising and under-delivering, ignoring inconvenient things and thinking that all my mistakes will be forgiven. The last one is especially important. It has happened before, I have never been forgiven, and it almost cost me a really precious thing.
Two, you can do something about it. No, it’s not really possible to change one’s character. That is pretty much pre-set and only changes when something really dramatic (death, disease, disaster) happens with us. But we can change our leadership behaviour and reputation. In other words, we can learn to manage our risks. It takes considerable skill and discipline but is very much possible. The first step towards it is acknowledging the challenge.
Lastly, there is no one leadership recipe. Each of us are different material with varying characteristics. There is no such thing as a great Hogan score (or a born leader), what matters is what we make of ourselves. More specifically, that we understand our why, develop our narrative and rise to the challenge of managing our risks. Accepting this makes it easier to be vulnerable in front of others because we stop comparing and start creating. Additionally, it allows for candid feedback, yielding even more data for reflection. But how to get and interpret that data? That’s where cross-cultural communication comes in.
I am not sure how much I can share, there is so much to unpack, so let me drop a few concepts that we learnt about: ‘culture as a lens’, levels of identity analysis from the personal to the universal, collectivism vs individualism, monochronic vs polychronic society (I just heard about it; the perception of time is immensely different across cultures and important in determining behavioural patterns), high-context vs low-context interaction, deep culture.
But by far my favourite was the application of mindfulness as a continual process to grapple with all these differences.
Most of us still think of leadership as the shouting boss who keeps ordering people to do this and do that. For us, mindfulness is now taught as something ‘core’. As you may well know, one part of it is self-awareness. What was new for me is the external dimension. The external mindfulness of tuning into others’ assumptions with all our senses and an open mind. Complete listening; very well grasped by the corresponding Chinese character. It sounds very simple and obvious, but it isn’t. To achieve a state of mind that is suitable for such reception one has to go through arduous self-development. For example, by deconstructing implicit biases, which is probably the most difficult of all. Eventually, the objective is to reach a smooth and continual process of knowledge extraction, reflection and action resulting in driving change.
I am really grateful that we are learning about these topics at Schwarzman because otherwise I might not have come onboard with some of them. Alas, I still have a lot to learn!
Now the last bit: practice!
When I mentioned the other scholars as part of the sprawling ‘leadership forest’ I was not joking. They are a tremendous source of knowledge, but of course as they come from different cultures and backgrounds, each of them takes a different approach to get to know. That’s what we are focusing on in our so-called ‘Leading Lives’ sessions (which last for 4! hours), sharing intimate stories under the loving guidance of Schwarzman and Rhodes alumni. Last Saturday, we had a bit of an introduction with personal effects, talked about the highs and lows in our lives and how we coped with them,
but most excitingly we all shared a picture of what leadership means for us. It was incredible.
One of us shared a family picture and talked about the strength of her mother as a driving force, one brought a picture of an umbrella that kept a place dry in the rain, another scholar showed a photo of students he taught in rural China. Many different interpretations, equally valid and important. I really enjoyed finding points of relation and also finding the right picture for me.
During the past few months, I have come to understand that my leadership is not really about standing in front of people and calling them to follow me. Instead, I carve out or build new space, offering others an opportunity to fill it.
I may orient them towards it, but not necessarily directly. In a way, it is like water. I have always been fascinated how it adapts to shapes and yet shapes them over time as a force of nature. Still, for the picture I wanted something more ‘human’.
At first, I thought of the regulation of rivers. One of the greatest achievements of Hungarian development was the controlling of the Tisza, turning huge flood areas into fertile land for all-year agriculture. It is a splendid example of leadership that created opportunity for the many and naturally empowered them to act in the direction of the greater good. But it missed two elements: building and connecting. The Netherlands came to my mind. If someone managed to harness the powers of nature, it is the Dutch people. Their systems of dams and canals are truly inspiring. But were there earlier examples?
That is how I was reminded of a piece on Chinese geography and the theme of taming nature. Rivers have been playing a key role in Chinese history as a source of hardship and opportunity. So much so that the Chinese word for economy jīngjì (经济) is still composed of the characters ’to bear, to endure’ and ’to cross a river, to aid, to help’. The first of their major victories against this liquid power was an awesome engineering feat completed by 5 million labourers between 604-609 CE. It is called the Grand Canal (大運河), the world’s largest artificial river linking Luòyáng (洛阳) in the West, Hángzhōu (杭州) in the South and Běijīng (北京) in the North. When Marco Polo visited in the 1200s, he recorded the amazing intensity of commerce along the canal, but we also know that it was what made possible the provision of reliable food supply across the country, as well as stronger integration through offering an easy and safe way of long-distance travel for officials. Constructing it was leadership par excellence. It was the perfect picture for me.
So, this is a brief summary and impression of my first 10 days at Schwarzman. I just received my module selection results and I am happy to see that a lot more leadership is coming: Leadership in Public Emergencies and Crises, Leadership in Diplomacy and Security, Leadership in Public Organisations, Leading in Civil Society Organisations, Leading in International Organisations, Practice in Global Leadership. There will be a lot of material to process and embrace. I just need to find the time to properly reflect.