Introduction to Leadership

In the morning, we were having a talk with Dr. Nicholas Barker regarding leadership. Nicholas Barker coordinates leadership education at the East-West Center and is Program Director of the Asia Pacific Leadership Program, as well as the Leadership Certificate offered to degree students. Dr. Barker’s leadership research interests include: indigenous models of leadership in the Asia-Pacific; diversity training; negotiation and conflict resolution; visioning, strategic planning, and coaching; transformational leadership; gender and leadership; effective communication; team building and group dynamics; power, influence and ethics; and facilitation and collaborative leadership. Trained as a cultural anthropologist at Cambridge University, he has conducted long-term fieldwork in the Philippines and was formerly on the faculty of the Department of Anthropology at St. Andrews University, Scotland, as well as a Visiting Fellow at Nagoya University, Japan, and the University of the Philippines (Diliman).

At first, Dr. Nick ask us to talk to a partner and tell them about the most successful leadership story in our life. The partner is responsible to listen and ask them into more details and gain as much as possible what is our partner's view on leadership. Then we were asked to identify one word that describe the person's value of leadership. After that, we were having a mock cocktail party and asked to discuss with each other 3 questions that will always be asked in your whole life about leadership, which are:

1. Are leaders born or leaders are made?
2. Was Hitler a leader?
3. Does woman leads differently by a man?

The answers to this questions are varied and depends on how people define leadership. It is recommended to define it based on the leadership values. But again, there is no absolutely right or wrong answer to this questions and we have to continue to develop our answers and arguments as it will continue to be asked for the rest of your life.

The next activity is the decisions and decision-making exercise. We were given a scenario where several people are stranded in an island and there is only a chance to save one person for the time being. All the people that are stranded there have their own needs and importance. So, we have to make a consensus on which person to be saved first and we cannot vote. However, we failed to reach consensus at the end of the discussion. The are several things that can be learned from the exercise and one of it is the people's perception in viewing things. Some are based on values/ethics and more are based on rationale. This exercise shows that reaching consensus is not easy although it is not totally impossible. We always have to continue making decisions even it is the wrong decision. All the decisions cannot satisfy everybody, and someone must sacrifice or compromise even though it is hurting.

Nick was telling on a real story about two friends who went for hiking at the mountain and they are caught in a snow storm and one of them broke his leg. So, his friend decided to lowered him down a cliff using ropes even though they can't see anything down there. The he felt his hands are getting numb he did not know whether his friend is okay or otherwise as he can't see anything. Then he made a hard decision to cut the rope and save himself then he get rescued the next day. We he did not know is his friend has actually survive the fall. He seeks for shelter in a cave after he was drop and stranded there alone with a broken leg. Then he tell himself that he have to make decision to survive so he decided to go further into the cave and climb down using a rope. He just continue moving further and further until he finds a light which shows that there are and exit. He get rescued after them. The survivor tells his story and says that he just have to continue making decision even if it is a wrong decision to survive. This story shows that sometimes we have to make a decision which we does not like to but don't stop making one. Decision-making is not an easy task but we have to decide anyway.

The evening session covers the Action Plans by Ms. Christina Monroe, the USIE coordinator. Today session is more on reflecting on our past and identify the key events or persons that change our view and shape who we are now. It is important to know our past first before we look at our future. So, we have to make an exercise called the river of life, where it represents all the key events in our life and what does all this means. There are several other exercises which reflects on our past. At the end of the program, we are expected to see the future and think of what we want to become afterwards. So, this is the first step in the process.

As usual, after the class has ended, we went for a walk. Today's location: Alamoana. It is a place where the Walmart and the shopping mall is located (I think it is the only shopping mall in Waikiki) They sell branded items here but the place looks like a bus station. Anyway, I have my real food here at last for $11.