This week, I have been working with my client, a micro-finance bank called Noa. I heard about the lashing, almost horizontal rain in the UK, from my wife, when we spoke on the telephone on Wednesday night but it wasn’t until yesterday that I read in the newspaper that the storm was called Noa.
How strange I thought to myself.
The name Noa in Hebrew means movement or motion.
I spent a lot of the time during the Leadership Programme on Wednesday, talking about movement and motion as a leader and how in this way alone, leadership differs from management.
The wonderful Albanian people I was with represented a brand new cohort and understandably, some of them were a little nervous about attending the Leadership Programme. For some, it is a language issue, despite my reassurances that their English is way better than my non-existent Albanian.
For others, it could be that the prospect of spending a whole day with several other people, about whom they may not know much at all, is also a potential cause for concern, or even stress.
The fact that after the event, they were all extremely positive and very happy with the experience was obviously encouraging for me.
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The way I like to set out the room means there are no tables, and we spend much of the time sat in a circle together. There are times when I will get them to break out into pairs or smaller groups to mix things up a bit.
For some people this set up alone, is a challenge.
One person apparently said to his friend, “You expect me to be in this room for eight hours, with no tables?”
By the end of our time together, he was as positive about the experience as anyone in the group.
It proved to me once again, that even in the midst of a storm – be that a near hurricane level wind and rain storm – or one that can rage in your head at the prospect of moving way outside your comfort zone, if you dare to try something different, you might be pleasantly surprised.
Until next time, be blessed to be a blessing!
Paul
