The Abililty to Respond

Last night I was reading the article assigned to us as part of the course. The title of the article was "Was It About Race Or Not". The article describes a situation where a man of African descent is insulted because a woman of European descent questioned him about whether he worked for the organization he was attempting to enter. She also requested that he present her with proof by asking for identification. The situation arose because Dillon (the man) piggybacked behind Hope (the woman) upon entering the secure garage where they both were employed. Dillon took the incident to be racially motivated, where Hope simply explained she did not recognize him and was afraid of his intentions. She claims it had nothing to do with his ethnicity.

I have learned much over the course of this semester and about myself. The very first idea that crossed my mind when reading this article is that I have reacted in the very same manner on many occasions. I think the African American male is conditioned by America for this reaction. Sometimes it is not race, and sometimes it is race. I also reflected on the idea put forth by Stephen Covey in his "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People". The idea of being proactive. The idea of having the ability to respond. We have the power to choose how we are going to react to people and circumstances. I understand that we can not control people or the events in our lives, but we can certainly control how we respond. This is a very empowering realization for me. Though I have read this many times in other works on leadership and spiritual development.

Upon reflection, I realized that I have had this power all along. Yet I have rarely utilized it. Much of my career in corporate America I have been faced with situations that were not to my liking. I now understand that for the most part these situations represented a lack of leadership in the organization. In each situation, I reacted negatively. Perhaps I simply left the company. In some cases, I became confrontational. If I only knew then, what I know now. There are so many better ways that I now understand, I could have handled the situation. But most importantly, now I understand that I always have the option to respond in a way that benefits me, or more importantly, I can resond in a way that maybe fills the leadership void and offers a voice to others that in effect may resolve the problem.

Working on Greatness,

Kai Dupe

Leadership Needed: Be A Leader.

The last few weeks I have really began to internalize and recognize illustrations of many of the leadership concepts that I we have been studying this semester. In the past, I have read many books on leadership, but this semester I have made the leap to understanding. Earlier in the week, I viewed a taping of an interview with the Head Basketball Coach at Texas Tech, Bobby Knight. Knight and NBA legend Isaiah Thomas was being interviewed by Stephen A. Smith on his ESPN show “Quite Frankly”.

During the interview, Knight repeatedly gave examples of how he worked to instill character in the young men that he had coached during his tenure at Indiana University. The respect and admiration that Mr. Thomas has for Coach Knight was obvious. He spoke about how much he had learned from his former coach and how you can measure the coach’s success by observing how any of his former players conduct themselves and by the success they are having away from the basketball court.

At the end of the interview, Knight admonished that America is facing a leadership crisis. He stated that discipline and character are missing from our young people today and that leaders and role models must step forward to provide much needed leadership. This statement made an impression on me. I usually think of leaders from the standpoint of business and success. The interview helps me to view leadership from a more traditional standpoint. There is no bottom line of profit, the leader is simply leading.

This week I also watched a taped version of one of my favorite shows, The Tavis Smiley show on PBS. Tavis was airing a tribute to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The Montgomery boycott is considered by many to be the spark of the civil rights movement, and the incident that catapulted Dr. Martin Luther King onto the American landscape. It was very profound show. Tavis interviewed the current mayor of Montgomery as well as two of the most well known civil rights leaders of sixties John Lewis and Reverend Joseph Lowery. As the discussion ensued, the idea of leadership once again emerged. Reverend Lowery made the point that America is missing leaders with character and morality at the highest levels. America is desperate for moral leadership he repeatedly stated.

All of this started me to thinking about what I have been learning in my leadership class. I specifically began to think about problems that have had in the past as it relates to many of the lessons I have read about in Stephen Covey’s latest work, “The 8th Habit. Many times in the past when problems caused by poor leadership arose during my tenure at a company usually my response has been to simply leave the company. While I started thinking about this, I recognized I have done this many times. It never occurred to me that these were opportunities for me to step up and become a leader. I could have solved the problems by being a leader. By doing what Mr. Covey suggests and being a “trim-tabor” and leading in my sphere of influence.

Currently I am experiencing the same kind of problems in my current position as a technical instructor. And I have reverted back to some of my old ways of handling such problems. Upon reflection, I have decided to lead my way out of the situation. I have decided to look at the problem as an opportunity to lead. So, that is what I intend to do. Only time will tell If I am successful or not. Nevertheless, I am very excited about trying something knew. And if my leadership is a success I will have made a much greater impact in the organization than I could have ever imagined.

Learning about Leadership,
Kai Dupe