FOL Diaries: Part 3
My final thoughts on what has been an amazing few weeks at the Hands Across The Water, Future Of Leadership series. I always though this would be a significant series to be involved in from a proximity and exposure standpoint but in actuality, the true value to me has been the opportunity to grow as a speaker by learning from all of these amazing minds I’ve been lucky enough to share the stage with.
Before I get there though, I think it’s helpful to take a moment to step back to the time when I was presented with this opportunity. On the face of it I thought it sounded exciting, but I equally thought “what value to I have to add to a leadership conference?”. Self doubt is always my initial first preservation instinct and it wasn’t until I spoke to Peter Baines for the first time where he said “Just bring your best 25 minutes.” that I felt more comfortable about the proposition.
That calming of confidence is what got me in the door, but what made me feel at home was all of the other speakers who not only welcomed me, but had such an amazingly wide range of “leadership” topics that they spoke on. Whether it was links to leadership through nature, or the science behind dealing with stressful situations, even the connection of purpose and leadership as a powerful force, I soon realised that each perspective was as interesting as the last one.
These lessons on leadership taught me a lot about what is most certainly an interesting topic that can be painted with an extremely broad range of strokes and it’s not until I gained this perspective that I realised where my own story sits.
The main objective with my presentation was to get people in the audience to connect with the lessons of my story through the lens of their own set backs and adversities. Whilst leadership is often viewed solely as an ability to guide and motivate others, I’ve now seen that in order to do that, one must take a look inwards first. Whether that gives an insight into an individual’s purpose, or process, or their ability to have a clear mind, it really does show the importance of a ‘human first’ approach.
This knowledge certainly doesn’t automatically make me some sort of leadership guru but it does give me a new avenue to explore moving forward which does interest me. There’s a lot to be learned through the power of story and that is where the base of my speaking lies. How this applies to leadership is something you’ll hopefully see/hear soon enough.
I certainly owe a debt of gratitude to everyone involved in the conference over the past few weeks. Whether it’s been the perspective I’ve gained, or the conversations I’ve had, or the things I’ve learned about my place in the speaking world, I have nothing but positivity and happiness to reflect on.
But before I conclude these F.O.L Diaries, I wanted to have a quick word on the amazing work that Hands Across The Water are doing. These conferences are put on to support the work that Hands do to support children and communities in Thailand and if you’re looking to get involved, there are a number of things you can do. Whether it’s a simple donation, joining in on their life changing bike rides or attending next year’s Future Of Leadership, I’m sure there’s something that will appeal to whoever you are or whatever you do. This is an incredible group of people and a cause that I will certainly be following for a long time to come so I hope you join me on this journey.