Celebrating Virtue In Perfomance: Revisiting “The Way” of ancient Chinese Philosophy
Performance, output, results—we learn these are the pathways to success at an early age. Of course, we cannot help but notice the praise we receive when we achieve, not to mention the attention we gain when we are “best” at something. Our culture is obsessed with outputs, so much so that we overlook how they are achieved.
The Essential Yet Often Overlooked Leadership Skill of Receiving: Lessons from the African philosophy of Ubuntu
My leader was setting the stage to prepare me for transcendence from “individual performance” to inviting “team contribution.” And let’s be honest; there’s more space for others to contribute when a leader is willing to turn the spotlight away from their own achievements and, instead, shine it for others to showcase their expertise, talents, intelligence, and accomplishments.
This is quite a mindset shift in many corporate environments with so much emphasis on “high performance.” As young professionals, heck, even kids, we are groomed to strive for our personal best. And yet, the focus on giving our best can often lead to a significant block in our leadership potential. Why? I think the answer can be found in a characteristic interwoven into the African philosophy of Ubuntu, known as: "Sahwira.”
In her book, The Awakened Woman, the inspiring Zimbabwean author and teacher Dr. Tererai Trent describes “Sahwira” as –
“Authentic in both receiving and giving. Give what is needed without being overbearing, and receive what you need without making it a duty to impress the giver” (Trent, 2017).
The Space Between Contraries: Lessons from Lao Tzu
Isn’t it funny how we resist life’s flow when things don’t go our way? A relationship ends, a job is lost, or an unexpected change takes place, and what do most of us do? We resist our circumstances, of course! Fighting, pushing, avoiding, and shrinking, we refuse to accept anything that doesn’t match our firm expectations. So filled to the brim with judgments and expectations, we cannot see the nearby gifts blossoming in circumstances resisted. As highlighted in the video “The Art of Effortless Living (Taoist Documentary)”—
“The unity we seek is already there, but it is only revealed when we trust the world. Changing the world in the hope of discovering unity is like a knife trying to cut itself” (Jason Gregory, 2019).
Oh, but trust is much easier said than done. Especially when we experience hardships that contradict anything we could have expected. Herein, though, lies an empty space of possibility – when what “we want” clashes with what “we get.”
Back to the great Master’s work, the “Tao Te Ching,” Lao Lzu reminds us – “Gravity is the root of lightness; stillness, the ruler of movement.” These profound words are worth a read a few times over.