One of my favorite quotes hails from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry author of The Little Prince: “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the people to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.” This not merely a set of words, but a guiding philosophy that resonates with me, as it would for any explorer or dreamer. This instinct is woven into many of us, but something often gets in the way of enabling the dreamers within us.
This is the reason why the quote about building a ship strikes a chord within me. It encapsulates the essence of my leadership philosophy – to inspire rather than to instruct. Leadership, for me, is not about orchestrating actions and dictating terms. It’s about kindling the fire of aspiration, setting a collective vision, and inspiring people to work towards achieving it.
Below are some of the topics I will explore to help you and your team “yearn for the vast and endless sea”:
- Unraveling and understanding social capital and how to strengthen it further
- Exploring how AI is enabling safety and opening new doors for innovation and learning
- Customer feedback is the reality check your business needs in today’s competitive environment
- Why “why” matters
- Deconstructing organizational culture: It’s not just about what you say, but what you do
Yes, cultivating such an environment is an uphill task; it’s challenging, but so are all great things in life. It requires empathy, patience, and above all, the courage to inspire others to see the vision and understand the why. After all, a ship is only as good as its crew, and a dream can grow as large as the dreamers who believe in it.