Recently a CEO of a large multinational corporation addressed his audience at a customer event in China. He delivered his maiden speech in Mandarin. No big deal. However he is not Chinese. Neither is he a Singaporean who is bilingual in Mandarin nor an expatriate who has mastered the language after years of living in China.
This young and brilliant CEO is a Senegalese. He created not only lasting impressions with his customers, I bet he won their hearts too. With no formal training in Mandarin, he asked his capable secretary to translate the script he has written (not his publicist, mind you) and he memorised every single pronounciation through constant recitation.
This CEO is a leader who has redefined leadership or what I call Servant Leadership. Within months of his appointment, he demonstrated this rare quality of serving people so they can serve others. His willing heart to learn a local language in the shortest time to reach local community, is just one illustration. Servant leadership has created environments to which employees are drawn and in which they thrive.
While language can be learned, I truly wonder how many top position holders have the serving attitude to go beyond "ni hao ma"?
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That's really impressive. Should every leader do this? Well - depends on objectives and priorities, as I assume that a CEO's time is a rather precious resource.
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