Vietnam: Leadership Lessons
I recently completed a 22 day mission with a local charity working with children with cerebral palsy (CP) in Vietnam. They asked me to join their international team of healthcare professionals as a cameraman for a 30-minute documentary that our local community television station approved several months earlier. I recently started videotaping my speeches to refine them and thought that capturing stories on video would make me a stronger speaker. Arriving early at 3am and getting some sleep, we all gathered in the dining room, as most of us had never met before. After a short update on our upcoming 2 week mission, our team leader Laverne Bissky asked each of us to give a 3-5 minute talk on why we are here, what we hope to achieve, and any other. whatever we can think of. I was the last while filming. This allowed me to hear everyone’s story first. It was then that I realized, despite our different backgrounds, that we are all the same and we are here together for a cause, which is children. I came to capture a story, but what began to unfold before me were examples of leadership lessons in real life. Our first meeting gave me my first lesson.
Lesson n. 1: “There is no me in the TEAM”
In those presentations, we were also asked to explain what we think our role will be or at least what we think our role will be. Most had very simple short descriptions that made it very easy to put the pieces of this mission puzzle together, at least for me, as I watched our team unfold and unite before me.
Lesson n. # 2: “Keep job descriptions simple, like 2 or 3 lines”
In the next few days, when we visited different hospitals, met parents and their children in our rotating workshops on the mats in hospitals, we all began to help each other even in the simplest way. While filming behind the camera, I never saw anyone on our crew stand still, simply because that was not in my job description. Everyone contributed when necessary without being asked. Me too, despite having a moving camera, I also slow down my hand when passing something to the drivers in our workshop. It was then that I fully understood, we are not working for ourselves, but for children who attend from 9 months to mid-adolescence.
Lesson n. 3: “Don’t limit your contribution to your 2 or 3 line job description”
While this was going on, our team leader Laverne, founder, CEO and parenting expert, never stayed at the head table for long. She didn’t even stay in the limelight either, as I caught many profiles by videotaping where she was mingling with parents, watching and listening from behind, as if she was also there for the briefings to take home some knowledge about cerebral palsy. your child.
Lesson n. 4: “Leaders are not always in front”
We were in Vietnam and totally relied on our team of great local translators who spoke very good English. Sometimes I heard 1 word in English taking many of its words to translate. I was told that many words have no direct translation, so transcription became the norm. I started to realize that the Vietnamese language is not easy to learn. To connect, I relied heavily on making eye contact for several seconds, then smiling and even nodding. Sometimes he even made gestures to show sincerity and friendship. When appropriate, I even relied on a handshake.
Lesson n. 5: “Don’t underestimate the power of a smile, eye contact, or a handshake”
Once on the street during our breaks and sightseeing, we were obviously visiting foreigners. Whether I was passing store owners looking to entice us in or a street vendor hoping to sell us a trinket, albeit simple, I always felt I was treated with respect and sincerity. It’s the kind of feeling I rarely remember experiencing in my home in the west. It didn’t matter if the item was just a dollar or $ 50. It didn’t take long for me to feel so special that I just wanted to buy almost anything from vendors.
Lesson n. 6: “Make your customer feel special”
Many times throughout our roaming missions workshops behind the video camera, I would capture Laverne having direct one-on-one discussions with our team members. Sometimes he captured from a distance, so he could only observe facial expressions and body language. Other times he was up close and could hear the discussion. Sometimes it was business about our educational workshop and other times it was a great pleasure for a funny incident that we might have encountered.
Lesson n. 7: “Get to know your team members”
As Laverne has spent extended periods in Vietnam before, he had a repertoire of interesting places for us to see. When a transition or a break was in order, we did a bit of sightseeing at night or while traveling to our next destination. During our trip, we stopped for breaks at the roadside markets to sample some local fruits or snacks. That gave us the opportunity to get to know each other better on a social level, as most of us have just met here on this mission for the first time. We even take turns choosing a restaurant each night to eat. For better or worse, even if one didn’t work out, we take it in a good mood and use the incident to build a good team relationship.
Lesson n. 8: “The leader is not afraid to have fun”
Laverne planned this mission, and probably more than a year in advance. The ease and smoothness with which our 22-day mission unfolded was remarkable, in my opinion. I doubt that Laverne, the sole organizer, would fully agree that he joined on his own. Logistics planning for a group of 14, traveling from 13 time zones away, 5 cities, 5 hotels, team members from 3 other countries, numerous taxis, rented coach, flying, visiting an orphanage and various social stops to visit local friends made from past missions, it is no small thing. Certainly, having such a close relationship with one’s planning, one cannot help but feel that it is perfect and that it cannot be optimized or modified. But last-minute adjustments had to be made, without major losses, either for the benefit of the mission as a whole or to accommodate individual team members.
Lesson n. # 9: “Plans are just plans. Let your team member adjust their scope.”
Most days we had a 30 minute quick recap meeting of the day’s workshop activities. Usually these would be at our hotel where we stayed. We all gathered in the breakfast room which was quiet as we had everything to ourselves, we ordered a drink or a snack and then each took 2-3 minutes to give our observations of the day’s progress, good, bad, lessons learned or otherwise. Some days Laverne would preside, but several times Terry (the other Terry) would preside over these informational meetings. This would give Laverne the opportunity not only to listen, but also to focus more on the content, strategy, execution, and progress of the mission in general.
Lesson n. 10: “Good leaders don’t lead alone”
Since Laverne had so many things to do and follow, she didn’t always lead our daily “lessons learned” and “what worked and what didn’t” roundtable. That’s where other members of our team also collaborated. This gave others the opportunity to “drive the bus.” You don’t want the same person to be the lead, as they also need an “audience seat” to reflect on the day and ask questions. I think it also encourages the rest of the team to act like they lead at times. Actually, when our group sessions broke into groups, they led their own groups.
Lesson n. 11: “Good leaders are also good followers”
Part of our hospital workshop program consisted of dividing us into groups of 3 or 4 and visiting a home where a child with cerebral palsy resided. We spent about an hour with the family and, through the use of an interpreter, we asked the family what challenges they had in managing the special care their child needed. Each group had 1 health care expert who would see if any special help or exercise would help the child. Sometimes we could only enter these places if each of us was riding on the back of a motorcycle, as rural streets were sometimes concrete roads only 6 feet wide. Being March meant daytime temperatures of between 30 and 30 degrees Celsius. On one of those home visits, one of our health experts saw a quaint little cafe big enough to accommodate us all and said, “Let’s do our report here with a cold drink.” As he progressed, more of us began to follow him. It was actually a very good idea because we still had a 1 hour bus ride back to our hotel and by then much of what each group observed on their home visit may not have come out in our hotel report , most of us succumb to fatigue. of a long day and the heat.
Lesson n. 12: “If a team member has an idea to execute, let him execute”
Sometimes spontaneous ideas are good, as one can see what is happening and what may need to be done or implemented. It also gives your entire team the opportunity to mold and shape your project. If it doesn’t quite work, it’s good to keep that in mind, and why, in your daily “lessons learned” summary. Many ideas can be firstborn and need to be tested somewhere and at some point. There is no better time than the present.
I came to capture a story and learn about videography. I leave the best seat in the house to observe leadership lessons firsthand. For me, this trip to Vietnam was definitely not just any trip.
You should also check out my short video in tribute to our team and our incredible experience: Vietnam is no ordinary trip.