Happy New Year and Happy New Decade!
I had no idea when I wrote the last post all that would transpire to affirm that we are truly on the "eve of the dawn" in terms of leadership, but something happened that is hard to ignore. As background, many of you know that I have written about ubuntu (the concept that states essentially that "I am because of who we are"). The concept was introduced globally during the Truth and Reconcillation sessions in South Africa calling upon the need for forgiveness. I myself, have been talking about it since 2002 and have owned several ubuntu leadership dot com names while I waited for the right time to work with it.
Well,
on New Year's Day,...
in a bowling ally,....
in Cincinnati OH;....
I saw a man wearing a baseball hat and on the back it said "I am who I am because of who we all are". I immediately identified the saying as ubuntu but couldn't believe it! So, I tried to get in front of him (no small feat because I am only 5' tall and he was actually bowling so in order to get a view I would need to stand actually in a lane). Eventually I just asked him and then said - do you mean the operating system? And he said "no, my wife and I lived in South Africa in 2001-2002" and love the concept of ubuntu. I am sure I was speechless as I too had been in South Africa during that time period. Nonetheless, I took it as a sign.. a major sign! As I indicated earlier in blog posts, I try and reassess direction at the beginning of each year and I was struggling a bit with all the subtypes of leadership that I am working on (culturally adaptive leadership...) but then I realized that the time is NOW. The world needs to learn about ubuntu as a concept and as it applies to leadership! So, this is a call to action! I see it as my umbrella concept for my work - my stake in the ground so to speak and yet I also see the need to be more directive about delivering ubuntu leadership.
Please let me know if you are interested in learning more about ubuntu and also about ubuntu in terms of leadership. I cannot wait to see what bubbles up for all of us! Clearly this was a sign meant not only for 2010 but for the entire decade. "The eve of the dawn" ..... Yes we are!!! Let's step up together for all of humanity!
With much love and light,
Ubuntu,
Ann
Ann Dinan, Ph.D., M.S.S.A., C.P.C.C.