Leading by the heart
Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abdul Razak
Learning Curve: Perspective
New Sunday Times - 16-10-2011
IN my acceptance speech as vice chancellor of Albukhary International University (AIU) on Oct 10 in the Alor Star, Kedah campus, I concluded with a quotation from the late Apple Inc co-founder and board of director’s chairman Steve Jobs.
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.
Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.
“Don’t let the noise of other’s opinion drown out your own inner voice.
“And more importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
Following hard on the heels of my column last week about “turning around the university”, I thought this quotation is suitable for us to reflect on.
Certainly for a new university such as AIU with its vision, mission and values, Jobs’ words cannot be more apt, particularly the part on dogma as he defined it: living with the results of other people’s thinking.
AIU must be free from dogmatic clutches with respect to international education. For this to happen, having the courage to follow the heart and intuition as a “compass” is imperative, especially in articulating the notion of education with a heart, as AIU.
Jobs also made a poignant point — if one can educate the “heart” in an intuitive way, the rest is secondary!
It is not enough to involve the “head” and the “hands”, which have been the “dogma” in the present system ruled by “human capital”, without getting the “hear t” engaged at the same time.
Later in the evening, I attended the Merdeka Award Ceremony — Malaysia’s foremost prize that acknowledges the achievements of fellow Malaysians and non-Malaysians in the pursuit of the spirit of independence.
The award aims to promote thought leadership and innovation; foster a culture of excellence; and encourage a world view. Indeed, one of the winners attributed “humility, honesty and hard work” as the recipe for his success.
“Humility” and “honesty” are of the heart, though in many ways so too is “hard work”!
In his book Good to Great (2001) based on a study, Jim Collins regards “humility” as a trait that enhances effective leadership.
The study suggests that humility is multidimensional; takes different perspectives into account; and includes self-understanding and awareness, and openness.
Collins called this a Level 5 leader, “the highest level in a hierarchy of executive capabilities”. According to him, humility is “a study in duality — modest and wilful, shy and fearless”.
Leadership is not about dominance as we are made to believe, neither is it about meekness nor weakness.
What this seems to imply is that given the humility factor, those who are leaders have the courage to create changes and are fearless in engaging with new ideas. Some, though deemed successful, are unable to sustain excellence since they lack humility, noted Collins.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, “larger than life leaders” is not a requirement. This resonates well with local wisdom such as ikut resmi padi, lagi tunduk apabila berisi; jangan ikut resmi lalang.
In other words, while “hard work ” is important, “heart work” — nurturing the heart as a seat of intellect — is perhaps more crucial to continued success.
To put it simply, it opens up space to not only learn but also unlearn and relearn as a vital part of education which then prepares the heart and mind for a world view that can inspire meaningful transformation — just as how Jobs transformed computing into something that touches everyone’s life.
Apparently his 12-year hiatus from Apple seemed to coincide with a period of relative stasis in the computing industry. Change began once again on his return to the company in 1997. Such is the ability of Jobs to rebound and learn from his setback.
Japan’s Softbank Corp founder and chief executive officer Masayoshi Son said: “There’s no Steve Jobs before Steve Jobs, and no Steve Jobs after Steve Jobs.”
All will be new once again, awaiting the next person to courageously follow his/her intuition — without letting the inner voice be drowned by external noises!