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 videographer 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. After our arrival at 3 am early in the morning and a brief sleep, we all gathered in the dining room as most of us had never seen each other before. After a brief 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’re here, what we hope to accomplish, and any other whatever occurs to us. I was the last one while I was filming. This allowed me to hear everyone’s story first. It was then that I realized, despite our different backgrounds, we are all the same and we are here together for 1 cause, which is the children. I came to capture a story, but what began to unfold before I was real life examples of leadership lessons. Our first meeting gave me my first lesson.
Lesson #1 – “There is no me in a TEAM”
In those presentations, we were also asked to explain what we think our role is or at least what we think our role will be. Most had very simple short descriptions which made it very easy to put the pieces of this mission puzzle together, at least for me, as I watched our team fan out and come together in front of me.
Lesson #2: “Keep job descriptions simple; like 2-3 lines”
In the following days, while visiting different hospitals, meeting parents and their children in our rotating workshops on hospital mats, we all started helping each other, even in the simplest way. While filming behind the camera, I never saw anyone on our crew stand still, simply because that wasn’t in my job description. Everyone contributed when needed without being asked. I too, despite having a camera running, also lent a hand by passing something to our workshop leaders. It was then that I fully understood, we are not working for ourselves, but for the children who attend from 9 months to adolescence.
Lesson #3: “Don’t limit your contribution to your 2-3 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 spotlight as I caught many profiles on video where she was mingling with the parents, watching and listening from behind, as if she too was there for the briefings to take home some paralysis knowledge. cerebral. her child
Lesson #4 – “Leaders are not always in front”
We were in Vietnam and we totally trusted our team of local translators who spoke very good English. Sometimes I heard 1 English word taking many of their words to translate. They told me that many words have no direct translation, so transliteration became the norm. I started to realize that the Vietnamese language is not easy to learn. I relied heavily on making eye contact for several seconds to connect, then smiled and even nodded. Sometimes he even made gestures to show sincerity and friendship. In his case, I even connected with a handshake.
Lesson #5 – “Don’t underestimate the power of a smile, eye contact, or handshake”
Once in the street during our breaks and sightseeing, we were obviously the visiting foreigners. Whether passing through shop owners looking to tempt us inside or a street vendor hoping to sell us a simple trinket, I always felt that I was treated with respect and sincerity. It’s the kind of feeling I rarely remember experiencing back home in the west. It didn’t matter if the item was just a dollar or 50 dollars. It didn’t take long for me to feel so special that I just wanted to buy almost anything from the vendors.
Lesson #6 – “Make your client feel special”
Many times throughout our roving missions workshops behind the video camera, I would capture Laverne having direct one-on-one conversations with our team members. She sometimes captured her from a distance, so she could only observe facial expressions and body language. Other times she was up close and could hear the discussion. Sometimes it was business about our educational workshop and other times it was pure pleasure about some funny incident we may have come across.
Lesson #7 – “Know your team members”
Since Laverne has spent extended periods in Vietnam before, she had a repertoire of interesting places for us to see. When a transition or break was needed, we would do a bit of sightseeing at night or while traveling to our next destination. During our trip, we stopped for a rest at the roadside markets to try some local fruits or snacks. That gave us the opportunity to get to know each other better socially, since most of us just met here on this mission for the first time. We even take turns picking a restaurant each night to eat at. For better or worse, even if one didn’t work out, we take it in good spirits and use the incident to build a good team relationship.
Lesson #8 – “The leader is not afraid to have fun”
Laverne planned this mission and probably over 1 year in advance. The ease and smoothness with which our 22-day mission unfolded was remarkable in my opinion. I doubt Laverne, the sole organizer, would fully agree that it came together on its own. Logistics planning for a group of 14, traveling from 13 time zones, 5 cities, 5 hotels, team members from 3 other countries, numerous taxis, chartered coaches, flights, visits to an orphanage, and various social stops to visit friends premises made from past missions, is no small feat. Undoubtedly, having such a close relationship with one’s own 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 for the benefit of the mission as a whole or to accommodate individual team members.
Lesson #9: “Plans are just plans. Let your team member adjust their scope”
Most days we would have a quick 30 minute briefing on the day’s workshop activities. These would normally be back at our hotel where we stayed. We would all gather in the breakfast room, which was quiet as we had it all to ourselves, order a drink or snack and then each take 2-3 minutes to give our observations on the progress of the day, good, bad, lessons learned or otherwise. Some days Laverne would chair, but several times Terry (the other Terry) would chair these briefings. This would give Laverne a chance to not only listen, but also focus more on overall mission content, strategy, execution, and progress.
Lesson #10 – “Good leaders do not lead alone”
Because Laverne had a lot of things to run and follow, she didn’t always lead our daily “lessons learned” and “what worked and didn’t work” roundtable. That’s where others on our team also pitched in. This gave others the opportunity to “drive the bus”. You don’t want the same person leading everything, as he, too, needs a “seat in the audience” to reflect on the day and ask questions. I think it also encourages the rest of the team to sometimes act like they’re leading. Actually, when our breakout sessions were divided into groups, they led their own groups.
Lesson #11 – “Good leaders are also good followers”
Part of our hospital workshop program consisted of dividing into groups of 3 or 4 and visiting a home where a child with cerebral palsy resided. We would spend about an hour with the family and, through the use of an interpreter, ask the family what challenges they had in managing the special care their child required. Each group had 1 health care expert who would see if any special aids or exercises would help the child. Sometimes we could only get into these places each riding on the back of a motorcycle, as the rural streets were sometimes concrete roads only 6 feet wide. Being March meant daytime temperatures in the mid to high 30s Celsius. On one such home visit, one of our health experts saw a quaint little cafe big enough to accommodate all of us and said, “Let’s do our report here over a cold drink.” As he progressed, more of us began to follow him. In fact, it was 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 appeared in our report. from the hotel, most of us succumbing to fatigue. of a long day and the heat.
Lesson #12: “If a team member has an idea to execute, let them follow it.”
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 fully work, it’s a good idea to note that, and why, in your daily “lessons learned” summary. Many ideas may be born first and have to be tested somewhere and sometime. There is no better time than the present.
I came to capture a story and learn about videography. I leave having 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 tribute to our team and our amazing experience – Vietnam is no ordinary trip