1. California schoolchildren who met with the Dalai Lama in October.
When radio reporters asked some of the 300 children who had seen the spiritual leader of Tibet at their school what they enjoyed most about his visit, the kids responded: “Having him answer questions from other kids.”
So kudos to the spiritual leader of Tibet for structuring his visit this way. According to the news reports, the Dalai Lama sat in an overstuffed chair in an East Palo Alto school auditorium and answered questions from 11 students who won the privilege by writing winning essays. He shared his wisdom, advice and history lessons in a format that resonated with kids. His bite-size chunks of information about their key topics made for an engaging exchange.
2. Luis Urzua, the shift supervisor and leader of “Los 33, ″ the Chilean miners who spent about three months underground.
His situational leadership actions provide three key lessons:
First, speak the truth.
Second, let the majority decide.
Third, follow the Vegas rule, what “What happens in the mine, stays in the mine.”
While not everyone—including the men stuck in the mine with him— may approve of this foreman’s actions throughout the ordeal, we have to acknowledge the amazing results: the safe return of all 33 men.
3. Delegates who refused to be bullied during a national conference.
More seasoned alternate delegates asked a couple of delegates to take actions, which the junior delegates initially agreed to do. However, after thinking about the requests, they independently decided that the demands either were not in the best interest of the organization or were in conflict with their personal values.
These undecided delegates then asked me, as one of the meeting facilitators, if they could say “no.” I said “yes.” So they stood up for their principles to the dismay of some of their colleagues. In their boldness, they reminded me of Howard Beale in the 1976 movie Network yelling, “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!”
The rest of the delegation backed them up and voted along with them.
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