A letter to NAC 2004 delegates

Dear All

As I got some food for thought at NAC 2004 I feel this obligation to keep the ball rolling. Let me therefore express some of the ideas which sprang to mind every now and then during the sessions.

I believe that diversity ought to be always treasured to begin with. It means that AIESEC should keep taking on non-members and send them abroad as trainees. This will ensure development and progress within the organization being challenged by outsiders.



I also feel it necessary to point out that AIESEC as an organization is just a means, the ultimate goal is life of an individual within society. The nearly obsession with systems, charts, diagrams and all this marketing-like AIESEC-labelled stuff is in my opinion pointless as long as there is no relation to real experience. Do give me a learning life cycle, for instance, and do let a person who went through it talk about it. Make it personal, relate it to life and I will follow.

You are all zealous would-be leaders striving for personal excellence. There is much to admire. Yet it seems to me that there is still a lot of empty space to colour in this field. So let me raise some questions. First and foremost, how do you define leadership? What does it mean to be a leader? How many leaders have you met? What is it that makes you feel they are leaders? Do other people around you share the same opinion?

So far I have met only one person who I call my spiritual leader ever since. If I were to define elements of leadership I would understandably describe him:
- knowledge and awareness (across subjects, continents and time)
- skills (hard and soft – mainly social or interpersonal)
- personal traits (humility, compassion, resilience, consideration, industriousness, commitment and responsibility)
- experience
- wisdom
- faith
- love

To me to promote leadership means to develop all elements which is inevitably a life-long commitment of hard work.

Now, let me give you a concrete example. Looking back on NAC sessions I can understand why latecomers were singled out. It was fun, AIESEC creates an environment in which such things may work. However, from a teacher’s point of view, if you want to crush someone’s self-confidence do exactly the same thing. If you want to instill fear and obedience in the class do exactly the same thing. If you want to control your students do... Of course, teachers do not have to be leaders, but leaders definitely have to be teachers and such things are way far from leadership.

Finally, may I put forward this idea that next time we would do it all upside-down? The speaker would be the one who would have to do silly things should there be any latecomers. I believe this would promote leadership much more than anything else. Leaders have to suffer for others and their faults. In a sense, Jesus did the same thing. And 2000 years after his death millions of people believe in his leadership...

Will be glad to get your comments on this one

Take care

Jiri