About a month ago, I had an opportunity to read a very charming and engaging book called A Peacock in a Land of Penguins (Thanks, Professor Bob!). It’s one of those corporate fables that teach life lessons about the beauty of diversity. Although this book focuses on the corporate world, the valuable information you can get from this book applies to almost everything in life.
Here are the top three important things we must remember as a peacock:
1) Make sure that you are aware of your own thoughts! It is important to be aware of your inner dialogue so that you know where you stand.
2) Make sure you know that your strengths, talents, skills and ideas are valuable, even if yours are different from what they possess.
3) I think it is also important to look for other peacocks who values diversity for support.
On my journey as a young leader, I value and appreciate diversity so much. To me, diversity is what makes the world so beautiful. It allows innovation and each of us have unique talents and skills that we must all appreciate. One may be weak at one aspect, but the individual can be of great help in some other aspects. Instead of using our differences to divide us or as fodder for gossip and time-wasting judgments about others, I have always believed that there is a great advantage if we employ our differences for good use.
As a young business professional myself, I am hoping to further develop my ability to manage and my understanding of the inevitable relationships that exist between diversity, innovation, and leadership. I believe that if we properly welcome and allow diversity, we will be able to see an unimagined growth together.
Together, let's build on the strength of our differences! ~trish
