I was excited to hear recently that my new book, Great Leaders GROW is doing extremely well in India. I’ve had the opportunity to travel and speak in India on two occasions. As with virtually all of my international speaking engagements, I learn much more than I’m able to share during these trips.

Here are a few of my big takeaways from India:

Leaders in India want to learn and grow. We saw thousands of leaders come to our sessions, many walking days to get there. I was encouraged by the receptivity of the leaders who attended. They were some of the most engaged people I’ve ever had the privilege to teach.

The principles and practices of servant leadership are universal. Although there are certainly cultural variations, leadership is leadership.

Not only are the principles universal, so are the challenges. The leaders I met struggled with many of the same issues leaders around the world face: casting a compelling vision, recruiting talent, building a winning team, securing resources, etc.

Training leaders to train leaders can pay huge dividends. Each leader we trained committed to train at least 25 other leaders. This is multiplication – leaders love this type of math!

My biggest take-away was a reminder of something I already knew. Here’s the story…
After one of the sessions, a man approached me and said, “I can listen to you now.” Honestly, I was confused by his comment and wondered if there was a language barrier in play. So, I said, “I’m glad you can – why would you say that?” I had no idea how he would respond. He said, “During the session, you poured a glass of water and you offered it to your translator before you poured one for yourself. Now I know you have a servant’s heart.”
This is not a story about my heart - it is a reminder that people always watch the leader. It's a reminder that what we do matters - even the little things.
Here’s my challenge to you… Who can you train? Who can you mentor? An investment in another leader pays huge dividends. You don’t have to travel to India, or any other far off land to equip another leader – but if you get a chance, I highly recommend a trip to India![GLS_Shield]