We are preoccupied with the idea of reaching the major goals, with the obsession with achieving profits, or seizing opportunities that we believe will change our career or the institution’s career. But in the midst of this endeavor, we forget that the real value does not always lie in the “treasure” that we are looking for, but rather on the journey we are in to reach.
Focus with me here. A group of jungle animals decided to go out on a journey to search for a legendary treasure that was said to have great power. Assad was leading them, with his enthusiasm and the strength of his personality, and among them was Hudhdh, everyone knew his wisdom despite his small size.
While the plural stopped on the road, the hoopoe quietly asked: “Are you sure that the treasure is what you are looking for?!” The question seemed simple, but it confused them; Everyone saw in the treasure a great goal, it is money, strength, happiness and everything else!
His words were disregarded, and the plural leaders stuck to their clear vision of the goal. However, what happened later, when the group encountered unexpected challenges and crises that drained their energies and dispersed their focus, nothing inside them. They did not find the physical treasure, but they returned to the starting point as they felt that they went out much deeper. They discovered that the moments they lived together, the relationships they built, and the lessons they learned were much more valuable than they aspired to.
In smart management, we say and always emphasize that success is not only in access, but how to reach; As how much from an institution focused on the indicators of performance and measurable results, it lost the spirit of its team, and neglected to build a strong internal culture. Also, how many captains sought to achieve the “treasure” only, without realizing that the members of his team needed a learning and appreciation environment, not just a race towards external goals first.
The wise leader is the one who realizes that the administrative process is not just a plan to implement or a goal that is achieved, but rather a human and professional march in which people learn, they sleep, and discover themselves.
The voice of the hoopoe in the story is similar to those ideas that we sometimes hear from the members of the team who do not speak much, or whom we do not consider from decision makers, but it carries with them a dimension that is not provided by numbers or indicators. Listening to such voices, and paying attention to the quality of the road as we are clearly interested in the target, the difference between a sector that grows slowly, but steadily and lasts in the future, and another that achieves leaps, but it collapses from the inside and destroys in the future.
The greatest thing that the leader can get out of any project is not just his completion, but the team with which he came out stronger, the culture that has grown during the work, and the values that were established. Because the treasure, as the hoopoe, is not always at the end of the road, is on the same way.
Opposite
Here, administrative thought and leadership intelligence in the process of building teams, ensuring teamwork, and enjoying the achievement by enhancing the journey of work in all its details, all of this even before we reach the results.
Specifically, I am talking here about what His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Prime Minister, may God protect him when Bahrain faced one of the largest global health disasters five years ago, I talk about the “Bahrain team” and philosophy behind it, and how everyone united under this beautiful slogan, and how many are still keen to work with each other according to its principles, based on his revelation to our current time, and towards the future.
