What Makes Some People Exceptional

Obama Foundation Leaders: Asia Pacific Programme. Image credit: Senia Ng

I've had the privilege of meeting some truly exceptional people through my role as an Obama Leader. This week's issue is about the qualities that make some people exceptional.

Embrace Failure

Exceptional people are risk takers. Zigging when everyone else zags is what makes them exceptional. Taking the path of least resistance is what ninety nine percent of people do. The one percent take risks, forge their own path, and view failures along the way as a natural path to get them to where they want to be.

Often times, we only read about famous people after they become successful. Years before Barack Obama became senator and eventually the first black president of the United States, he was a community organiser on Chicago's South Side. Not exactly the most glamorous or lucrative path for a political science graduate from Columbia University, but a great training ground for the future POTUS to develop the common touch and hone his oratory skills.

Accepting failure, learning from it, and trying again is part and parcel of taking risks. In the lexicon of successful people, failure is not a bad word. It's just something they have to embrace and learn from. Barack Obama lost a Democratic primary race in Illinois in 2000 before winning with 70 percent of the vote in 2004, the largest margin of victory for a Senate candidate in Illinois history.

Action Oriented

Exceptional people have a bias for action. I've seen that over and over with the Obama Leaders I've met. Vivian Lim, for example, is an Obama Leader from Singapore who started Gen (previously branded as Women in Asia), an impact organisation that aims to build a new roadmap towards understanding diversity, equity and inclusion from an Asian point of view. Viria Vichit-Vadakan, an Obama Leader from Thailand, is the founder of Glab Innovation Lab at the School of Global Studies at Thammasat University. She believes that access to education should be affordable to everyone.

When Covid-19 forced school closure in the Philippines, Obama Leaders Jaton Zulueta and Alfonso Regala teamed up to create accessible lessons and resources for students and their families. Malaysian Obama Leader Rasvin Pal Singh created open-source design files that people around the world can use to make their own face masks. Indonesian Obama Leader Gigih Septianto turned his office space into a warehouse to source and deliver medical supplies across the country.

Questioning Mind

Exceptional people challenge the status quo. They don't stop questioning why, and why not. Ian Yee, an Obama Leader from Malaysia, is the Editor and Producer at R.AGE, an investigative journalism team that creates positive impact on social justice issues. His team has investigated issues including child sexual crimes, human trafficking, indigenous rights, refugee rights, school violence, and gender equality; frequently creating high-level impact through advocacy campaigns in collaboration with civil society.

It is not enough to question phenomenons, issues or people. Exceptional people have heightened self-awareness through reflection and constant search for sources of meaning.

One common attribute I see amongst Obama Leaders is a clear sense of purpose that comes from knowing oneself - what drives you, the changes you want to see, the impact you want to make in the world. With self-awareness and a clear sense of purpose comes confidence. Confidence in why you're doing what you do, confidence in convincing other people to join you on your mission, confidence in your ability to overcome setbacks.

Global Perspectives

Exceptional people listen and value others with an open heart. We live in an interconnected world that is becoming increasingly polarising. In last week's issue of this newsletter I wrote about how to argue well. Our inability to see those who disagree with us as human beings who deserve dignity and respect is what is making the world increasingly polarised. Being part of a programme run by the Obama Foundation necessarily means that Leaders have to consider the perspectives of people from different cultures, nationalities, political leanings etc. We may not agree with each other all the time, but we respect other people's opinions and where appropriate, try to find consensus.

Global citizenship will become more and more important as technology makes the world more interconnected and interdependent. The leaders of tomorrow need to be able to zoom out and see opportunities with a global lens, and at the same time have the ability to earn the trust and respect of colleagues from different cultures and nationalities.

Developing These Habits of Mind

It is never too late to develop these habits of mind - embrace failure, action oriented, questioning mind, global perspectives. Couple of weeks ago I wrote about how side hustles can help adults build skills and learn more about oneself.

If you are a parent, don't leave it to your kids to develop habits of mind when they become adults. These dispositions will help your child through their adolescence years. Doyobi's experiential learning journeys in the metaverse are designed to help kids 8-13 develop the skills and dispositions that help them become exceptional. They may or may not become Obama Leaders, but they certainly don't need to be Obama Leaders to be exceptional.

I hope this issue of Education & Catastrophe helps you on your journey to becoming exceptional.

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Till the next issue!