Inspired by an intern

“If the road is easy, you're likely going the wrong way.” – Terry Goodkind

People are inspired by many things, and use such inspiration to motivate self-betterment.

People are inspired by the usual suspects of athletes (Michael Jordan, Messi, Tiger Woods), entertainers (George Clooney, the late Michael Jackson) entrepreneurs (Reid Hoffman, Mark Zuckerberg), leaders (Barak Obama, Sh Mohammad [Dubai] and crown prince of Abu Dhabi [Sh Mohammad], the late Nelson Mandela), wealthy people (Bill Gates, Amancio Ortega, Waleed Bin Talal), speeches/presentations (the late Steve Jobs, Bill Clinton), intellectuals (Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawkins), kind people (Mother Theresa), and even countries (Singapore, UAE).

So we have all heard of “I wanna be like Mike” (reference to basketball great Michael Jordan), “Bend it like Beckham” football great David Beckham, etc.

You don’t usually hear or read about being “inspired by an intern”.

Who?

Tea ladies, office cleaners, interns, etc are usually not a source of stories for television commercials, viral videos or articles on LinkedIn.

There could be stories, sitcoms and articles about them, but maybe I missed them, maybe I was not conscious of them, or maybe they were not pressing content for leadership articles.

When you have very little and you give very much, it moves people – it influences people, it inspires people, it’s another form of leadership.

There are exceptions to every assertion, but I do not believe such people pay to go to leadership seminars or order books online to read about leadership. It comes naturally, probably from street smarts.

Maybe call it leadership from within, leadership of taking care (of your families), or leadership of the everyday (this all they know and don’t make a big deal about it).

Leadership is not siloed to the vision thing, extrovert (or introvert) personality, motivating people with rhyming and insightful speeches, etc.

Leadership is about sacrifice and appreciation, so it is earned, ingrained, emulated and respected. Leaders are respected and bosses are feared.

Sacrifice to lead

You have to sacrifice to lead, be it family time, compensation, whatever is taken for granted. To get, you have to give (up).

But what makes such people, “have nots”, tick? Is it all they know and because they don’t think much about it? Is it appreciation of what they have because where they came from is far less? Is it in their DNA as a byproduct of Darwin, survival of the enduring, not sure fittest/strongest is appropriate.

Without getting into the number of personalities who went from the mail room to the corner suite, we are inspired by such stories over second generation silver spoon stories.

For example, one of the most pressing issues for family offices and company founders (first generation) is succession planning, as the second generation may not have the same passion and desire.

For a person who has only known hunger, to share his food is more impressive than a heavy person fasting (to lose weight).

Interns

Interns are generally the last hired and least listened to. But why? Is it some unwritten rule that has become embedded in the HR manual?

For example, our intern A donated all the money he earned with us to charity. Such people are motivated by something higher/bigger that many of us do not understand or probably cannot articulate.

They may work for “Doctors or Journalists without Borders” or they build the next social enterprise of “doing good well” where emphasis is on the triple bottom line: people, planet and profits – the three pillars of sustainability.

For example, our intern B, a simple/shy student from overseas, not India, Russia or US, came from humble means, with severe eyesight issues (needing surgery), and is a self-taught programmer/coder. He commutes about two hours each way, spending his lunch money, so he does not eat lunch (he says office coffee is my lunch), but is ready for tasks with smile on his face.

“I love those who can smile in trouble...” – Leonardo da Vinci

I gave him two tasks in his first week, the second of which required him to learn python language on the fly. The required skills set was that of a graduate with few years of actual experience, and he delivered with humility.

I did not take his challenges into account as the real world does not really work that way.

The inspiring part of intern B is that he doesn’t use his challenges to gain sympathy – probably doesn’t think much about it. He just “did it”, taking the Nike tagline. He is the type of person you will read about who writes software programmes that provide transformational disruption for the better.

He comes from the excluded and will be the spark for inclusion.

This inspires me. Period.

What about you? – August 29, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.