Here’s an update on the work I’m doing with the team from HL2.

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If you haven’t been following the events on facebook, here’s the link. 

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/HL2seattle?ref=mf

So far the lessons for me are many, but here’s a sampling. 

1.  It’s not about giving up everything you have, but about being aware of what you think you need, and thinking first of what you have.  Haitian kids who had lost limbs and had very little food or water and still were smiling, taught me that lesson.
2. Dominicans have a different way of thinking about time.  It is more important to take the time to have a conversation with you on the street than be on time to my next meeting.  Relationship matters here.  That said, that may contribute to some of the economic issues the country faces. 
3. The last 500 years have taken this country through many peaks and valleys and impacts how Dominicans perceive their world.
4. Strong-connected leadership matters everywhere.  The concept of differentiation and sacrifice matter for the leaders I’ve worked with here too.
5. Leaders must set up boundaries and take the heat for it.
6. Ph.D. programs in psychology should still require a second language like they used to.
7. I miss my wife and boys so much on this trip.
8. The dislike and mutual fear between Haitians and Dominicans runs deep, but this tragedy brought them closer.  The language barrier plays a huge role in that.  Because they don’t understand each other, it makes trust very difficult.
9. The children in the Bateys (Haitian villages with many refugees) were the poorest of the poor, and they broke me in half.  I fell in love with them.  These kids have nothing, nothing, nothing, by western standards..and they were still joyful.
10. When we entered villages, I was approached by certain kids right away.  It made me wonder whether the same big 5 characteristics show up here too.  Ironically, the two boys that my wife and I will be sponsoring were both completely introverted (3 and 6 years old).   
11. The people here are thankful when they have good work.  The idea of doing what I love first and foremost is not the first thing you think about when jobs are scarce.  Proving yourself a trustworthy worker comes first.  If you drop the ball, you lose your job.

Lessons about myself.

1. My heart runs deep for children.
2. I am more than committed than ever to developing leaders in the toughest of times, meaningful times.
3. Leadership is soooooo important.  Our work will continue in urgency.
4. I must continue to be vulnerable, and take risks for the sake of those I am accountable for.
5. I am so thankful for my job, my wife, my students, my children, my life….for you.

More later.  I will see you all soon.  Lead on. I apologize for the typos….

Rob McKenna

Felt convicted yesterday about how much I focus on what I need as opposed to startingwith what I have. Haitian kids who have lost limbs and still were laughing and smiling taught me that.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=714520862#!/album.php?aid=381920&id=91923395047&ref=mf

For more

Once a year, my students come to class ready and get an assignment that’s a little odd.  They get the next 4 hours to find a leader to interview about the job of being a leader, and they have to come up with something that will be helpful to the leader.  It’s always a pretty powerful experience, because they do this cold, and they do it quick. It’s amazing how quickly this leaders share there challenges and excitements in a matter of moments.  Here are some of the stories.

at happens when you put together a humanitarian organization that serves the needs of the children of the world, a dynamic advertising agency, and a leadership development consulting firm? You get the trip I leave for right now. Leaving for the Dominican Republic tonight with a team from the Seattle based ad agency… known as HL2 to serve with Children of Nations. This is one of the coolest things I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in as it’s a team effort between HL2, Children of Nations, and Real Time Development Strategies to respond to the need in the DR, and in the process, help this team be intentional about learning from the experience. See you soon.
http://www.cotni.org/
www.hl2.com
www.realtimedevelopmentstrategies.com

I’ve been fortunate to have people around me who are willing to ask me the tough questions.  What’s interesting is that the questions fit into one of at least three categories.  1) They were questions that I can answer in highsight, but really couldn’t begin answer when I was asked, 2) they were were funny to me, or 3)  the qeustions are remember all involve major transitions in my life, and crossroads where I knew that discovering the answer might cause some pretty deep and significant change to occur in my life.  For me, the list includes:

Are you still committed to working here?

Are you going to eat that?

Who has your back?

What would you die for?

Do you believe that you are worthy of being loved?

Who are you investing in?

What would you do next if you weren’t afraid?

What are you hiding?

Will you take this woman?

Are you going to make a decision or just stand there?

Do you know how fast you were going?

Will this be on the test?

I must admit, I’m not proud of all these questions or that someone had to ask them, but they stand out in my mind.  The fact is that the questions were important?  They may have told me something about what I knew, who I was, who I wasn’t, what I needed to be, how I could get clear, or why I was doing what I was doing.  But, the fact is that the questions were important.  Do you have questions you’ve been asked that stand out in your mind?  If so, what are they?