Changing Qatar

The picture above shows the progression of Doha's West Bay skyline as it has developed in just the last ten years. This is only part of what's happening in Qatar as other developments including "The Pearl," a series of residential/commercial islands for 50,000 people, the cultural center including a variety of galleries and performance spaces, and the Education City complex emerge from the sand. These are all amazing physical changes that shock me every time I drive somewhere in Doha but it's the accompanying changes in the people and culture that, while less visible, are the most stunning.

The moment I begin to feel that there is both movement forward and balance that protects the local culture, I read or experience something that startles me. The recent Saban Center for Middle East Policy report, "A New Millennium of Knowledge? The Arab Human Development Report on Building a Knowledge Society, Five Years On" celebrated a number of advances in the Arab world but bemoaned that there was still much more to do. Education City is mentioned prominently in this report as an example of improving the availability and quality of education but the report noted that there are so many other young people who need this type of education.

There is some evidence that we are becoming global citizens who see connections across continents and recognize the interdependence of our welfare. Figuring out how to embrace the community beyond ourselves and our own self-interest is the next hurdle that must be encountered. I'm struggling to sort out how to articulate this journey today. Maybe it's enough just to rest assured that a lot is happening - both visibly and invisibly.

Reflections on South Korea

After getting back from South Korea, I continued to think of the people I encountered there, the issues they face, and the similarities and differences between South Korea, Qatar and elsewhere. I can't say that four days allowed me enough exposure to have any conclusive insights but at least I have some preliminary thoughts...

The energy among the faculty, staff, and students of Sookmyung Women's University was truly exceptional. I was so pleased that the various speakers for the conference complemented each other so well and that the ideas in Deeper Learning in Leadership made sense as a way of thinking about the future of their leadership programs.

The incredible hospitality that I experienced and the introduction to Korean culture I was given revealed some fascinating similarities between South Korea and Qatar. First, both countries are very old and very new; they have histories that go back centuries but they have been reborn in the last half of the 20th century. As both countries were reborn, they sought to modernize in order to take their places among other prominent nations, but the progressivism of both countries is coupled with a desire to preserve their unique cultures, uncompromised by modernization. Finally, both of these countries depend on diplomacy for their survival; South Korea is sandwiched between China, North Korea, and Japan and Qatar is sandwiched between Saudi Arabia, Iran, and any number of other countries that could be named around the Arabian Peninsula.

I couldn't help but wonder what Korea and Qatar could learn from each other. Korea started its climb to modernization in 1948 when it was freed from Japanese occupation and Qatar started in 1972 when it was relieved of British protectorate status. My impression of South Korea is that there are still vestiges of ancient Korean culture but not much. Qatar has protected more of its culture thus far but there are daily struggles to determine what should remain and how to do it in the face of massive change. My deep hope is that both countries can maintain the core of who they are far into the future and that they will be able to discern those things that are truly important to creating societies that are prosperous, progressive, and able to connect across generations and time.

My return trip from Seoul provided additional cause for reflection. During exchange of pleasantries with the Iranian guy sitting next to me on the return flight from Seoul, I expressed how much I wanted to tour Iran, especially the historic site of Persepolis. After a moment's hesitation that I could only interpret as surprise, we got into a great conversation. He worked for an engineering company in Iran and had chosen to continue to live there, even though he has been very dissatisfied with political conditions that have so deeply impacted his life and others. I shared that I've not been pleased with the U.S.A.'s administration either. There's much more detail about the conversation and what I learned from him about Iran but the bottom line was essentially the one I've come to in almost all of my encounters of travel - the people of the world are so much alike in their aspirations and in their desire for a better life.

We sometimes get caught up in our own fears, or in the case of Iranian and U.S.A. matters, we get caught up in the affairs of state. Korea and Qatar are on journeys to modernize and bring the best qualities of life to their people while protecting their cultural heritage. Two guys on a plane from Iran and the U.S.A. hope that our countries can figure out ways to put away the political wrangling in order to serve their citizens. We are more alike than we are different - no doubt.

Deeper Leadership at Sookmyung Women's University

A fluke old friendship gave me the opportunity to discover Korea and a wonderful women's university. Sookmyung Women's University invited me to participate in the 2nd Global Leadership Conference on the recommendation of Adam Goodman, a leadership colleague and friend for over 20 years. Adam saw me last fall and said he gave my name to Sookmyung's director of their leadership program. I never expected to hear from them but, sure enough, they got in touch and I've spent the last three days in Korea.

Sookmyung is a select university with a specific focus on developing the leadership potential in their students. The motto for the university is developing soft power for a changing world. All students are touched in one way or another by the curricular and cocurricular programs. There were three panels of presenters - political, business, and educational leadership. I was on the educational leadership panel and, by stroke of fortune, was the last speaker. I joked as I came on that their had been so much wisdom shared that I didn't know if there was anything else to say. However, I went on with a presentation on deeper leadership based on Deeper Learning in Leadership.

I didn't know for sure if I would be able to connect with students due to a bit of language barrier and the cultural differences among students in Korea. I was delighted to find that they connected very well. In fact, the reaction is probably one of the best reactions I've ever had among a primarily student audience. The thing that was different culturally was that students in Korea have not been used to thinking of cocurricular involvement as part of their education and they have also not had the opportunity to participate in many student organizations and events. What was wonderful was that all the presenters, political, business, and education alike, advocated for deeper involvement and for testing the leadership theories they read in use in student activities. I was the last speaker and it was a pleasure to tie it together with ideas from DLL.

In addition to participating in the conference, I had my first chance to tour in Asia. It was very fun to see Seoul, a hustling, bustling, center of activity between China and Japan. One of the speakers commented that the only reason Korea has survived over the years is that it is constantly engaged in diplomatic exchange. It's interesting what geography will do to create character in a nation and its people.

The picture to the left is of the old Emperor's Palace - approximately 600 years old. It was the center of commerce and government during the period of Korean history when it was ruled by a monarch. The lifestyle was quite austere in comparison to the palaces I've seen throughout Europe. This is largely the result of the influence of Confucianism in Korea, China, and elsewhere in east Asia. However, there was a fascinating similarity between the Emperor's Palace and the Sultan's palace in Istanbul, and other palaces as well. Seoul's and Istanbul's palaces have several courtyards of increasing importance that lead up to the main palace and both have areas for the wives, children, and extended family of the monarchs. The palaces of Europe are most often multi-floor with towering ceilings while the Emperor's Palace of Seoul was one-floor, simple, and not characterized by the trappings of wealth. I found one of the most beautiful aspects of this culture to be the roof-lines of buildings, captured in the picture below that shows the layered roofs of the Palace as it extends in the distance.

Discovering Asia through Seoul, South Korea, was a wonderful way to begin to explore this area of the world. I'm likely to be back.