Making a Difference

"The ability to create is the most empowering thing that can happen to an individual." Patrick Awuah

I've been watching TED again. It's always such an exhilarating experience to listen to these brilliant individuals speak. Well, sometimes they're not all such great public speakers. But there are those who just make you stop, listen, and yes...be moved.

Patrick Awuah left Ghana to go to school at Swarthmore College, and then went on to build a career at Microsoft Corporation. The quote above is something he said about his experience working with a brilliant, creative team at Microsoft. And his words really moved me.

The reason why they moved me is because he decided not to stay on in Seattle and raise his family there. Instead, he chose to go back to Ghana and make a difference by creating opportunities for a new generation of Ghanaians to have the opportunity to create, to be empowered, to become leaders who will make a difference to their country...and, Patrick Awuah believes, the world.

His efforts have not been in vain. The Asheshi University has been set up in Ghana to educate leaders; and as early as a month into the program, one of his students sent him an email that simply said, "I am thinking now."

The power of those four words makes my skin tingle and brings tears to my eyes.

One of the things we teach in our vibrant facilitation course is the important role of the facilitator to be a challenger. To challenge participants to think, to have a thirst for knowledge, to take responsibility for their own learning.

The reason is clear. When one uses their whole mind - thinks and feels - and then acts, one is empowered. And while one person can make a difference, having a group that collaborates together to make a change in this world is even more breathtaking. Exhilarating. For both the participant and the facilitator!

So the next time you do facilitate...challenge your participants to think! and don't be lazy either...you TOO have to be inspired to do your responsibility...try new methods, look for new information, and always give your very best. As Tom Peters says, "Excellence. Always."