INsight/ On a Quest

Photo by Jan Kopriva on Unsplash.

Ubud, 11 May 2022 — What a quest is about and three ways to do it.

Story 

It happened in 1986. I was working at UNICEF in Sri Lanka at the time, and frequently spent weeks working on a project in Anuradhapura, a historic city in the country’s northcentral region that features many ancient Buddhist monuments. One of the city’s main attractions is a two-thousand year old tree, reportedly grown from a sapling of the tree under which Buddha experienced enlightenment. I still remember the smells and colors of the city and the kindness of the Sri Lankan people I met.

For me as a young water engineer, it felt exciting to work in a place where irrigation dams constructed by kings 1,500 year ago were still in operation in the present era. One memory, however, stands out even more, and that is sitting on the veranda of the guesthouse in the weekend and hearing about the life and teachings of the Buddha. It was there that I came to realize just how extraordinary Buddha’s story was, about a prince deciding to leave the comfort and security of his life in the palace in search for a higher purpose. I realized that India has, over millennia, produced many sadhus, or holy men, who have forsaken earthly possessions to live off charity. Yet why would a prince do so?

We, of course, already know how Buddha’s story unfolded. Yet on a dark night, the young Gautama had no certainty about his future as he walked out of the palace, giving up everything he had to look for something he could not even clearly describe. To his parents, companions, and friends, that must have seemed a profoundly unreasonable decision. After all, couldn’t he have studied spirituality as a prince? Yet Gautama went beyond reason to embark on a journey full of uncertainty. He did so because he felt called to lead himself and others to discover a better way of living, and he chose to follow his calling. That’s what leaders do, and over time, it has been referred to as a going on a Quest. So let’s dive into how quests can work for leaders like you and me today.

Challenge

Through the centuries, going on a quest has always involved leaders taking on a challenge, often coming from a deeper sense of calling, or simply lots of curiosity to discover more about life. A quest is about being ready to travel to find something we seek, something we value highly and are ready to get out of our comfort zone for. It’s both a goal and the process of achieving it. The word ‘journey’ is often used to describe a quest. Where Buddha’s quest was for enlightenment, we can also think of Gandhi’s quest for India’s independence. In China, Laozi’s quest was for how best to live, and Confucius’ quest focused on developing harmonious relationships in society. In Europe, we also find stories of quests, including the travels of Odysseus in Greece, King Arthur in England, and the shepherd boy Santiago in The Alchemist in Spain. 

In today’s world of leadership development, the metaphor of a journey to describe a leader’s quest is still widely used, for example in the well-known leadership model of Bruce Avolio. While as leaders each of our lives are unique, we can all reflect on questions like where we have come from, where we want to go, and how we can develop ourselves where we are now. When we answer these questions, the journey metaphor helps us realize that we are on a quest, even if we might not have realized it yet. The leadership journey is not a sprint but a marathon. Actually, it’s a lifelong journey, just as in the lives of the leaders we mentioned above. Going back to the Buddha’s story, however, we can see that making a long, individual journey is not the only way we can describe leaders going on a quest. There is more to it!

After traveling by himself for some time, Gautama teamed up with a handful of fellow spiritual seekers. Together, they practiced their quest, exploring several methods. We know from Margaret Mead, an anthropologist, that small teams of thoughtful and committed people can change the world. In the Grow3Leaders Challenge, we ask leaders to invite three colleagues to form a Collab and influence a positive change together in their workplace. Meanwhile, there is one more element to Buddha’s quest that is relevant to leaders today. His journey involved something more than solitary practice and teamwork. He also joined and then hosted larger communities of practice. These became eventually known as Sangha, a community of traveling seekers whom he accepted and ordained as monks and nuns. Reflecting on Buddha’s story, we learn that his quest was focused on practice, individually, with a small team, and in a larger community. Recognizing the value of these three ways can help us shape our quests as leaders today.

Question

So what happened after I listened to the story of Buddha’s extraordinary and unreasonable journey that was shared with me by the caring and smart people I met in that guesthouse in Anuradhapura? Well, it led me to take a deeper dive into the Buddhist way or life when I moved to Thailand for my next assignment. I experienced being ordained as a monk there. Although the ordination was for a short period, I have built on that experience ever since, with lasting inspiration and guidance for my leadership coaching work today. It helped me see what quest I am on, and how I can help others to advance with their quests.

While our world today looks different to the world Buddha lived in, we can build on the three ways that Buddha used in his quest. First, making a choice to go on the leadership journey that you are meant to travel in this life. Have you discovered it yet? Have you experienced a calling? It might have to do with leading positive changes for sustainability in our world. When you are ready to show up and commit to your quest, the Leader in Transition Program is a good place to accelerate your individual leadership journey. Second, have you already teamed up with a small number of colleagues to make change happen together, starting in your workplace? If you want to make that a part of your quest, the Grow3Leaders Challenge might be for you. Third, are you keen to advance in your quest by joining a community of like-minded leaders who want to learn and practice together out loud? If that’s a yes, then do sign up for Updates on Grow3Leaders.  

Just like in Buddha’s time, what counts in your quest is to show up and practice by yourself as well as together with others. Going on a quest, and staying on it, requires your commitment, curiosity, and courage. Fortunately, in our modern world today, we have many more opportunities to work together. However, it still comes down to you answering the questions!