A true leader

I cringed at the thought of having a new leadership in embassy. I vividly remember the quite a panic rush i had, knowing that a new ambassador and spouse would be leading the mission. In foreign affair service, any typical ambassadors are high-profile and experienced diplomatic officers trained specifically for the glamorous diplomatic services. However, in certain cases, an ambassador can be a political appointee. and the mere thought of politics or politicians often tend to send me scary messages.

I guess, we have learned or will come to learn somehow that the words that say all politicians are arrogant, individualistic opportunists does not hold true all the times. I strongly believe we would all agree that a truly patriotic, fair and open-minded leader who speaks from his or her heart and drops his or her tears is such a gracious but humble and sincere leader who shines in darkness, offering light and hopes to those searching for the way out of fantasy. A leader who has integrity, dedication and implacability leads and inspire dreamless and visionless people. A real leader, a truly successful diplomat, is he or she who is close enough to relate to those around, and yet far enough ahead to monitor, motivate and show the path to the unseen. So whether one is a trained diplomat or vice-versa, what actually make a distinguished and highly dedicated diplomat is more about his or her character rather than just training background or experience.

apple polisher

ever wonder why some people are never short of friends? perhaps, one crucial aspect that explain this is their amazing interpersonal skill or intelligence. when the theory of interpersonal intelligence (which is just one of the many multiple intelligences theory) was coined, many, particularly researchers and educators have started to pay greater attention to developing education frames that would develop, and multiply this intelligence. for us adult, interpersonal intelligence too, is indeed a premium and in fact, very much relevant. one important key feature of interpersonal intelligence is our ability to interact, emphatize, understand, assess and interpret others' motivations, desires, feelings and perspectives. This ability can be reflected through language usage (here comes, linguistics intelligence too). any languages used in a very tactful and diplomatic way have more positive impacts on our counterparts and indeed mirror, our interpersonal intelligence. with such intelligence, we are more likely to get along well with people, gain more friends, and have stronger social network of family members as well as acquaintances. don't we realize that sometimes, our mere presence is sometimes enough to bring cheer to others? as diplomats' spouses, supporting our partners' career does not only demand us to just be by his side and take care of his meals and needs and look after our children. in all missions, diplomats' wives have to participate in various meetings and activities, be that among the members their own circles, or among the international diplomatic corps. often, ladies can play a subtle , yet very significant role in forging diplomatic relationship between countries through the multitude of functions such as fund raising activities, and even hi-tea, dinner or even simple coffee morning! so, treat all as important.

as such, it is crucial for us to be socially-conscious in language usage and avoid any forms of insensitive, bias, inconsiderate, selfish and offensive language that could tarnish the reputation of the country's image we always carry with us, and could jeopordize relationship between people and countries. whether we communicate with subordinate, people of the same level or of the a much higher level, always
show respect to their feelings and ideas. academic intelligence may get us a prominent place, but it's the interpersonal intelligence that may get us favoured by many. Distinguish ourselves though from apple-polishing, or brown-nosing. toadying or false-flattering is unethical. never allow such emotional insecurity from invading ourselves. if we truly have a high level
ofinterpersonal intelligence, we should always welcome discussions, offer insights into things, counsel others, respect others temperaments and always cooperate. believe me, we thrive and grow better without being apple-polishers :-)