By: Yunji de Nies

Our first full day began with a deep dive into The Leadership Circle (TLC) results. The TLC instrument is complex and revealing. A select group of bosses, peers, and direct reports are asked to assess an individual, and those assessments are put side-by-side with the individual’s self-assessment. While the results had been mailed to us weeks ahead, we still had many questions about how to make sense of the feedback, especially in the areas where there were large gaps in how we rated ourselves, and how others assessed us. We explored how to respond to feedback, why it often does not register, and how to become a better receiver. 

Bill Coy, Senior Coach and Action Learning Curator, gave us plenty to think about, reminding us that we are all minor players in other people’s stories, and to always consider the source: when you evaluate how you are being evaluated, ask first, “what is it that they want from me?” remembering that people see you differently depending on their expectations of you. 

On the second day, we headed out to Hoʻoulu ʻĀina, a 100-acre nature preserve in Kalihi Valley. We spent the day with Puni Jackson, who with her incredible team, offered their wisdom about how caring for the health of the land is fundamental to the health of the people. Under their direction, we chopped down invasive trees and tended to native plants. It was invigorating to work together, sweating side by side, each of us finding our own way to best help the collective. 

Cheryl Kaʻuhane Lupenui, Omidyar Fellows co-facilitator, led us through an aloha circle where we each shared the story of our name, our community, and our gift. It is an exercise she learned from Aunty Puanani Burgess. I would encourage anyone to reflect on these three points: thinking about where your name comes from, who is your community, and what is something special that you bring to it. While we have gotten to know each other throughout the months together, this circle gave us so much insight into the members of our cohort and was also a fantastic way to reflect on how we see ourselves and what we hope we bring to others.