A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of leading the inaugural SikhLEAD Leadership Academy for the Sikh American legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) in Washington, DC. The program was based on Common Ground's Infinity Leadership Model and follows on the heels of our other global leadership programs.
Soon, we'll be taking that model to the West Bank to inspire, train, and support a diverse, motivated and entrepreneurial group of young leaders with the goal of helping them connect a generation of their peers to a vibrant future and a vision for a “shared Jerusalem.”
One of our SikhLEAD participants wrote a wonderful account of her experience on the Kaurista Blog. The full post follows:
Inspired doesn’t seem to cut it. SikhLead’s Leadership Development Program (LDP) was more than a retreat, a program, or any type of conference I have attended. I went in with no expectation. I walked away with a feeling, a desire, a hope that went far beyond my ‘comfort zone.’ I have started a journey of introspection, of self-evaluation that needs a particular attention I have not yet had the reason or time to give.
I cannot thank the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) enough for the opportunity and the experience that I shared with sixteen other bright, ambitious, and talented individuals from all across the country. The seventeen of us, our mentor Craig Bowman and all of the SALDEF staff organized a program that challenged us to grow, to think, and to figure out what kind of leaders we want to be for our generation.
The weekend started with a practical yet inspirational talk from Satjiv Chahil, who once held the title of Senior Vice President Worldwide Marketing at Apple, preceded and followed by a trail of top marketing positions in companies across the U.S. His explained that the path to his field of marketing was not easy, nor was it expected. He faced unknown territory when he started out, both as a young man dealing with the onslaught of the “computer” and as a Sikh American. But he proudly stated, “I never feel like a minority because I know I can take on sava laakh.” We had the privilege of hearing several similar stories over the weekend from guest speakers such as Gurinder Ahluwalia, CEO of Genworth Tech, and panelists including Ravi Bhalla, Councilman of Hoboken, NJ, Jyotswaroop Kaur, Associate Director of Strategic Actions for a Just Economy, and Jaideep Singh, Assistant Professor of Sikh and Punjabi Studies at CSU East Bay. Each followed a non-traditional career path. Each had a story to tell. Each had a lesson from which we could learn.
These amazing speakers book-cased the crux of the weekend – several workshops administered by Craig Bowman, Founder and President of Common Ground Consulting, LLC. Though each workshop forced us to delve into our inner-workings and question what makes us tick, I would like to talk about one in particular. We were asked to speak on the fountain of Dupont Circle, one of the busiest parks in Washington, DC. It was a Sunday afternoon. African drums that could be heard in the background and the soothing flow of the fountain set the mood. We had to speak to the people of Dupont, to whoever would listen, to the DC residents walking their dogs, to our own LDP group. We were asked to share a story or write a piece that revealed a core personal belief. It was the most intimidating thing some of us had done. Not only were we going to be talking to strangers, but we were talking to the other sixteen LDP students, showing them, telling them what we were each truly about. It took guts, but everyone one of us went up there and had something powerful to say. The experience was unlike any debate speech, symposium speech, or class presentation I’ve ever had. We were vulnerable and nervous but we each pulled through and faced the world in a sense. We put our inhibitions aside and focused on what are truly about – and having that strong sense of self, having that core, is what enabled us to withstand the stares, the doubtful looks, and justspeak.
It is apt that inaugural class of SikhLead’s Leadership Development Program was also able to attend SALDEF’s National Gala which celebrated 15 years of achievement. Since 1996, SALDEF itself has done so much for the community, from organizing Know Your Rights Forums with local gurdwaras, training Law Enforcement and government officials across the country on Sikhism, to fighting for Sikh American rights in every piece of diversity legislation that passes through or is presented to Congress, all the while maintaining its initial goal to keep Media in check on how they portray Sikh Americans. Now, SALDEF has become the pioneer of building the Sikh leaders of tomorrow.
Whether we were doing bhangra outside the White House, quietly reflecting at the MLK memorial, or telling our personal stories during workshops, this LDP class shared an experience that will never be forgotten and I look forward to new feats that each of us will inevitably achieve in the future. Stay hungry, stay foolish.
