Queen, rabbi and lama discuss leadership at Tufts panel

By Patrick Connolly

“Nowadays…it becomes more obvious to me that we need leaders. We need an individual that has a certain binding connection and vision,” said the Sakyong, a member of a panel of world leaders who spoke in Somerville Thursday.

The panel included Queen Noor of Jordan, Rabbi Irwin Kula and the Sakyong, Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche, an incarnate lama and leader in Shambhala Buddhism.

In front of a capacity audience at the Cohen Auditorium at Tufts University, the panel offered suggestions on how to be a compassionate leader in a post-9/11 world and encouraged social participation.

Kula, the president of the National Jewish Center for Leadership and Learning, recommended forming an open-minded vision. He suggested finding middle ground with people who have different beliefs and cultures, rather than demonizing them.

“The really interesting thing is the people who are able to fashion a type of vision that incorporates partial truths of the side they don't agree with,” Kula said. “The people who you despise most are as committed to justice as you are. It just turns out their understanding of justice is backwards from yours.”

Along the same lines, Noor shared an anecdote of being flown by helicopter into a Columbian jungle to negotiate with guerrilla fighters responsible for laying land mines and kidnappings.

“These people's minds never evolved beyond being guerrilla freedom fighters,” said Noor. “They actually had, if you'll excuse me, an understandable reason for becoming [guerilla fighters] many decades before.”

In describing her decision-making process in that situation, Noor said all people would make the same choice.

“When anyone has faith in your ability to perhaps make that much of a contribution to a process so desperately in need of resolution and to the benefit of so many people, I don't think anyone would say, 'No,'” Noor said.

Like Noor, Kula suggested that individuals take on personal responsibility, rather than transferring responsibility to perceived saviors, such as President George W. Bush or Barack Obama.

“We're going to have to move towards a different understanding of leadership,” Kula said. “That is, in beginning to view leadership as a process, an art, of creating environments in which we can actually face up to our own problems.”

The moderator of the discussion, Jerry Murdock, said people grow up believing leaders are other people in the room, and that concept needs to change.

“We ourselves need to have more strength, character and genuineness. We ourselves need to have qualities of strength and compassion if we are going to expect our leaders to have that, too,” the Sakyong continued.

Comments

[JPM]

Queen Noor just married into huge wealth. Nobody would be listening to her otherwise. I certainly will not be taking any advice from her.....

[Mike M]

Queen Noor was the daughter of the former CEO of Pan American Airways, former head of the FAA and Deputy Secretary of Defense. She was also one of the first co-ed graduating classes from Princeton University with a degree in architecture. She was working on the development of the Amman Intercontinental Airport when she met King Hussein.

So, JPM, what's your story?