I am unusually adaptable – and although I’m a strong-willed person I am very flexible. Perhaps different life experiences and wisdom guided me to acquire the strength of flexibility that is a necessity in leadership. I am a sensible risk taker and an adventuresome person in a way that enhances my leadership appeal to the larger community. I welcome new challenges. Because of my risk-taking ability, I feel that greater opportunities knock on my door. As Pablo Picasso said, "I am always doing things I can't do, that's how I get to do them."

I approach conflict as an opportunity for change and growth. Our weaknesses can turn into strengths. Relative to my leadership abilities, I am fully aware of myself. I feel that this is a practical foundation for making appropriate adaptations in dealing with others. However, I can be overly critical of myself. I treat others with dignity and respect regardless of power or position and foster sound decision-making processes based upon the task at hand. My daily practices are; emotional intelligence, self-awareness, self-management, and mindfulness. These skills are the fruit of more than 30 years of daily meditation. So far as I know, these have been the practices of my parents, their parents, etc… Such a gift is not easily surrendered.

I realized that one of the best skills I can seek to acquire is the ability to communicate new understandings to people by methods proper to their needs and level of engagement. Allow me to share an example which illustrates this realization. The Littleton Immigrant Integration Initiative (LI3) is an organization that tries to discover and develop immigrant leaders in Colorado –I am a steering committee member. Recently we hosted a resource fair to celebrate the success of immigrants and their community partners. The fair was remarkably well received because it emphasized this community focus. My American experience has taught me that regardless of homogeneity or a mixture of color, faith or ethnicity it is the people themselves which produce a community; leaders belong to people and leading by example fosters growth. This resource fair connected many dots of distance in an extended family dynamic by bringing immigrants and businesses together. In this way, the value of diversity is recognized as leadership.