When the Karate sensei asks, “which leg is stronger?”; with Paul Dupuis, author of The E5 Movement

It’s important for leaders to foster a culture where team members are encouraged to pursue their natural brilliance, to make their strengths even stronger.  In doing so, you’ll activate the fourth E, to enable your team to excel and execute on bringing the compelling vision to life. Because let’s face it, the true measure of exceptional leadership is the ability to help others to not only discover their strengths, but to apply them with astounding and long-lasting impact.

Find your natural brilliance and pursue it with all you’ve got…

In hindsight, my decision in 1990 to make the journey to Japan as a young backpacker was the trigger to understanding the importance of that statement.  I made the trip across the world in pursuit of my passion for the martial arts, and this adventure would eventually lead me to launch The E5 Movement.

As a teenager in Canada, I had studied various forms of kung-fu, Karate and jiu-jitsu but I had a yearning to travel to Asia and learn from the ‘real masters’.  So, with my life savings of $300 in my pocket, off I went.  Soon after I landed in Japan I began my search for a dojo. I wasn’t married to the idea of studying one particular martial art, more importantly I wanted to find a dojo which first, would welcome the young gaijin (foreigner) who spoke no Japanese, and would offer me the chance to train in the traditional arts. But this was well before the days of the internet, the yellow pages were entirely written in Japanese and English speakers were virtually non-existent…how to find this coveted dojo?

• Activate the seeking mind
• Pursue your passion
• Next time, learn the language before you go!

As luck would have it (and in hindsight, perhaps it was more fate than luck!), there was a dojo in the neighborhood where I was staying in south Osaka, a blue-collar, rough and tumble part of town. As I walked home one evening, I heard the unmistakable cadence of “ichi-ni-san!”, followed by the familiar loud grunts and ‘kiai’.  With my trusty English-Japanese dictionary in hand, I knew I had to go inside and take a look. The rest is history…

That dojo became my second home in so many ways, I trained there six nites a week for several years. The teachers (sensei) were like my big brothers & sisters. It’s where I learned to speak Japanese, and more importantly, it’s where I gained a deep understanding of Japanese culture. I started at the bottom of the totem pole, going back to a fresh start as a white belt. I washed the floors, poured the tea for my seniors, and I watched and learned each step of the way. The head of the dojo, the Sensei, became my Japanese godfather, a very tough man of few words, but as silent as he was, he was also extremely warm-hearted.

• Exceptional leaders reflect a unique balance between the hard and soft

I remember the moment clearly. It was a hot, humid summer evening in the dojo in 1994. I was training intensively for my ni-dan (2^nd degree) black belt test which included ‘kata’, traditional, memorized forms which included a combination of the hard and soft techniques, kicks, punches, blocks all in a powerful flow which required balance, stamina and intense focus. Each kata had a name, and a story behind it. While my kata were solid, I preferred and excelled in the other element of the test, ‘kumite’ (literally means freestyle fighting). In this particular marathon training session, I was working on some combinations which I planned to use in my upcoming black belt test. It was a special moment because if I passed the rigorous challenge, I would be the only non-Japanese to achieve 2^nd degree black belt in the history of the dojo.

The kumite portion of the test entailed facing off against ten other fighters in succession, back to back, starting with the hungry brown belt, one step away from earning their black belt, they had nothing to lose, these were the most dangerous fighters, eager to make their mark by defeating a black belt.  Next would be the ‘shodan’ (first degree black belts), testing on the same day alongside me for their 2^nd degree belt. And finally, the last fights would be against the current 2^nd and 3^rd degree black belts, the most experienced and proficient fighters in the dojo. All of this followed the kata section of the test, so stamina combined with fighting ‘smart’ was a key to success and being promoted to the next coveted black belt level.

• It’s one thing to be good at something, it’s quite another to like doing it

Now, many of the important lessons I learned about leadership during my time in Japan came in the dojo. The old adage of ‘no news is good news’ is a simple way to sum up how leaders in Japan, in and out of the dojo, coach their mentees. In other words, the sensei rarely spoke to me, but when he did, the conversation was focused on what I needed to improve. It was about the ‘how’, the small tweaks which would help bring me to the next level of proficiency and impact. Sometimes, it meant shifting the weight 10% more to my back leg on a block or turning my hips 1-2 inches away from the opponent before delivering a strike. Subtle tips, hints, that when executed right, could lead to break-thru.  But on this particular evening, my sensei offered advice which would help define my own notion of leadership, even to this day.

• Small tweaks can lead to big impact

I was practicing a middle punch and high kick combination with my left leg when he came over to me and watched as I repeated the same combination over and over again. He then stopped me and asked; “Which leg is your strongest?”. I replied, “my right leg, sensei”. He responded with crystal clear instructions; “Stop practicing your weak leg, and focus on your strong leg, you won’t win your tenth fight with your weak leg”.  And then he walked away….

That moment in the dojo was an epiphany for me. For so many years, as a student in school, an ice hockey player and a martial arts practitioner, I had teachers, coaches and sensei who pushed me to improve my weaknesses. During my high school days, I loved English, literature and my social sciences classes. I was absolutely fascinated by history, the real, human stories of how we got from there to here. And I enjoyed the discussions which these stories prompted. Great conversations were interrupted by the bell, and then it was off to math and chemistry class.

Not only were these my weak subjects, I simply wasn’t interested. But ironically, I spent the majority of my time in after school tutoring, assignments homework and test preparation for these subjects. So much so, that my grades in the subjects which I really enjoyed, and excelled at, suffered as a result. Instead of focusing on what I would later discover as my “natural brilliance”, I was focusing on my weaknesses. The ROE (return on effort) of focusing on your weakness pales in comparison to working on making your strengths, stronger.

• Find your natural brilliance, the things you are good at the things you like to do. And do more of it!
• Leaders know that the ROE will be much higher when they enable their teams to develop their natural brilliance
• A team with diverse areas of natural brilliance, combined, is unstoppable

I took the advice of my sensei and re-focused my practice on my right leg, creating combinations which leveraged my strengths. And then I practiced again and again, until the combinations were crisp and sharp.  My self-confidence improved and by the time the day of the test arrived, I was ready. His advice had enabled me to shine.

I passed my test that day. In fact, I won every Kumite match, with the final bout against the strongest fighter in the dojo ending in a knockout. No surprise that it was my right leg that ultimately helped me win the match.

The lesson I learned from my Sensei in the dojo on that fateful evening has stayed with me to this day. I began to search for my own areas of natural brilliance, the things I liked to do and was good at. And more than 25 years later, this notion became a core element of what would eventually form an important “E” in The E5 Movement – to Enable.

It’s important for leaders to foster a culture where team members are encouraged to pursue their natural brilliance, to make their strengths even stronger.  In doing so, you’ll activate the fourth E, to enable your team to excel and execute on bringing the compelling vision to life. Because let’s face it, the true measure of exceptional leadership is the ability to help others to not only discover their strengths, but to apply them with astounding and long-lasting impact.

• Enable your team by creating an environment where everyone is encouraged to pursue their natural brilliance
• Enable by recognizing and rewarding those who pursue their natural brilliance and make an impact along the way