My self-reflection on serving as an assistant facilitator for Management Communication Camp
My MC Camp Experience
Management Communication Camp(MC Camp) is an intensive five-day module of NUS MBA program. Students are required to attend the course at the very beginning of the first semester. The course is conducted in a small class of 4 groups, each consisting of 4 to 6 students. Facilitators are not professors from academia but senior executives from companies. Fellow assistant facilitators(AF) are selected from senior MBA candidates.
I have attended the course twice. The first time I was participating as a student sitting in the classroom. The second time, I was an AF assisting facilitator to deliver the course. Being AF is exhausting. The AF daily schedule starts with a morning meeting at 7 am and ends around 8 pm with a huddle discussing feedbacks after class is dismissed. However, the experience is also fulfilling and memorable.
Deep Sharing
On the 3rd day of the camp, there is one critical session called deep sharing, in which students share their transformative experiences or hardships with learning partners. To start with, facilitators will demonstrate in front of the class by sharing a story which made who they are today.
Taking my section as an example, the faculty shared how he survived cancer only because his doctor was willing to go the extra mile for him.
Many years ago, he was diagnosed with cancer in his middle age. His life was falling apart, as if his career, family, kids and everything else in his life which used to make him proud were relentlessly slipping through his fingers. After multiple rounds of treatments, he knew he was at death’s door. Upon leaving the doctor’s office, a familiar face in the photo on the doctor’s desk sparked his attention, and the conversation started. The young man in the photo is the doctor’s son and his former student.
The doctor stepped up efforts in his treatment. Fortunate enough, he recovered.
The near-death experience made him decided to devote himself to teaching and helping more students. The story was so heart-breaking and personal that students were deeply touched and followed the lead to share their own stories with their peers.
When he told the story, I was sitting behind in the classroom. Suddenly, I understand why he took long-haul flights from Canada to Singapore only for a two-day pre-camp training, and why he diligently reviewed every detail of teaching material early every morning.
The deep sharing session has become one of the most influential chapters of the MC Camp. It has such a magic that brings people closer and boost trust in such a short period. It helps to understand the inner soul of each other.
It is uncommon in Asia culture to see teachers expose their feelings and emotions in front of students, especially those vulnerable moments when career, success, or even life hangs in the balance. It is also uncommon to talk openly and honestly about personal life struggles in the MBA class. But just because of those deep sharings that people get to know the other’s values and convictions, and thus the person sitting in front of us become more humane and trustworthy.
Authentic leadership
“To realize one’s destiny is a person’s only real obligation.” — Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
To live a purposeful life, we all need to figure out what to pursue and what to give up. It’s never easy to find out the life calling. But there is a path to do so, which is to reflect on those hardships, those painful moments, and choices we have made.
Every story happens in life has a meaning. We put ourselves being constantly tested by real-world experience and then come to realize who we are at the core by reflecting on our life stories. By doing so, we know the drivers in life, what made us here, and what will bring us forward. That’s where a purposeful life journey begins with.
References:
[1]George, B., Sims, P., McLean, A. N., & Mayer, D. (2007). Discovering Your Authentic Leadership. Harvard Business Review, 85(2), 129–138.
[2]Brene Brown. The Power of Vulnerability
