I was trying to listen to one of my French colleagues spoke to me the other day - he was telling me that there is an emergency at the factory and I need to participate in an urgent meeting. My French language skill is average at best, but having lived in France for 3 years, I have enough vocabularies to catch the key words and understand what he was saying. More importantly, as I listened, I sensed a certain 'frustration' behind his otherwise composed mannerism. I realized I had to attend the meeting, although I had made other plans.....
As I sat in the meeting with 5 French colleagues in a "very French" company near Versailles, a typical scenario happens. I was the only Asian, (Chinese-Indonesian) in the room, with my foreign accent and mixed up French grammar. I jumped in to the conversations whenever I had comments and ideas - sometimes in French, sometimes in English. Most of the time, I stayed quiet, listened and observed, because I cannot converse with my colleagues as fast and fluently as they did among themselves. I also stayed quiet because that has been my nature being an Asian in this foreign land - although after 3 years I have become more assertive. I have gotten used to it, and they have gotten used to me.
As we finished our meeting I left them with a little bit of contribution - some ideas to solve a part of the problem. I observed that one of my colleagues were quiet when I spoke - not expressing a disagreement, although I sensed a certain reservation. He is always on my side, but maybe this time he did not fully agree and decided to just be quiet. I observed that two of my French colleagues have developed some tension - something that had become even more obvious during the debates. I noticed that their French accents were a bit different - I wondered whether that could be one of the cause. I observed that the only woman in the meeting seems to be getting a special attention from the group, especially from the director of quality. I concluded that she would not get away with it if she was a man.....
There are much more to life than just what we hear and see - if we just listen and observe. I believe that those that are blessed with the acute ability to observe and listen are the ones well equipped for greatness. If everyone listens and observes more, there will be much less problems in the world. If teachers listen better, they will be better teachers. If parents observe more than just watching over their kids, they will become better parents. If world leaders observe more beyond just the statistics – they will make better decisions.
This is my first posting in my blog. I have been fortunate to have lived and worked in so many cultures and societies in the world. Through it my observation and listening capacity have probably improved exponentially, although from a low base. I believe there are much more that I missed than I absorbed. So I swear to myself that as I continue my life journey, I will work hard to listen and observe. As I share my observations with you in many subjects, I would love to listen to yours too.
As I sat in the meeting with 5 French colleagues in a "very French" company near Versailles, a typical scenario happens. I was the only Asian, (Chinese-Indonesian) in the room, with my foreign accent and mixed up French grammar. I jumped in to the conversations whenever I had comments and ideas - sometimes in French, sometimes in English. Most of the time, I stayed quiet, listened and observed, because I cannot converse with my colleagues as fast and fluently as they did among themselves. I also stayed quiet because that has been my nature being an Asian in this foreign land - although after 3 years I have become more assertive. I have gotten used to it, and they have gotten used to me.
As we finished our meeting I left them with a little bit of contribution - some ideas to solve a part of the problem. I observed that one of my colleagues were quiet when I spoke - not expressing a disagreement, although I sensed a certain reservation. He is always on my side, but maybe this time he did not fully agree and decided to just be quiet. I observed that two of my French colleagues have developed some tension - something that had become even more obvious during the debates. I noticed that their French accents were a bit different - I wondered whether that could be one of the cause. I observed that the only woman in the meeting seems to be getting a special attention from the group, especially from the director of quality. I concluded that she would not get away with it if she was a man.....
There are much more to life than just what we hear and see - if we just listen and observe. I believe that those that are blessed with the acute ability to observe and listen are the ones well equipped for greatness. If everyone listens and observes more, there will be much less problems in the world. If teachers listen better, they will be better teachers. If parents observe more than just watching over their kids, they will become better parents. If world leaders observe more beyond just the statistics – they will make better decisions.
This is my first posting in my blog. I have been fortunate to have lived and worked in so many cultures and societies in the world. Through it my observation and listening capacity have probably improved exponentially, although from a low base. I believe there are much more that I missed than I absorbed. So I swear to myself that as I continue my life journey, I will work hard to listen and observe. As I share my observations with you in many subjects, I would love to listen to yours too.
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