Me and my brother, Nick, in Slovenia

So, I have to admit that I feel lucky in how early an appreciation for international travel hit me. As a senior in high school (over a decade ago now!) I ran with the study abroad crew for a while. With friendly faces from 2 continents, I stayed in touch until college when I went to Spain and Brazil on trips to visit old friends.

I intensified my travels in college with the help of lots of Delta-employed friends. And so the travel bug grew bigger.

By the end of college, travel was my LIFE. I mean, if I had a 5-day weekend coming up, I would grab a friend and fly standby to Ireland for $250. FIRST CLASS. It was amazing.

What I came to realize about myself was that I traveled because it gave me a sense of freedom and joy that nothing matched. It refreshed my soul like nothing else could. And it’s a drug I’ve been on since.

People can be separated into two groups – those that think that traveling for 4 months is a life-must and those that think that traveling for 4 months is irresponsible. As a member of the former, I have chosen to travel during career transitions more than anything. This fine website is dedicated to growing the sabbatical in American business, something I wholeheartedly support. But how I’ve made this happen is key.

Traveling during career transitions can occur before a job, after a job or any other time where you have a major new life step coming along, including starting or leaving college. And the key to traveling during career transitions is successful, long term planning. A year and a half before undergrad graduation, I had started the planning of my 4-month around-the-Pacific trip.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

So, take advantage of transitions in your life and make sure you start preparing EARLY. I’m not saying plan every detail, but the earlier you decide, the more cash you can save up, the cheaper your flights will be, and the easier it is for you to immerse yourself in the travel Twitter space (a must).

Don’t be afraid. Take the step. It’s the first along a life of travel being your most intense passion. Which is a good thing.

(PS – Check out HostelDog.com for shirts that help you remember daily why you’re going on that huge trip!)

Cusco, Peru

From Victoria Mountain, Hong Kong, China

Garrett will be an expert panelist at Meet, Plan, Go! on the evening of September 14th in Atlanta at REI. The event is free but registration is required. Come join us!

Me and Raymondo

I’d been to South Africa on holiday previously and whilst on safari, I noticed a research vehicle driving around following the animals and taking notes. I looked up the website address on their vehicle and found out that it was a volunteer conservation company, where people could volunteer with them and help with the research. So I spoke to my employer, got my sabbatical approved and booked my place on the volunteer project. As well as this, I also booked a safari guide course which I thought would give me a good understanding of the African wildlife.

So after many months of counting down the days, I was off to South Africa where I completed the safari guide course and started the volunteering project. I was in Africa, having the time of my life and didn’t have a single worry in the world! Could life get any better than this? Well you’d expect me to say “NO”, however the answer is “YES” as my life was about to make a huge directional change for the better.
To cut a long story short, one of the safari lodges on the reserve had a guide leave and I was asked to replace them for a week. A week became two weeks, which became five and by the end of my time they offered me a full time job! So I flew back to the UK, sold my house, sold my car, took voluntary redundancy (thanks ACE!!!) before flying back to South Africa four months later.

I then worked as a safari guide whilst I obtained more qualifications, became promoted to the manager of the five start lodge, and after a number of years ended up back at the volunteering company, where I worked as a staff member and eventually became manager there too!

So am I still there now?…Nope, I left and moved to Costa Rica where I set up a new company, which I then bought from the owners, moved it to the UK and now own Yomps, which is a gap year, career break and adventure travel company, selling lots of amazing trips all over the world, including the original safari guide course that started my new life!

Rolled out in 2007 along with a personal sabbatical program, General Mills’ “Innovation Sabbatical” is only offered to members of the company’s “Innovation, Technology and Quality” organization, which is comprised of employees in roles related to research and development, nutrition, quality and engineering. After 7 years of service, these employees may apply for an Innovation Sabbatical that is fully paid for up to 12 months. Expenses related to the sabbatical are also paid.

The following are highlights from a recent discussion about General Mills’ Innovation Sabbatical between yourSABBATICAL’s Elizabeth Pagano and Sandy Haddad, Manager of Flexibility & Inclusion at General Mills and the new overseer of the company’s sabbatical offerings. Haddad was on the HR committee that developed the program.

Q: Tell me a little more about the eligibility requirements for your Innovation Sabbatical.

A: We’re looking for people who have proven their strong performance and have deep experience at General Mills. It’s a reward. We have a steering committee that reviews all of the proposals that come in and makes the decision of who is approved to take an innovation sabbatical, based on how the applicants’ requests meet the criteria of the program.  The steering committee includes the most senior, influential leaders in the group, including the senior vice president who heads the Innovation Technology and Quality organization. Before rolling out the Innovation Sabbatical, we had those folks out in front of employees talking about the program, how it relates to our innovation strategy, and why we’re excited about it.

Q: Briefly, what is the process for applying?

A: We have an online form that can be filled out and turned in to anyone on the committee.

Q: How many have applied since the program’s inception in 2007?

A: Roughly 15.

Q: Is there a cap?

A: No. We are targeting about two per year.

Q: How many people have been on an Innovation Sabbatical so far, and what kinds of things did they do?

A: Five employees have taken Innovation Sabbaticals. They fall into two categories: one category is very science based around product development, coming up with new, proprietary opportunities and solutions around nutrition; the second category is more about organizational capabilities which are not specific to one product but will have implications across the company’s portfolio of brands and businesses. For example, one person really focused on using social media and networking to expand our innovation capabilities. He brought back a very robust understanding of the social media landscape, the potential, and how to leverage it internally and externally. While on sabbatical, he worked in another organization – not a competitor – that was also interested in learning more about social media…so he had a playground of sorts and also spent time benchmarking across a broad array of organizations. Another employee partnered with a higher education institution for his sabbatical. And another person worked with a small organization that General Mills is already partnering with to expand our contacts with leading-edge innovators; with this particular organization’s network we went from having a network of a handful to a network of more than 100 innovators around the world who we can tap into.

Q: What kinds of business outcomes have you observed from this program?

A: Culturally, it has really reinforced the commitment we have to people, innovation, and experimentation. We didn’t  want people to get stuck thinking “Well, what if my idea doesn’t work?” People needed to know that we want them to go way outside the box and that failure is a possibility but we won’t look at it as failure. From an individual stand point, the impact has been huge. Personal learning, confidence, and development have been evident. And these individuals were also able to build their external network more, which feeds right into innovation. Also, they’ve had unique opportunities to interact more frequently with the senior leadership of the organization..

Q: How is this program perceived within General Mills?

A: Very well. Those who’ve done it come back refreshed, energized, and are bringing back great innovation to General Mills. The biggest challenge was convincing people that we really mean it and to go for it. We said “Don’t let your own mental barriers stop you from going for it.”

Q: How is work coverage handled? Is there a specific process or does it depend on unit/team?

A: Many employees at General Mills have rotational assignments, and Innovation Sabbaticals are targeted to occur at the end of a rotation, when a different employee would be taking over the position either way.

Q: What are some of the expectations of an employee who is accepted for an Innovation Sabbatical?

A: Part of the application process – but it’s also up to the person’s manager – is to ensure that before leaving, the employee is clear on what the objectives are and how they’ll be evaluated. We do tie the sabbatical in to the employee’s performance rating and layout the expectation that when they come back, they’ll present what they learned  to people throughout the organization – not just in one presentation or paper. For example, the person who worked on social media while on sabbatical is still working on tying it back to the organization. He’s considered an internal consultant on social media.

Q: How do you think your sabbatical program(s) contributes to GMI’s “best company” status?

A: It’s rather unique to go out on a paid sabbatical. And since we’ve increased the duration from 6 to 12 months, it’s a generous and exciting program that complements all we’re doing around flexibility, while also promoting innovation… and that’s a company that I want to work for. We  truly trust and empower employees to experiment and dig deep into topics about which they are passionate. This benefits them from a development and satisfaction standpoint, and it has a tremendous benefit on our business.

I turned around.  Tribe was standing in the doorway to the classroom we’d just left where we taught the students about the power of differentiation when launching social ventures.  During class Tribe only spoke when he was called upon and even then he was barely audible.  Now he was the one addressing the mzungu (Swahili word for “white person) by himself.  His classmates had already gone to supper.

I was stunned. Not only at who was asking the question, but also at the gravitas of it.

“What do you mean my vision?”  I stammered.

Tribe stared at me deeply.  “What is your vision for me?”

I had only been in Africa for a few days.  Tribe’s school, Gayaza Cambridge, in the rural outskirts of Kampala, was one of the first schools I visited.  To get there was an experience in itself.  On the first leg of my trip I took a matatu (large van that follows specific routes through the countryside) from my compound in Buziga to Old Taxi Park (which was the epicenter of the riots that rocked Kampala 4 days earlier).  From Old Taxi Park I hitched another matatu to Gayaza which was an hour and a half (mostly over bumpy dirt roads) away from Kampala.  We fit over 20 people in a 14-person van.  I sat next to a woman that brought a bag of hay which she laid across my lap the entire ride.  It seems like anything goes in these matatus – they have given me a newfound sense of patience and humor.

As we snaked through various provinces and neighborhoods in the matatu I was in culture shock.  We drove through places that were destitute.  There were children begging on the side of the matatu.  There were donkeys, cows, longhorn cattle, goats, monkeys and chickens walking in the street next to cars and matatus and people.  When villagers saw me in the matatu they shouted mzungu!  Children stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed at the odd white person.  Everywhere I went it was a spectacle.  I felt like I was dreaming.  It was surreal.

When we got off at the Gayaza stop we were greeted by 20 boda boda drivers (motorcycle drivers that take you anywhere matatus cannot) yelling “mzungu! mzungu!” and tapping their respective seats.

Amy, the program director, asked one of them if they knew where Gayaza Cambridge was.  The man sheepishly nodded and quoted us a price of 500 shillings (25 cents).  She asked him again – louder.

“DO YOU KNOW WHERE GAYAZA CAMBRIDGE IS?”

He nodded again and patted the seat for us to get on it.  She shook her head and walked to the next boda driver in the throng.  This boda boda driver was adamant that he knew where Gayaza Cambridge was and quoted us 1,500 shillings (75 cents).  We got on and within 30 seconds we were flying through the Ugandan countryside – weaving around animals and potholes and branches lying in the street.  I had never been on a motorcycle before and now I was sitting behind Amy, whipping around on the back of boda boda and entrusting my life to a man I’d never even spoken with.

“Why didn’t we get on the first one?”  I shouted to her through the wind.

“His price was too low.”  She replied.  “If they don’t know where they’re going they’ll quote you something cheap.  Once you get on the bike they drive away and ask you where to go. If you don’t know they charge you extra for getting lost and drive you back to the boda boda station.”

The boda boda dropped us off 5 minutes away from Gayaza Cambridge.  After giving him 1,500 shillings we gave him another 1,000 shillings so that he’d come back and pick us up after our session.  It was already dusk and we were worried there would be no boda boda’s waiting for us when we were done.

“Here is 1,000.  Will you come back for us?”

He shook his head vehemently.

“6:20 sebbo (sir).”  Amy said, looking him in the eyes.  “We need you to come back.  We have no way to to get back to Gayaza.  Will you come back?”

He nodded and rode off.  (He never came back).

After Tribe asked me the question he hung his head to the side and limply looked at the ground.  I looked at him a little longer, trying to figure out what my response would be.  Finally I said the first thing that popped into my head.

“Well – what do you want to be?”

Of all the difficult parts of moving from Manhattan to Uganda – what I struggled with most was effectively communicating with students in the Educate! program.  I didn’t know how to speak with someone 10 years younger, from a completely different socio-economic circle and altogether different set of circumstances than myself.  It was hard.  I struggled, and I still struggle with it.

And while that was hardest part of my transition, the move to Uganda was much harder than I’d anticipated.  I’ve always been a go-with-the-flow type of person.  I usually don’t have a problem adapting to any situation. But this was different.

For me it seemed like everything was more difficult. I don’t mean to over-generalize or suggest this is the condition in all of Uganda – but they are the circumstances specific to my lodging and environment.  Most of the items are petty, but it’s the small things in life that make one comfortable.  Suddenly I felt I had no comforts, neither big nor small.  Nothing seemed simple anymore – when I brush my teeth I can’t run my toothbrush under the faucet.  I can’t drink tap water.  Clothes have to be washed by hand.  There is no coffee machine.  To get hot water you need to flip a switch 15 minutes before you shower.  There is no light in the bathroom (I was told I need to “aim straight”).  There is a “pet mouse” named Juliet that occasionally keeps us up at night as she sifts through items left out, pads through the room at night and crawls around in the walls till the early hours of the morning.  Going to the grocery store requires a backpack and 2 boda boda’s.  When I was in Hoima I scratched my arm getting out of a matatu.  The scratch was small – but because of the hygiene difficulties (2 out of the 3 days I was in the hotel I didn’t have water) and a lack of basic medical necessities (there was no hydrogen peroxide or disinfecting ointments in the entire town of Hoima) my arm has gotten infected.

And while these inconveniences make my life difficult – my work has been fulfilling beyond my wildest expectations.  Looking at a young adults trying to start a business and knowing that my skill set will help them do that more successfully is exhilarating.

Tribe looked at the ground and shifted his weight back and forth on his two legs.  He looked at the ground and then back at me again.

“I want to be an entrepreneur and an economist.”  He said softly.

“I can help you achieve both of those goals.”  I said.  “I’ve studied both fields.”

“Can you teach me?”

I nodded.

I am in Kampala to help the Educate! students launch their social enterprises.  Specifically I have to help them figure out: how to get start up capital; how to get ongoing cash to sustain their business and how their business can address a social problem.

While there are many business principles and concepts that transcend all geographic and cultural boundaries – the more I learned about the students business plans the more I realized I had a long way to go in terms of understanding how businesses operated in Uganda.  Uganda is primarily an agricultural-based economy and many of the student’s ventures revolve around farming and livestock.  Already I’d visited tomato, cabbage, cucumber,  eggplant, chicken farms and goat rearing projects funded through the students, grown on school grounds and sold to students and community members.   The earnings were reinvested into the student groups to help defray the cost of school fees and even pay 100% of certain students schools fees.  I met one group, COBURWAS (which is made of orphan refugees from Congo, Sudan Uganda, Burundi, Kenya and Tanzania) that created simple businesses so they could afford to send themselves to secondary school.

Besides understanding the way businesses operate in Uganda I also need to understand the societal problems that afflict Uganda as a whole and thus compel students to start social enterprises to address them.  The problems in Uganda are far different than the ones in America – child sacrifice, school burning, terrorism, AIDS, children soldiers, government corruption, malaria, prostitution.

And my team and I can’t afford to make many mistakes.  95% of our students cannot afford to go to a university after secondary school.  If we are not able to help them start a social venture they will enter the work force likes the rest of the Ugandans.

Tribe looked at the ground and looked up at me again.  “Do you promise you’ll come back?”

I nodded again.

“When?”

“In a week or two.”  I said.

He smiled and walked away.

yS: Why did you choose to do a volunteer sabbatical?

Joe: I had always dreamed of volunteering in the developing world.  Working in corporate America for five years was rewarding and challenging, but I wanted to use my skill set in a more altruistic manner while I had the means to do so.

My decision to volunteer wasn’t completely selfless though – I knew that by volunteering in Uganda I’d be exposed to an extremely resilient, talented and diverse cross-section of people.  I wanted to engulf myself in a categorically different culture, because as Andre Gide said, “One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.”

yS: How has your sabbatical impacted you so far?

Joe: When I told people I was volunteering in Africa for 6 months a common response was, “You won’t be the same person when you come back.”

I was fine with that.  I am continually looking to evolve and grow as a person.

Little did I know how much of an impact my sabbatical would have on me – it’s more than I could have ever asked for: increased confidence, renewed mental calm and clarity, a greater understanding of life, a more global understanding of the world and a vast satisfaction knowing my work is helping people.

Joseph Quaderer, a director at Morgan Stanley, is on a 6-month sabbatical teaching Ugandan high school students the necessary skills to start and scale social enterprises – financially sustainable organizations that also address important social problems.

yS: How has your sabbatical impacted your career?

Joe: Furthering your career and volunteering abroad are no longer mutually exclusive concepts.  Having a stint as a volunteer on your resume at once differentiates you and also conveys to your potential employer that you are more than an empty suit.

I am using the skills I garnered in corporate America to teach Ugandan high school students how to start and scale socially responsible businesses. I have met other people using their professional competencies while volunteering – someone using his dancing background to spread AIDS awareness among the youth of Africa, someone else using her ceramics background to teach people vocational skills.  Volunteering allows people to strengthen their skills and to apply them in unorthodox scenarios that encourage creative thinking and problem solving.

Inspiration – Thank you Jesus for all that you have blessed us with!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Re-entry took “no more than a day or two” before being up to speed. His work coverage plan allowed for training and development. And he was far more rejuvenated than after his first sabbatical, seven years prior.

Doug and his wife in Hawaii.

Doug credits the success of his second sabbatical with lessons learned from his first. He shared with me his best practices:

1. Make it about succession planning. Start identifying what you do and who you can delegate to as early on as possible. “I started six months in advance,” he says. “The work coverage plan for my second sabbatical was more about succession planning. On my first sabbatical, I didn’t have that consciousness, but you can’t start too early thinking about those things. I’m now 55 and seven years away from retirement. You have to start implementing things well in advance of retirement to make sure it’s a smooth transition.”
2. Colleague partnering is critical. Introduce your colleagues to clients well in advance before leaving on sabbatical. It maintains continuity of service. “When you’re in your year of sabbatical, you really need to take the colleague partnering up to a different level,” Doug says.
3. Tell your clients and prospects that you’ll be taking a break. Promote the fact that you’ll be gone and that your firm supports it. “It’s an incredibly positive message – more so than I would have imagined.”
4. Use your work coverage plan to delegate to bring benefit to your company. “Once you have the list of things you do in your role, go through the list and determine what you can permanently delegate. Then ask yourself, ‘How can I best re-deploy my time for the benefit of the practice?’” Permanent delegation of tasks allowed Doug to do more client interfacing, business development activities and practice planning activities, bringing a higher value to the firm.
5. Earmark some unstructured time. Doug’s first sabbatical was 30 days of travel with only one day to unpack and get the house in order before going back to work. For his second sabbatical, he combined two weeks in Hawaii with two weeks of “staycation”, letting the days unfold and allowing for some quiet time. “I felt mentally and substantially better rested with having some time where I wasn’t dealing with airplanes, travel schedules and being on a schedule.”
6. Disconnect – really. To get the benefits out of a sabbatical – for yourself and for the development of staff – ensure that you fully disconnect. No calling in. No checking emails. “It’s good for you,” Doug says. “It’s at the core of the sabbatical.”

Because Doug did a lot of advance planning and knew what to expect, he experienced far less anxiety about leaving for sabbatical than he did before he took his first work break.

If a sabbatical is in your future, consider Doug’s tips for successful planning and preparation.

My sabbatical is also teaching me that life is so much bigger than what goes on in my world.  It is so easy to get caught up in a daily routine that we hardly ever take time to really live and experience life. For me, traveling, being active at church, trying new things, and connecting with others challenges me to step out of my small world and become more engaged with life.  So, my journey continues…

Inspiration – “Every man dies. Not every man truly lives.”  Braveheart

Ciao!

Tim O'Connor, his wife Treesah, and Dean Dipak Jain from Kellogg

When Tim O’Connor left his job as SVP Marketing for a $5B company in Atlanta, he chose to first spend six months serving as the non-paid Executive Director leading the renovation and relaunch of the EthicMark® Award for Advertising, an international advertising award that recognizes outstanding marketing, advertising, and public relations campaigns and communications designed to uplift the human spirit and society. Tim was featured, along with yourSABBATICAL.com, on Oprah.com in a recent article about sabbaticals. Here, in his own words, is his perspective on how the sabbatical made a difference.

As a businessperson and a marketing professional I know that marketers, communicators, advertisers and the media have tremendous power to shape social attitudes, values and behaviors.  We not only can and do create demand and pull for our company’s products and services; but we also can and do shape how we see and act in the world, and view our ourselves and each other.  In plying our craft, we not only reflect society, but we also shape the very societies in which we work in.  And so we have a great responsibility in how we ply that craft.

The Award’s mission is to foster a transformative shift in the advertising field by demonstrating the power of media campaigns to further the public interest while furthering legitimate private interests.  The media has tremendous power to shape social attitudes and values, and therefore to serve as a tool to empower individuals and society to find solutions to the pressing social, political, and environmental challenges of our times.

Dr. Hazel Henderson, the progenitor of socially responsible investing globally, conceived EthicMark in 2004 and nurtured it in conversations with Rinaldo Brutoco the President of the World Business Academy, Dean Dipak Jain of the Kellogg School, noted author Deepak Chopra, Professors David Cooperrider and Ron Nahser and myself.  However the award was languishing and it needed full-time attention to help take it to its rightful place.  I realized that my leaving my then employer offered me a unique opportunity to use my time and talent and treasure and devote it full-time for an extended period leading EthicMark®.  You can learn more about EthicMark® at ethicmark.com

Highlights during the last year included creating an alliance with the World Business Academy to supervise the awards on an ongoing basis.  The Academy’s Fellows include some of the worlds leading figures who are rekindling the human spirit in business, including Warren Bennis, Deepak Chopra, David Cooperrider, Stephen Covey, Hazel Henderson, Gay Hendricks, Jean Houston, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Dean Dipak Jain, Jerry Jampolsky, Rosabeth Kanter, Amory Lovins, William McDonough, Greg Mortenson, Ron Nahser, Michael Ray, Dean N. Mohan Reddy, Lance Secretan, and Peter Senge.

We created an international jury of 30 marketing, media and academia professionals to vote on submissions, including Charles Firestone, Executive Director, The Aspen Institute; Joe Keefe, CEO, Pax World; Nancy Roof, Founder/Publisher, Kosmos Journal; and Simran Sethi, Host/Writer, Ethical Markets TV series and contributor of environmental segments to CNBC and the Oprah Winfrey Show.

We created a strategic alliances with the Global Forum for Business as an Agent of World Benefit, to confer the 2009 awards which took place in June.  The Global Forum, convened by Case Western Reserve University, the United Nations Global Compact, with its 4,000 corporations from around the world, and the Academy of Management, with its 19,000 business school professors from over 90 countries, was the perfect place to announce this year’s EthicMark Winners.

This year, EthicMark received several dozen nominations from six countries.  The nominations were narrowed down to a group of five finalists in the for-profit category and five finalists in the not-for-profit category which were voted upon by the jury.  Pantene, a division of Proctor & Gamble, won in the for-profit category for its ad, “Chrysalis” (Thailand).  CARE won in the not-for-profit category for its ad, “I Am Powerful” (USA).  The presentation of the Awards at the Global Forum opening night reception included speeches by the Mayor of Cleveland; the President of Case Western Reserve University; David Cooperrider, Founder of BAWB; and Gunter Pauli, Head of the Zero Emission Research Initiative.  It was my distinct pleasure and honor to then announce the EthicMark® winners.  You can find the finalist ads at http://bawbglobalforum.ning.com/page/ethic-mark-nominees-1.

It was a special evening.  But even more so it has been a special and deeply transformative time for me during this sabbatical while I helped lead EthicMark® to the next level.  I believe business can be a spiritual calling.  And I believe inside every businessman and woman is a voice and spark that longs to apply their talents in incredible, remarkable, amazing and marvelous ways and create a world that is better than the one they came into.  A world which many generations forward will be honored and proud to say that their ancestors contributed to making.  And I also believe business, the most powerful institution in our world, can find solutions to the pressing social, political, and environmental challenges of our times and turn them into legitimate value-creation opportunities for their companies.  So business can do well by doing good.  I believe I’ve been able to practice that first hand during my sabbatical.

I asked Tim what he learned from his six-month sabbatical. Here’s what he said:

I learned how to lead a start-up from essentially scratch.  I also learned how to raise funding, and candidly I think raising money for a not-for-profit is harder since the “return” is not financial but rather “out come based”.  And I learned how to lead a team of volunteers; and this is key and the biggest most tangible lesson learned.  Too often in business, regardless of what says about empowerment, there is the underlying current of money and fear as the motivator, especially in these uncertain economic times.  So managers tend to talk in terms like I need you to do this for me, that is not important this is, why are you doing that, if you do this you’ll earn this more money, here is where we stack rank your performance (with the implied message that those at the bottom will get cut), we “took out” one-hundred head count (as if people were bodies in a war) ….  And candidly I’ve done some of the previous in the past.

But with volunteers the levers of money and fear do not exist.  So you really can only lead, you can’t manage at all.  Words like please, thank you, I appreciate your help, how can I help you, what do you think we should do, let’s work together on this … are in the conversation.  Understanding what your team is passionate about and helping them achieve that, making the experience fun and enjoyable, and building a healthy culture within the team become paramount.  And I would say these are all things that would make a for-profit team excel too.  I had to transform my leadership approach into one of servant leadership.  Now I don’t pretend to be an expert at it.  But I do recognize a good thing and know that in my work in the for-profit world again, I need to apply these lessons learned.  And candidly it makes my experience as a leader more enjoyable and fulfilling too.  So I’ve found myself to be more collaborative, inquisitive, appreciative and effective.