Empty your cup

 

“You need to empty your cup if you want fresh tea.”

This is my takeaway on the previous talk with guest speaker and Shell’s CEO Mr. Dean Aragon. This proverb came from a story about a scholar who had sought for help and wisdom from a very wise Zen master. During their conversation, he continuously interrupted the Zen master as he was already convinced of his own opinions and that he had his mind completely full of his own views. The Zen master suggested they have a cup of tea together and poured the scholar a tea on his cup until it overflowed and spilled onto the floor. The scholar was surprised that he was continuously pouring more tea, so he asked him to stop as the cup is already full. The Zen master smiled and replied: “Empty your cup,” and added that nothing more can be absorbed if he has full of ideas and convictions and doesn’t empty his cup.

To “empty your cup” means that you need to unlearn things before you can learn new stuff. Every day, the same story happens. Many of us do not take new thoughts and opinions because we think we already know so much. We don’t accept feedback because we think we already figured out everything. We don’t fill our cup because we feel that it is already full. Similarly, some traditional leaders refuse to take new ideas, suggestions, and constructive criticism not only because they believe in their position of authority but also because they think they are the smartest in the room with their credentials. However, even the smartest person with the highest IQ still have weaknesses and areas of improvements. As a leader, if you think you are the smartest in the room and doesn’t take other’s opinions, soon enough you will be the only guy in the room because nobody would want to listen to you. As a good and collaborative leader, you should humbly listen and learn from others. You should always embrace a new state of mind, and fresh mentality, as well as be willing to change your preconceptions. This is the way to lead correctly as you will be able to do what’s best for the organization you are serving. To be a good leader, you should encourage ideas from others and be open to being challenged. You should let go of what you think you know to relearn what you need to know. Having people who will contradict your assumptions will not only help you further improve and broaden your perspective, but it will also help you in making smarter decisions and even expand on future possibilities.

In today’s fast-changing world, adopting a learner’s mindset is required to stay relevant. We should consider opinions and feedbacks as gifts. To lead and guide people and the organization to grow and innovate, we should constantly empty our cups from the old and seek to fill it with new and fresh tea.