It was approaching midnight at the end Independence Day in Sri Lanka, earlier this week, and Issy and me were at Colombo airport watching the stream of incoming passengers make their way to immigration as we, in turn, waited for our departure back to Saigon.
As usual, our last twelve days gallivanting from Kandy to Colombo, and then down to Galle, were a time-warp of sorts.
Soon enough we were airborne and, as our plane arched it’s wings back over the island palms, the truth was, we weren’t really ready to leave…
Galle itself is having quite the time of it at the moment.
Today, the 12th Galle Literary Festival kicked off, for one thing. And then there’s the Australia cricket team, who embarked on their second test match today, just down the road from Galle Fort.
The “Lit Fest” goers were easy enough to spot on Tuesday at the airport – silver surfers, in zip-off khaki trousers, alongside a myriad of middle-aged flowing pony-tails and pastel block-printed shirts. The visiting Aussie cricket fans meanwhile wore their gold and green livery tops, beaming at the prospect of the days to come.
Sri Lanka is a special place for us. As well as bringing my parents and daughters here for my 40th, and marrying Issy in Galle in 2020, I first visited back in 2010, not long after the official end to the civil war. I was then lucky enough, through my work with CARE, to return time and again.
I’ve written plenty about the country (https://saigonsays.com/?s=sri+lanka + https://definitelymaybe.me/?s=sri+lanka) and I hope to always retain a connection with Sri Lanka. Perhaps even one day staying for longer than a fortnight.
On this occasion, in between the calm and serenity of either being up-country surrounded by highlands, or nestled by the ocean sipping a drink, I learnt a few valuable lessons connected to my work as a facilitator:
Lesson #1: Trust the Process.
Whilst in Colombo, I supported a team from Luminary Solutions, a provider of training, consultancy and other services to the private sector, and currently charting an exciting new chapter in their company’s growth.
With all the digital tools we have today at our fingertips, I think it was the “in-person” time that the team and I spent over two days together that seemed to provide the right platform from which to align ideas, and build a set of actions and responsibilities.
‘In-person time’. Even the phrase sounds clunky these days.
Twenty five years ago I don’t recall using the phrase, no doubt because any time spent with other people was indeed spent in-person. It’s, perhaps, a daft sentimental point to make, but most of what was required with the team from Luminary last week, was helping create the rapport and the right enabling conditions from which to ideate.
We had fun together. We got to know one another. We listened to each other. The team had a shared purpose and took responsibility for future actions.
It sounds simple, and it was. In large part this was down to the readiness of the team for a change. It’s obviously a tougher challenge to find that groove with a team if their readiness isn’t there, but even without it, our sessions helped reinforce to me to “trust the process” – particularly when it comes to finding a group rapport first, and then worrying about the content and the ‘how’ part second.
With that in mind, we used the phrase of making “the first pancake” – the idea that, sometimes, you just need to get cooking, and see what you can produce. We all, intuitively, have a notion about how to make a pancake (what goes in it, how to heat the pan) even if the first one that we try to fold onto the plate often ends up in the bin.
So. Trust the process. And get cooking that first pancake.
Lesson #2: Storytelling Works.
I had the pleasure of meeting a new jumble of strangers on this trip, and spent time listening to their stories. Storytelling, it seems to me, can be a sacred past-time and offers a rich seam of connection to bind people together.
Last Sunday, as I alluded to earlier in the week, Issy and me were sat at midday, waiting to check in to our room on Dewatta Beach, a few clicks down the coast from Galle Fort. And then in walks Geoffrey Dobbs.
Geoffrey used to own the two houses in Galle that Issy and I married in, a little over five years ago now. https://saigonsays.com/2020/04/23/a-wedding-in-galle-part-1/
Arm and arm with the owner of ‘Stick No Bills’ (Liam, a long-term Sri Lankan resident, originally from Haversham in Kent) and, with some gentle assistance, Geoffrey plonked himself next to us, at our wooden picnic table.
A bottle of Prosecco emerged, and we were soon chasing this down with a flurry of beers, and eventually a rogue Bloody Mary, provided by one of the owners, known to Geoffrey and his pals as “Calamity John” – given the whirlwind of hopelessness that seemed to follow him around.
After five hours, and at least three rounds of “this is the last drink, and then we’re off”, we were left to check into our room while Liam organized a tuk to take Geoffrey further down the Galle Road, and onto his next social appointment.
Geoffrey arrived in Sri Lanka not long after leaving Hong Kong, just after the 1997 handover. He’s been a native to Sri Lanka since, and is credited with founding the very Literary Festival that is unfolding as I type this.
He has led quite the colourful life. A vivacious raconteur and socialite. A heavy drinker. I heard him referred to as “king” of the island by another long term expat the very next day. Whilst on Sunday he was a slowed down version of the host we met in 2020 on our big day, he remains a fascinating person to suddenly find sat next to you on a Sunday afternoon by the beach.
He only managed to spill one full glass of wine over me, and briefly flared up at the mention of a few bygone characters, but otherwise he listened to our stories, he cracked jokes, and he clearly has accumulated a group of friends who have his back, for the time he still has left.
Liam, in particular, merrily drew from a quarter of a century’s worth of anecdotes and banter shared with his friend, and we were laughing out loud at some of the memorable moments he described to us.
Much as with friends I have of similar vintage, these core connections run so deep that, all you ever need to do, is sit down next to one another and let the stories flow.
That afternoon with Liam and Geoffrey (and in end a third long-term islander with a thick London accent, and who we named ‘Avo Adam’ – I cannot remember why) we were in a happy bubble, allowed access to the realities of these strangers, to their reflections, to their learnings, as well as to some of the chaos of their past and present lives.
Stories and story-telling are powerful connectors.
Tomorrow, with Geoffrey no doubt centre stage somewhere at the Lit Fest, a fellow member of the Chrysalis Board, Vidusha Nathavitharana, and the Founder of Luminary, who brought me over for the work with his team, will also be speaking about leadership and the books he’s written on the topic (see link below).
I’ve no doubt that Vidusha will also use stories to get his ideas across, and to connect with his audience.
I know this too well, as our first night in Sri Lanka on this trip was spent at his house, some miles up into the forests of Kandy. A stunning space that he and his wife, Rowena built, and which set us up, from the very moment we stepped off the plane, on the right footing and into a world of new stories and insights.
If you’re in Galle this weekend, go see him and have a listen yourself – I assure you you’ll not regret it!
https://www.linkedin.com/embed/feed/update/urn:li:share:7293106083777191936
definitelymaybe 