Having Tea with Anwar Sadat’s Widow
Lessons in Leadership
It was pretty surreal, sitting in Mrs. Jehan Sadat’s parlor in Cairo sipping tea. Visiting the wife of the late president of Egypt, Anwar Sadat, was part of the tour my son and I opted for when we chose a two-week excursion through Egypt and along the Nile. Since my son is a history buff we began talking about the amazing transformation Sadat made from young rebellious leader who proclaimed he would never shake the hand of an Israeli as long as they occupied one inch of Arab soil, to the man who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978.
The leadership skills he learned and used can apply to all of us today, and include:
- Flexibility. He had to be willing to change his perspective. For all of us it’s easy to dig in when we’re right, but since there is more than one version of right, staying entrenched in our “rightness” usually doesn’t get us what we want or need.
- Pick your battles. President Sadat had to get his ego out of the way and focus on the long-term goal of peace, in order to survive the days of negotiation at Camp David with Prime Minister Menachem Begin.
- Begin with the end in mind. Author Stephen Covey reminded us that all things are created twice, once in the mind and once in reality. We must have a clear vision of what we want and articulate it to those around us. Sadat grew up one of 13 siblings and was his grandmother’s favorite. She spent a great deal of time teaching him about history, helping him see the man he would become. Said Sadat “He who cannot change the very fabric of his thought will never be able to change reality and will never, therefore, make any progress.”
