Living and working in Brazil continues to provide me with leadership training in the most unexpected places. I wouldn’t have it any other way!
This weekend, on a routine trip to the grocery store, I was making a left turn into the parking lot when I I heard an unusually loud speed bump. A moment later, I glanced in my rearview mirror and saw a man rolling across the pavement. Ah. Not a speed bump.
A motorcycle had struck my back bumper. Don’t worry, I didn’t roll over him.
Don’t worry, I didn’t roll over him. I pulled over immediately and went to check on him. Thankfully, he had only minor bumps and bruises and his brake cable had come loose. My limited Portuguese was… ambitious, but not exactly effective. Within seconds, a group of fellow motorcyclists arrived and surrounded me. It felt like the opening scene of a very low-budget action movie.
I checked on the man. I checked on the bike. I gave him money to repair it. We shook hands. Crisis averted. Then I calmly walked into the grocery store to buy bread and milk, as if that were a normal Saturday errand.
Nothing sharpens your language skills like a stressful situation.
Then yesterday, I faced a different kind of challenge: the dentist. The office was in Mundo Plaza Empresarial, possibly the most complicated building I have ever encountered. Elevators that go to mystery floors. Floors that don’t connect to elevators. Hallways that appear to lead somewhere meaningful but absolutely do not.
After navigating the building and the appointment entirely in Portuguese, I emerged victorious and cavity-free. The dental staff were wonderful, and I felt absurdly proud of myself for simply finding the right room.
Here’s the leadership lesson hiding inside both stories: Growth rarely looks like a workshop. It looks like confusion. It looks like discomfort. It looks like standing in a parking lot negotiating with strangers or wandering through an office building wondering if you’ve entered an alternate dimension.
Leadership isn’t about avoiding uncertainty. It’s about learning to move through it with calm, curiosity, and a sense of humor.
Brazil continues to be my greatest classroom. Sometimes the lesson involves traffic. Sometimes it involves teeth. The learning never stops.
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