Tea and Global Leadership

A few weeks ago, I was interviewed by doctoral students Ashley Miller, Joslyn Williams and Hannington Masereka Kule who are taking a global leadership course within an educational and organizational learning and leadership program at Seattle University.

I had never thought of myself as a global leader and I am honored to have been interviewed for their project. Their questions made me reflect on many interesting topics that often get overlooked when thinking about tea.

Firstly, I was asked to introduce myself and for those of you who are not familiar with my story, here’s a quick recap. I was born and raised in Italy, I lived in 4 countries, I speak 3 languages on a daily basis, I have a background in foreign languages and a Master’s Degree in conference interpreting. I have been a tea drinker since I can remember but only when I moved to the US seven years ago, I decided to actively pursue a deeper understanding of tea and became a tea content creator, photographer, journalist and blogger.

Here are the highlights from the interview.

At the beginning, Ashley asked about my perspective on experiencing tea through the lens of different cultures.

Anna: Tea is part of many cultures around the world but regardless of someone’s background, culture and interests, the act of sharing a cup of tea with someone instantly fosters conversation and also requires a certain degree of attention and being in the moment, being present. Even though there are many different interpretations of tea as a ritual, it has this unifying power, it universally means welcome, beyond cultural differences and language barriers.

Joslyn: Do you find that that is more of a connector with different cultures or do the rituals differ? Is there a learning process or can different cultures gather around this tea ritual and in a sense, speak the same language?

Anna: Because there's so much variety in the tea world, you can never be an expert in everything because it goes so deep, it's so rooted in so many cultures. I think there is definitely a learning process but usually, when you approach tea and you do it with curiosity, that opens up an opportunity to connect over it, rather than focusing on the fact that the rituals are different. Even though we might enjoy it in different ways, it's the same beverage and it's beautiful to see how others interpret and treat it.

Joslyn: One is always a learner, so there's never really an expert. You're always in this mindful process, aware of these nuances, it's always an appreciation for what's happening in that moment.

Anna: I love how you used the word ‘mindful’, because from a chemical standpoint, tea is well known to foster mindfulness. It was traditionally used as a tool in Buddhist meditation because not only does it contain caffeine, but also other compounds, including L-theanine, which are well known for being relaxing and grounding at the same time, to counterbalance the effects of caffeine, which is why tea can make you feel alert and calm at the same time. When you're truly present in the moment and curious about what's being presented to you, that's when you can go deep into conversation and take interest in the other person without any distraction that might impair that connection or communication.

Hannington: You are igniting my desire for tea, because I come from a country, Uganda, where tea is the cash crop number one. Are there specific experiences with regard to tea that have taught you about dealing with a variety of people and cultures? What are the things you have learned specifically about these cultures?

Anna: Since diving deeper into the world of tea, I have made many friends over tea. Most of these people have become really good friends of mine and I talk to them on a regular basis, even if we are in different parts of the world. What this process has taught me is to never take anything for granted and to be open and curious. Being aware that, even though I don't know everything about other cultures, I can still be open and curious, and even if I make mistakes, it's not in a malicious way, but I can still learn, and I am interested in learning about other cultures. When you truly listen to what the other person has to say in a conversation and they have your undivided attention, we are sharing this common ground, we're sharing this beverage and so all it takes is being present in the moment and being open about cultural differences.

Joslyn: There are definitely nuances in the way that we operate in and approach situations, and so one of the tenets of being culturally competent and having cultural humility is understanding and respecting those nuances. It makes you more humble when you come across a situation where what you know may not fit into the schema that you are expecting. It’s important to have cultural humility to be able to suspend your own expectations and beliefs. It's very common in the global business world, where you enter a situation, and it could have been completely misconstrued. And rather than suspending your beliefs and being open to it, you judge, and I think that's where miscommunications happen, because openness is not there. It really takes an interpersonal scope as far as preparing the tea and being mindful of the scene, as well as an interpersonal scope when you're sharing those moments with others, and so I think tea really hits those foundational tenets of being globally aware.

Ashley: What do you feel prepared you for this, or helped you to start growing in this way and it doesn't even have to be attached to an educational institution, maybe even just experiences like growing up or in your childhood.

Anna: I think I got interested in other cultures because I was so little exposed to other cultures growing up. My parents were and still are not interested in traveling or even trying other cuisines. In my childhood, we were mostly traveling within Italy, so I was not even exposed to other European countries or cultures. The area where I come from in northern Italy borders Switzerland, but the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, so it felt almost like the same, same territory, speaking the same language, it felt very uniform. I remember developing an interest in other cultures from the media or from reading books and that's how I got interested in other cultures, as a reaction to not being exposed as much, I guess.

Ashley: Have you ever been in a situation where the way that you were doing a ritual was not the way that it was intended, have you ever gotten any adverse reactions?

Anna: There are going to be purists in tea, like in everything else. If things aren't done a certain way, you're going to be criticized. First and foremost, I am trying to be mindful not to be appropriating any culture. I'm trying to present tea in a way that people can take interest in it in a genuine way. I'm exploring tea and I want my readers and followers to come with me on this journey and I don't intend to be the only authority on this. I can present it to you, but I encourage you to do your own research. I also like to interpret tea my own way, in a creative way. Sometimes western tea drinkers who approach some styles of serving tea in Asia, like to adhere to certain images that we in the West may have about what these tea rituals should look like and even though tea is not part of their own culture of origin, they adopt strict rules and tend to be very strict in the way they see others practicing tea and believe it’s their duty to criticize and correct.

I’m also going to add (and this was not in the interview) that I was recently made aware of the fact that showing the bamboo whisk used to prepare matcha green tea the traditional way in Japan is not acceptable in the tea room and even less acceptable is to show a dirty matcha whisk. I have shown it multiple times in my tea photos to create visual interest and explain how matcha is prepared but I know that it is very common to include it in many matcha pictures. I had never known of this but I am not perfect and I am grateful for the opportunity to learn.

Hannington: Are there any specific global leadership skills that this tea engagement, this interaction with people has taught you?

Anna: I'm not sure whether I know exactly what global leadership is, so I can tell you my take on it. I think tea has taught me to interact in a more confident way with individuals from different cultures and backgrounds, in a way that I didn't think was possible. I tend to be more of an introvert, even though I like to spend time with people, and I think that being more confident in my intercultural skills has made me less of an introvert and more confident in my social skills. Very specifically related to my blog and social media, I didn't think I would be able to engage with relatively large numbers of people and on social media you don't have a filter for culture, so you have to be extremely flexible.

Joslyn: What scholars would say about global leadership is having an increased confidence in self efficacy and how you operate, which falls more into the mindfulness realm, like understanding your thoughts and feelings and how they may impact your behavior. Increasing confidence and self efficacy will diminish any sort of fear-based reasons to create distance, which I think is totally on point with global leadership.

Thank you, Ashley, Joslyn and Hannington for having me and what a wonderful opportunity to reflect on tea as a tool to foster global leadership!