Leadership Lessons from an Illiterate Mom: Against All Odds, a Mother Dedicates a Lifetime of Excellence to Deliver Unmatched Results.

By Dr. Majed Yaghi

Leadership lessons do not just come from the rich, famous, or seasoned corporate veterans, and similarly knowledge and acumen are not acquired exclusively in the classroom or boardroom.
Majed Yaghi, a retired corporate executive, shares inspiring lessons from his mother, Nazira, who never attended school yet still built a thriving enterprise grounded in her relentless passion for winning and will to overcome all odds. Until her passing in 2012, she demonstrated leadership qualities typical of Ivy League graduates and corporate executives, except she was neither. Instead, she was the head of a household of eight children whose passion was to encourage them to be high achievers and the best in their respective fields. In a guide inspired by his mother’s influence, Yaghi shares four vital leadership competencies that focus on instilling passion, planning, persistence, and perpetual optimism into the journey to become a better leader. Included are other lessons that focus on learning and leading by axioms.
Leadership Lessons from an Illiterate Mom is a guide that shares lessons inspired by a Jordanian mother who led all eight of her children to achieve greatness through her mentoring and servant leadership.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Jan 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9781665716574

Dr. Majed Yaghi

Dr. Majed Yaghi, is an Arab-American native of Jordan who spent thirty-two years leading sales and marketing efforts for major global brands such as Coca-Cola, Kimberly-Clark, Gillette, and Warner Lambert. In 2019 and in anticipation of a teaching career, he earned a doctorate degree from the University of Bradford, UK. He also holds a master’s from Louisiana State University, and a bachelor’s from Southern University. Dr. Yaghi currently teaches marketing at the University of North Texas and resides in Dallas.

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ISBN: 978-1-6657-1656-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-1650-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-1657-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021925313

Archway Publishing rev. date: 12/31/2021

CONTENTS

Gratitude

More Gratitude

Recognition

Preface

Introduction

Lesson 1   Passion

Lesson 2   Planning

Lesson 3   Persistence

Lesson 4   Perpetual Optimism

Lesson 5   Key Learning

Lesson 6   Leading by Axioms

Final Words

TO MY MOTHER, NAZIRA YAGHI, A LEGENDARY MOTHER,

A BUSINESS LEADER, AN INSPIRATION, AND AN ANGEL.

GRATITUDE

To DDSS, who never stopped supporting me in whichever global assignment I accepted, whichever crazy idea I followed, and whichever path I took.

I love you.

MORE GRATITUDE

To my seven siblings, forever entwined in heart, in soul, and in life, for their unconditional love, support, and commitment to excellence for their unrivaled and constant pursuit of academic heights.

I love you.

RECOGNITION

To other leaders with little formal education who continue to inspire this world, including the following:

• William Shakespeare

• George Washington

• Abraham Lincoln

• Thomas Edison

• Mark Twain

• Henry Ford

PREFACE

I started writing this book soon after two significant events—one personal and another professional. My mother had just passed away and I was coping alone, separated from my family, which was back in the United States, and from own siblings, who were scattered around the world. The professional event was uncovering the true toxic nature of a leader at work, someone whose selfish and narcissistic behavior was visibly appalling, not to mention organizationally destructive. The idea and framework for this book came to life as an encapsulation of insights gained in my journey and also to defuse a myth that leadership lessons are only learned from the rich and famous or the seasoned corporate veterans.

Many leadership and personal development books are written every year. From business leaders (current and retired) to athletes and celebrities, there is a plethora of authors sharing valuable advice. Even politicians write autobiographies to chronicle their time in public office. So it is not unusual to learn from such people and be inspired. However, what is unusual is for a mother to inspire great leadership lessons with the same visceral drive as those corporate and established leaders. What is even more exceptionally profound is for an illiterate mother to be the source of such exceptional schooling.

My mother, Nazira Yaghi (RIP), never went to school a day in her life. She wasn’t even fortunate enough to get homeschooled. No, her only education was the school of life, one that would have granted her a doctorate with distinction, if one had ever existed. She succeeded in building a thriving enterprise grounded in her relentless passion for winning and her will to overcome all odds. Until her passing on August 7, 2012, at the age of seventy-five, she was the consummate leader displaying the same passion and determination my mom was known for in her youth. Throughout her life, she demonstrated leadership qualities that are typically the marks of Ivy League graduates and corporate executives, except she was neither. My mother was merely an illiterate head of our household of eight children.

How could that be? Are there really parallels between raising a family and leading a company? Could an illiterate yet strong-minded mother possess similar traits to million-dollar CEOs? I’m not trying to belittle the role of the corporate chief executive at all. It certainly is more complex and dynamic with immense pressure every single day. But the truth of the matter is that at its core, leadership is neither about size of the organization nor the complexity of the job. Leadership can show up be in the smallest things we do. The qualities of successfully running a Fortune 500 organization, a startup, a sports team, a nonprofit, or any other organization for that matter are arguably similar if not identical. Managing and leading a household are not very different, albeit at a much smaller and informal scale. Similarly, just like large companies struggle with great or toxic leadership, households face those same challenges, and just as corporations seek great leaders, households also seek great parents. Great mothers are astounding leaders, which may explain why several moms have become successful corporate leaders. In fact, a 2017 Forbes story chronicled why mothers make great CEO and noted that both set high expectations and set stretch goals while holding everyone accountable for their work. However, my mother was illiterate. Let me take you back to where it all started.

It was the 1940s in old Palestine, in a small village called Masmiyya. The sleepy west coast town was known for two things: its beautifully vast citrus orchards and its two prominent families: the Yaghis and the Mhannas. At the time, both of those families were landowners with immense power and influence in the area. Besides the orchards, the Yaghis were especially distinguished for educating their children by sending them off to Egypt, the region’s knowledge destination at the time, for university studies. A highly unique privilege for farming villagers. Remember this was the 1940s in the Middle East, which was mostly underdeveloped, and Palestine was essentially dominated by farming communities. It was quite unusual for a family to think so progressively and send kids off to another country for higher education. Unfortunately, that privilege was extended to boys only and not girls. To be fair though, the Yaghis’ seemingly gender bias did not preclude them from educating their daughters. The village did have both boys and girls schools. However, girls typically finished school and either taught in elementary schools or stayed home with their parents until marriage. That was the culture then. Remember this was the 1940s in the Middle East!

My mother was not as fortunate as some of the village girls; she never went to school. She remained illiterate for a good part of her life. Little Nazira was the second eldest in the family but the oldest of four girls. By default, that position limited her future options as she was not sent to school and instead was assigned home duties. Someone had to help their parents with chores. It was years later when her second sister was born that the family realized the importance of educating girls, and from then on, all girls born in subsequent years got formally educated. Unfortunately for my mother, it was too late; she missed the education bus. Instead, she endured a childhood of hardship, house chores, and fieldwork. Her daily routine was quite straightforward: get up in the wee hours of the morning, help her mother prepare breakfast for the whole family, and clean the house before heading out to the fields. All before the crack of dawn. She told us she enjoyed the work and loved that life. Mind you, she didn’t know any better at the time. Despite the hardship, my mom would later in her life refer to those hard childhood years as the foundation that defined her character and shaped the determined mother she had become.

The Yaghis owned citrus orchards that needed daily supervision, and my mom’s typical operational responsibilities were to be her dad’s right hand and do whatever was needed. Both my mother and my grandfather liked that aspect of their daily routine, the mentor coaching his protégé and passing valuable hands-on business knowledge. She did it all: working the fields, tending to the horses, and fetching water from the well. Occasionally, she would go back home to pick up lunch, make tea, and return to the orchards. That was not an easy feat as it was a good 4K walk back and forth. Those days were long and hard, the kind that most often put her straight to sleep as soon as she returned home in the evening.

That was the daily routine from sunrise to sunset. Six days a week with only Fridays as her off days. Moreover, she stood by her dad’s side when he negotiated business deals. Season after season, she witnessed buying and selling of oranges, grapefruit, and the rest of their crops. She was there when prices and payment terms were discussed and when delivery or bartering terms were finalized. That is likely the source of her knowledge, where she gained her early education in commerce, and where she developed her business acumen.

However, things took a different turn in 1948 when Israeli militias moved into Masmiyya village and forced all its residents to desert their land, their properties, and their livelihood. Alas, the town was going to be part of the newly created state of Israel, as determined by the United Nations. The Yaghis and the Mhannas were forced to leave everything behind and head to the unknown. They had to abandon the land they owned and worshiped, the life they lived, and the roots they had planted