Exceptional Character (Leadership Lessons from My Japan Trip)

After recently returning from a life changing vacation with my family to Japan, I am still processing all the amazing things I experienced and learned. One of the most memorable moments came when we encountered exceptional character in an unexpected place – a Japanese taxi cab.

On the last segment of our trip, we took a taxi from Tokyo Station to our hotel. About 15 minutes after the drop off, one of our family members realized they had left a very important bag in the cab that contained a laptop, iPad, AirPods and a few other important items.

To say I was a bit panicked was an understatement.  We had paid cash/yen for the cab with no receipt, the car had no distinct markings (at least that we could read) and the driver had spoken little to no English. We had no way to reach him. The only option recommended to us by the hotel staff was to file a police report for the lost bag and hope for the best. Instead, we decided we would wait outside the hotel in hopes that the driver would return - which we figured was a long shot.

Amazingly, within 10 minutes, the driver showed up with the bag - happily reuniting us with it completely intact! We attempted to reward him handsomely with all the yen we had, but he was firm about not taking any of it! It was clear he felt returning the bag was the right thing to do and getting paid for it was unthinkable to him.

Character!

It was a good reminder to me that character really matters in leadership and sets exceptional leaders apart. It’s that moral compass that guides our decision-making, builds trust, inspires others and even puts people at ease in difficult times. This Japanese taxi driver had not only earned my complete trust, he inspired me to share this story with dozens of people even before writing this post!

I hope you will also be inspired to build trust with those you lead by acting with integrity.