When I first heard about the idea of essence, I was astonished by how we can categorize essence into seven keywords, and how these essences would shape people all around the world with distinct characters.
My First Essence Map
When I was first creating my essence map, my greatest difficulty was relating to the seven listed keywords. At first glance, keywords like “body” and “ancestors” felt very far from my everyday life. So, I had the feeling that I should add more to it to make the map better represent me. This also happened to other Explorers during the call, where “humanity,” “childhood,” “community,” and “vulnerability” were also added to the map. After completing my first version of the essence map, the three most important elements were “experience,” “education,” and “trauma.” I added the word “experience” to represent all kinds of things that happened in the past and affected me both positively and negatively. While “education” showed that my behavior is highly influenced by the beliefs I was educated with, “trauma” showed that traumatic experiences that happened to me in the past make me want to avoid them happening again to me or to others in the future.
Rethinking What Each Word Means
After I put more thought into what these words can mean and really thought hard about what makes the “me” that I am now, I started to have second thoughts about what I should put on my map. For example, the term “body” can refer not only to my human body but also to my relationship with my body. I feel more confident when I wear clothes I like, and that contributes to the vibe I give off when I interact with others. Another example was “ancestors.” Initially, when I thought about my ancestors, I considered those who lived many generations before me. They were the ones who shaped my ethnicity and origin, which I find hard to relate to. But if I think of my closer relatives, such as my grandma and my mom, I realize how much they have influenced me. They are both strong leaders in the workplace and within our family, and I greatly admired them while growing up.
The Circles That Shifted
Another essence circle that grew bigger over time was “motherhood.” Becoming a mom is not part of my life plans for the next few years, so I rarely see myself as a mother or identify with the words or traits typically associated with motherhood. However, after hearing other Explorers share their experiences of naturally caring for those around them, I realize that the concept of “motherness” can be understood as embodying care and love. It doesn’t have to be tied exclusively to nurturing babies or children. Contrary to those growing circles, my “experience” circle shrank and got absorbed, because I think it is already represented by other existing essences such as “ancestors,” “trauma,” and “education.” Because of the changes to the constituents in my essence map, I thought the best way to show and track its changes was to put the old and new maps side by side. This is how I came up with the idea of the layout showing the size of the circles changing.
Letting the Idea Grow
When learning a new idea or concept, my thought process typically involves absorbing, digesting, observing, and allowing it to grow within me. This was exactly what happened to me after learning the idea of the essences. Listening to the audio clip on the Youthtopia learning platform deepened my understanding of what each essence means, and I started thinking about it from time to time. Being part of a multicultural environment, both in life and during the expedition, allows me to observe how people perceive leadership and how they actually lead. With the structure of the “essence map” in mind, when I listen to people around me share their life experiences, I start to wonder what contributes to making these people who they are. Meanwhile, I also let myself sink into the memory of what happened in the past. Throughout my life, I have undergone significant changes in my surroundings, which have led me to concentrate on my present environment and my role within it. While I rarely dwell on the past, observing others makes me curious about how my character has been shaped by those experiences.
What I Uncovered
After looking back, I think I know myself better and have unearthed a part of me that was buried and covered a long time ago. I have a better understanding of the past experiences that made me who I am now, which makes me feel more honest with myself and more courageous about showing the world what kind of person I truly am. I understand that my essence can be a strength or a weakness, but how I perceive it and choose to let it shape my behavior depends strongly on who I want to become and what leadership style I want to embody. I now understand that leadership can occur anywhere, at any time. It doesn’t have to be limited to group projects or formal hierarchies; it can be as simple as how I interact with others in my daily life.
Throughout this process, I learned that the differences among people can be both easy and difficult to recognize. Individuals who seem to have a very different vibe from you may also share similar experiences. This feeling has been a constant during the expedition. Despite our diverse backgrounds and characteristics, we can hold similar values and life experiences. Additionally, I discovered that instead of merely observing how someone behaves, it is important to understand what drives that behavior. As I started to incorporate this mindset into my life, I found that I became more open to engaging with a variety of people and felt more at ease in their presence. To me, this is the essence of leadership: improving how we interact with others.
About the Author:
Iris Lin is a second-year PhD student in mechanical engineering at Rice University in Texas, originally from Taiwan. Outside the lab, visual design is her other passion. What draws her to both is the same thing: seeing people genuinely benefit from what she creates.
She is working toward joining an R&D team focused on product design after her PhD, where she can bring technical and human-centred thinking together. To her, developing a product and leading aren’t that different — both come down to understanding what people need and finding ways to truly connect with them.
