ENDOWMENT

What really is endowment? Can a girl with flair for dance be described as endowed with talent? Surely not until an audience applauds her act! When we speak about somebody’s endowment we are obviously talking about a proven performance, not about a covert value. And hence a positive attitude along with skill-development will determine what can be endorsed as endowment.

Among young children, it is easy to notice an inherent flair for singing, drawing, story-telling and dancing. With inspirational nurturing, natural flairs can be developed into skills. But competitive comparisons with the performances of other children often results in a lack of belief. And hence adults often declare that they cannot sing or draw or dance!

Endowment is often buried under the minefields of low self esteem and lack of belief in one’s own potential. Many of us give up on our own passion and the possibilities that lie aligned to the actualisation of that passion. Endowment is like a seed that germinates when nurtured as needed. It is pertinent to note that endowment is synonymous with self-confidence that comes from various factors that unite to impact promise and translate into performance.

Earlier 'endowment' referred to expertise or achievement of a pre-determined objective. Today 'endowment' denotes broader nuances of leadership potential, abilities to straddle varied functional areas, cultures and geographic boundaries - all in a seamless manner. Real endowment needs the development of soft skills, steadfast values, the ability to work in teams, to think out of the box, and importantly, the willingness to learn and share.

Endowment oft is distant from detection
 ‘unite to impact’ the nurturing actions!

                              

- Pravin K. Sabnis

Goa, India.