270. Ari Mapuola: An Inspirational Leader Hidden In Plain Sight
In the middle of the ocean, in the most undeveloped country in the world, there is a fishing guide who embodies all that an inspirational leader should be. You can learn 4 important things from her.
For more leadership insights, subscribe to The Best Leadership Podcast Ever on YouTube, Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast player.
This is Ari Mapuola.
You’ve probably never heard of her.
Actually, I hadn’t either until a couple of weeks ago.
She lives on the island of Kiritimati, in the Republic of Kiribati.
You’ve probably never heard of that country.
Actually, I hadn’t either until a few months ago.
Kiribati is a small country. In fact, the entire population is just the size of Torrance, California (which, to translate for my East Coast peeps, is slightly smaller than Stamford, Connecticut.)
The country is quietly concealed in the empty part of the Pacific Ocean that your eyes ignore when you’re wondering how far the Polynesians really had to paddle to get from Tahiti to Hawaii.
Basically, if the world were a game of hide-and-seek, Kiribati would win.
It’s super hard to find.
According to the United Nations, Kiribati is the most undeveloped country in the world.
I believe it.
I just spent a week there.
There’s only one flight in and out of Kiritimati Island every week, so even if I wanted to leave earlier, I couldn’t.
But for the record, I didn’t want to leave early.
If you saw it, you’d understand why.
There are many amazing things I can tell you about the island of Kiritimati and its 6,000 residents, but I’ll save those for a different cuppa cocoa.
Today I just want to talk about Ari.
Because I learned from her that you can be hidden from humanity and still be an inspirational leader.
The Executive Coach for Inspirational Leaders
As you know, I’m an executive coach. I work with female leaders and entrepreneurs. I am inspired by them every day.
Most of them feel confined by the shackles of self-doubt.
All of them are trying to conquer the complex behaviors of effective leadership. They want to inspire.
And that’s where Ari Mapuola of Kiritimati comes in.
Somehow, in her distantly secluded corner of the world, in the most undeveloped country on the planet, she already has a lot of it figured out.
She is an inspirational leader of nobody.
An Inspirational Leader of Nobody
The Christmas Island Lodge in Kiritimati is the top fly fishing lodge in one of the top fly fishing destinations in the world. If you enjoy fly fishing, this is your hidden Mecca.
That’s where Ari works.
She doesn’t manage anybody, except maybe her 5-year-old son.
She only encounters about ten customers per week.
And she earns less than half of what the average entry-level employee earns in the United States.
But here’s the thing:
Despite having significantly fewer resources, Ari embodies more important leadership traits than most leaders I know.
There are four traits that define her story.
An Inspirational Leader Has Strength of Self
One of the most important traits of an inspirational leader is a strength of self.
After all, a strong belief in yourself is the cornerstone of charisma. It’s how the most inspirational leaders command respect and loyalty.
Sure it can be complicated to maintain a strength of self when you’re in a tug-of-war with self-doubt. But it’s that tug-of-war that builds the strength of self in the first place.
Being a fishing guide is the most coveted - and one of the highest-paid jobs - on Kiritimati. It requires serious vetting and 6 months of training before being accepted in the role. Plus, there are only a limited amount of openings. And, of course, they’re all taken by men.
But that didn’t stop Ari.
Sometimes the seeds of inspiration are watered by life’s biggest challenges.
Sure, she loves fly fishing. But more importantly, she wanted to prove that a female can be just as good as a man in their own game.
To have that mindset, it takes a strong sense of self.
She already had the strength to take her young son and run from a challenging marriage into an unknown future.
She already had the strength to figure out a way to thrive in a country where most people don’t even have a job.
And she had the strength to land the most coveted job at the most coveted lodge in the country - despite the long line of men who wanted that job for themselves.
She became the island’s only female fishing guide.
The only one.
Ari’s strength of self will never make the history books but - hot damn - if she isn’t a model of an inspirational leader.
An Inspirational Leader Embraces Curiosity
Curiosity is a must-have trait for today’s inspirational leader.
It’s the curious leader who knows they don’t know what they don’t know.
It’s the curious leader who acts like a sponge to soak up knowledge.
And it is the curious leader who trusts and empowers other people with their curiosity.
The antithesis of this is the challenging leader who believes in bravado. It is the tyrants who live like leadership is a zero-sum game.
But it isn’t.
They’re wrong.
The inspirational leader is not trying to prove that they’re the best. Instead, the inspirational leader embraces curiosity to enable other people to be their best.
It’s a very important distinction. And it is exactly how Ari acts.
She was curious if she could be a fishing guide, so she learned how to do it. And she succeeded.
She was curious about how to run a fishing lodge, so she learned how to do it. And she succeeded.
Whenever you talk to her, she is curious about you. When she guides you as a client she teaches as much as she empowers you to grow. She talks about her life as much as she is curious about yours.
That’s the behavior of an inspirational leader.
An Inspirational Leader Is Positive
People are attracted to the authentically positive person.
Nobody likes a negative leader.
As it turns out, Kiritimati has one of the most happy and positive cultures I’ve ever experienced. Ari shines like a sun among the stars. She’s like a neon crayon in a box of autumn tones. She’s like a…
[Editor’s Note: I had to stop that sentence before it got too far. Let’s face it, his analogies suck. Please come up with a better analogy. Send it over and I’ll make sure the best ones get in a future article with a credit to you.]
She works more than 10 hours per day, raises a child, juggles two jobs, helps care for an extended family, and does it all with a smile on her face and one of the most radiant laughs in the land.
Positivity is infectious. It is inspirational.
Positivity makes you want to be loyal to the leader and support them however you can, like writing an article about her and telling you to follow her on Instagram. (nudge nudge, hint hint, wink wink)
An Inspirational Leader Has Gratitude
The final element of inspirational leadership is gratitude.
If you aren’t yet aware, the single biggest problem in the American workplace is a lack of gratitude. In fact, 79% of employees who quit their jobs cite a lack of gratitude and lack of appreciation as their reasons for leaving.
Customers abandon brands when they don’t feel gratitude or appreciation.
Gratitude breeds loyalty.
And gratitude is what makes somebody an inspirational leader.
I learned that by watching Ari.
She lives in the most undeveloped country in the world, a country that is stricken by poverty and a severe lack of basic resources. Yet every day she seems grateful for her life and her opportunity. Yes, she wants more, but she is grateful for what she has.
As we were leaving the island, Ari pulled me aside and gave me a present. “This is for your daughter,” she said as she handed me a pair of handmade island earrings.
I was surprised and warmed by the gesture. I didn’t expect it.
And like an inspirational leader, she expected nothing in return.
An Inspirational Leader To Nobody
Inspirational leadership has nothing to do with a title. It has nothing to do with followers. And it has nothing to do with being a boss.
To be an inspirational leader, all you need to do is embrace the behaviors that inspire.
Strength of self
Curiosity
Positivity
Gratitude
What I’ve learned from my time in Kiribati is that inspiration is sometimes hiding where you least expect it - like on a microscopic spec on the map in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
The most inspirational leader may be leading nobody in the middle of nowhere yet still be able to inspire you to grow.
So consider me inspired.
Thank you, Ari.
A Short Caveat
Every single person I met on Kiritimati was incredible. This includes all the guides, staff, and management at the Christmas Island Lodge (CIL).
Though I’m singling out Ari in this article, I am in no way minimizing the traits of anybody else.
Also, if you enjoy fly fishing, the Christmas Island Lodge needs to be at the top of your bucket list. Not second place or third place. Put it at the top.
Thank you for reading!
I appreciate you,
Jeff Matlow
P.S. Are you struggling with self-doubt? Do you want to be a more inspirational leader?
When you’re ready, there are a couple of ways I can help:
Leadership coaching (for VP+) - schedule a free chat now
Group Workshops - learn more here
Somewhat Relevant Quote
“Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily; even if you had no title or position.”
Brian Tracy - Motivational speaker, author, frog eater
▶️ In Case You Missed It...
Leadership Lessons From The Interwebs
If you want daily inspiration, follow Steven Bartlett on LinkedIn. Great great stuff. Just like this 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼
Success doesn’t happen without failure. Thanks Patrick Libert for this creative reminder, which I have to admit I’ve never heard before.
How Justin Wright keeps coming up with such great infographics is beyond my level of comprehension. Yet he can do it. Go figure.
Follow for more…
🎥 Subscribe on YouTube
⏰ Follow me on TikTok
📖 Follow me on Facebook
⛓️ Follow me on LinkedIn
📷 Follow me on Instagram
🅧 Follow me on X (Twitter)
very cool podcast 👍