We went to see the movie “Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant” when it first came out. The story was about an American solider who was saved by his Afghanistan translator. Post evacuation of American Troops this translator, like so many others, was left behind. He and his family had been abandoned. They were being hunted by the Taliban.
The American government had promised those Afghans they would receive American Visas for their help. This promise was broken. The government did not view this promise the same as soldier.
The solider viewed the promise as a Covenant. If our government would not honor it, he would.
This story was factual, but it was not actual. It was based on the fact that America has abandoned dozens of Afghans. It was not built on a specific soldier who returned to get his translator out.
Early in the movie as the two primary characters, American Army Sargent John Kinley (played by Jake Gyllenhaal), and the translator Ahmed (played by Dar Salim), were forging their relationship a crisis occurred. Ahmed confronted a fellow-translator who he felt was leading them into a trap. This would be a moment of truth for both men.
Kinley said, “You’re out of bounds on this. You’re a translator.”
Ahmed, “I’m not a translator. I’m an interpretor.”
The point Ahmed was making is that he did much more than simply translate one language into another. It was his job to provide context. He was to give insight on what he saw, felt, and knew based on his experience. His job, as he viewed it, was to inform Kinely not just what was being said, but how it was said.
It turned out he was correct. The co-translator was leading them into a trap. It turned out the Taliban had his family and were blackmailing him.
This turn of a phrase, ‘I’m not a translator, but an interpreter,’ is very applicable to leaders. A leader must turn from merely translating what is happening in the culture, but provide context. There is an awareness of the time in which they are living. They are looking at nuances, slight changes in perspective, and how things are being said.
A leader as an interpreter senses things.They feel. They cultivate their intuition. This type of leader is a “sense maker.”
Christian Madsbjerg & Mikkel B. Rasmussen in their book, The Moment of Clarity, says a “[Sensemaker] is putting words to something that may not be entirely understood yet.” This leader takes any information, some that may be conflicting, and makes a judgment call. This is what Ahmed did when he ‘sensed’ the team was driving into a trap.
An interpreter must be both open and decisive. An interpreter must process strands of divergent information and see the patterns that emerge. An interpreter must shape what he interprets into action. This is what leaders need to do.