The Necessity of Leadership

I have always been fascinated by the study of leadership. As a child I would read the stories of famous people. I would especially center on those who were leaders. I would read the stories of Daniel Boone, Jim Bridger, Harriet Tubman, John Brown, Hannibal and others. I have added to my study people like Jesus, Napoleon, U.S.Grant, Robert E. Lee, Booker T. Washington, Jim Bridger and others. I have tried to ferret out what makes some people leaders while others are not. I will share a few thoughts on the subject.

There is a theory of leadership that believes that leadership is innate. You are born with it or you are not. There are great men and women and they are just born that way. They have a special grace that others lack, according to this belief. These bigger than life characters just have an indescribable "it" that others lack. Another belief is that all of us have leadership ability. It will surface if we are put in the right context. I have pondered these and other beliefs about leadership and default to a conversation that I had some years ago with a minister friend, Jim Spillman. Jim said to me, "You know Milt, what leadership boils down to is really simple. Leaders lead!" This may seem simple but his words struck me right between the eyes. These simple words cut through all of my wondering about which style of leadership is most effective or preferred. In fact it you study history Joan of Arc's style contrasts greatly with that of Ghandi or Mother Theresa's. Can you doubt the profound effect of each of their lives?

Leaders lead through the ability to influence and persuade others to pursue something different than what they are currently investing their lives in. Leaders can convince people that they need to take another course of action, travel into the unknown or change their thinking. They can be soft spoken or they can be dynamic, able to command the attention of an entire audience, captivating them with every syllable. Patrick Henry's words, "I know not what course others may take. But give me liberty, or give me death!' was one of the final sparks that inflamed the passion for liberty in the American Colonies. It is funny though that leaders are not always the most brilliant people to have walked the earth. They don't understand all knowledge. They just understand the times in which they live and have a deep conviction about the actions that have to be taken. They can speak from the heart and inspire people to greater acts than people would have ever taken without the leaders influence.

When you see true leadership, you know it. It rises above the landscape of those who go along to get along. You have to be careful though. Many times you have to be able to scrape off the thin veneer of charisma to find the real substance behind true leadership You have to ask, "Is there alignment between what the leader is asking me to go and where they themselves are going?" I would have followed Daniel Boone into the wilderness to Kentucky because he had been there and knew how to get me there and could articulate why it was a desirable place to go. If there is not congruence between a leaders words and actions then beware. You might be following a manipulator and not a leader.

In my current capacity as superintendent, a large part of my job has to be leadership development. I have to figure out how to help others capitalize on there strengths and leverage them for the necessary changes that will impact the lives of children. Regardless of their style I need people who will lead. People who are not afraid of making mistakes and moving forward. Those who play it safe waiting for the consensus of others to indicate where they need to go, are not leaders. To use a metaphor: the wagonmaster doesn't lead the wagon train from the behind. He goes before them and tries to find a path that will get them safely to their destination. Leadership is not for the timid or the faint of heart. It takes boldness and decisiveness. It also takes humility. Human beings make mistakes. When they do they need to confess them and move on. Good leaders don't hide them, in fact they use them to demonstrate to others that leadership doesn't require absolute perfection. It only requires those who are willing to step up and take people to a better place and a better future.

In conclusion I have come to one belief about leadership. Some people are called to it. Not everyone is a leader, though everyone has talents that enable them to contribute to the success of every enterprise. Some leaders are great men and great women who stand head and shoulders above others in their generation. Some of them are called to come forward for one event and to do one act of leadership and then they quietly (or dramatically) slip off of the stage of leadership. For some it is about the context of their leadership, more than their talent. They are the right person, in the right place, at the right time. George Washington at the beginning of the Republic, Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War and Harry Truman following World War II are demonstrations of this. Whatever the case, leadership is an absolute necessity. Coincidentally, there is never a vacuum of leadership. Evil men will exploit the absence of clear direction and seize the mantle of leadership, though it is not rightly theirs to wear. Let us insure that we will be the leaders that this generation needs and build a better future for generations to come.