| Leadership | 2001-12-11 23:38 4 comments |
 by Flemming FunchI sometimes get a kick out of the experience of reading things I myself have written a long time ago. I usually can't quite appreciate my own writing, unless I somehow run into it accidentally later on, and I can sort of read it as somebody else might. And sometimes even learn something. Anyway, I was just reading the news that the google search engine now has archived the last 20 years of UseNet postings. Which is bound to include many stupid discussions I've had with people over time, so I went to check. And, indeed, there are things there that I wouldn't particularly want to be known for today, but also good things I might have said. Rather randomly, below is a piece about leadership, which I wrote in an answer to somebody else's question back in 1996. "I guess leadership is a rather paradoxical thing. If one tries deliberately to lead, one easily falls into doing it through some kind of deception, by fluffing oneself up to look bigger than one is, by getting others to give away some of their own power so that they will have a need to follow you, by keeping a few essential secrets for yourself. If one doesn't try deliberately to lead, one might not get anybody's attention, and one's unique contributions and skills might not be applied or utilized worth much. I suppose part of the answer is in simply doing what one is doing, acting on one's calling. The question is whether we really need leaders in any other sense than people who live their lives fully, act on their inspiration, and speak their truths. If such a leader leaves a positive impression on others, and they are then inspired to act in concert, according to their own inspiration, what better can we do? Even if a leader might be able to organize large groups of people into carrying out his wishes, or copying his approaches, that might not be altogether the greatest good. I'd say a true leader is somebody who inspires and allows others to be leaders too, each in their own unique way. Examples? How about the Dalai Lama? He doesn't hand out orders or tell a lot of people what to do, but he very unassumingly speaks his truth and acts as an example." |