“Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with the important matters.” American scientist Albert Einstein may have paraphrased a quote from the Bible but he was actually describing what a good leader is.
Admiral Arleigh A. Burke gives us this definition of leadership: “Understanding people and involving them to help you do a job.” Doing so “takes all of the good characteristics, like integrity, dedication of purpose, selflessness, knowledge, skill, implacability, as well as determination not to accept failure.”
In his book, The Fifth Discipline, author Peter Senge observed: “Most of the outstanding leaders I have worked with are neither tall nor especially handsome; they are often mediocre public speakers; they do not stand out in a crowd; they do not mesmerize an attending audience with their brilliance and eloquence. Rather, what distinguishes them is their clarity and persuasiveness of their ideas, the depth of their commitment, and their openness to continually learning more.”
Being a leader is one of the best things that can happen to a person. It’s a great honor to stand the rest and be looked upon. But with it comes power – and responsibility. “Nearly all men can withstand adversity,” said American president Abraham Lincoln. “If you truly want to test a man’s character, give him power.” A Korean proverb suggests, “Power lasts 10 years, influence not more than a hundred.”
But like a flower that blooms today and fades tomorrow, such kind of power will have its own ending. “It is better to leave them longing than loathing.” That piece of advice came from the mouth our director when we told him that our stage play was too short. This happened when I was still in college, when I joined a musical production.
Wise leaders also know when the time has come to exit graciously and allow a new leader to step in. “Some great leaders have greatly depreciated their effectiveness and diminished their contribution to their organization by staying in their positions long after their effectiveness was past,” observed popular authors Henry and Richard Blackaby.
American president Harry S Truman noted that the prominent place people held in history had a lot to do with the timing of their death. Men such as John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. were immortalized as much, perhaps, by their dramatic, untimely deaths as their significant contribution to society. In the Philippines, the death of Ramon Magsaysay during the height of his presidency made him one of the most beloved leaders in the country.
But more often than not, some leaders attached themselves to power that they refuse to vacate their position when it is time to go. The Blackabys wrote: “(These leaders) enjoy the respect and influence that comes with their position as head of the organization. As a result, they may hesitate to yield their office to younger leaders even when it becomes apparent to everyone else that a change in the organization is needed. Such leaders can become blinded to the reality that they are no longer as effective in their role as they once were.”
The father and son authors further explained: “Because they were once successful, they assume they are still the one best suited for their job. Sadly, these leaders often negate much of the positive contribution they made to their organization in their early years because they refuse to make room for the next generation of leaders.”
Indeed, there’s more truth to the words of Chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu. “Of the best rulers, the people only know that they exist; the next best they love and praise; the next they fear; and the next they revile. When they do not command the people’s faith, some will lose faith in them, and then they resort to oaths! But of the best when their task is accomplished, their work done, the people all remark, ‘We have done it ourselves.’”
In his book, Leading Minds: An Anatomy of Leadership, author Howard Gardner observed: “Sooner or later, nearly all leaders outreach themselves end up undermining their causes.” This has been proven in the life of King Hezekiah. “There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him,” the Bible states (II Kings 18:5).
Hezekiah was only 24 years old when he became king and he reigned in Jerusalem for 29 years. After ruling for 14 years, he contracted a terminal illness and the prophet Isaiah told the king to get his house in order for it was God’s will that he should die soon. The king wept bitterly and prayed for his life to be spared. God granted his request and promised him 15 additional years of life.
It was during his extended reign that Hezekiah made two major blunders. When envoys visited him from Babylon, he vainly showed them all of his kingdom’s treasures. After his death, Babylonian armies came to forcibly take those treasures away. It was also during his extended term that he was given a son named Manasseh, who became his successor and was considered the most wicked king in Judah’s history.
It was by prolonging his leadership beyond what God had intended him to be, that Hezekiah planted the seeds for his nation’s certain demise.
“Most of the ladies and gentlemen who mourn the passing of the nation’s leaders wouldn’t know a leader if they saw one,” said Lewis H. Lapham. “If they had the bad luck to come across a leader, they would find out that he might demand something from them, and this impertinence would put an abrupt and indignant end to their wish for his return.”
So, get ready for a new leader. As Warren Bennis suggests, “A new leader has to be able to change an organization that is dreamless, soulless and visionless – someone’s got to make a wake up call.”
For comments, write me at henrytacio@gmail.com
Admiral Arleigh A. Burke gives us this definition of leadership: “Understanding people and involving them to help you do a job.” Doing so “takes all of the good characteristics, like integrity, dedication of purpose, selflessness, knowledge, skill, implacability, as well as determination not to accept failure.”
In his book, The Fifth Discipline, author Peter Senge observed: “Most of the outstanding leaders I have worked with are neither tall nor especially handsome; they are often mediocre public speakers; they do not stand out in a crowd; they do not mesmerize an attending audience with their brilliance and eloquence. Rather, what distinguishes them is their clarity and persuasiveness of their ideas, the depth of their commitment, and their openness to continually learning more.”
Being a leader is one of the best things that can happen to a person. It’s a great honor to stand the rest and be looked upon. But with it comes power – and responsibility. “Nearly all men can withstand adversity,” said American president Abraham Lincoln. “If you truly want to test a man’s character, give him power.” A Korean proverb suggests, “Power lasts 10 years, influence not more than a hundred.”
But like a flower that blooms today and fades tomorrow, such kind of power will have its own ending. “It is better to leave them longing than loathing.” That piece of advice came from the mouth our director when we told him that our stage play was too short. This happened when I was still in college, when I joined a musical production.
Wise leaders also know when the time has come to exit graciously and allow a new leader to step in. “Some great leaders have greatly depreciated their effectiveness and diminished their contribution to their organization by staying in their positions long after their effectiveness was past,” observed popular authors Henry and Richard Blackaby.
American president Harry S Truman noted that the prominent place people held in history had a lot to do with the timing of their death. Men such as John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. were immortalized as much, perhaps, by their dramatic, untimely deaths as their significant contribution to society. In the Philippines, the death of Ramon Magsaysay during the height of his presidency made him one of the most beloved leaders in the country.
But more often than not, some leaders attached themselves to power that they refuse to vacate their position when it is time to go. The Blackabys wrote: “(These leaders) enjoy the respect and influence that comes with their position as head of the organization. As a result, they may hesitate to yield their office to younger leaders even when it becomes apparent to everyone else that a change in the organization is needed. Such leaders can become blinded to the reality that they are no longer as effective in their role as they once were.”
The father and son authors further explained: “Because they were once successful, they assume they are still the one best suited for their job. Sadly, these leaders often negate much of the positive contribution they made to their organization in their early years because they refuse to make room for the next generation of leaders.”
Indeed, there’s more truth to the words of Chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu. “Of the best rulers, the people only know that they exist; the next best they love and praise; the next they fear; and the next they revile. When they do not command the people’s faith, some will lose faith in them, and then they resort to oaths! But of the best when their task is accomplished, their work done, the people all remark, ‘We have done it ourselves.’”
In his book, Leading Minds: An Anatomy of Leadership, author Howard Gardner observed: “Sooner or later, nearly all leaders outreach themselves end up undermining their causes.” This has been proven in the life of King Hezekiah. “There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him,” the Bible states (II Kings 18:5).
Hezekiah was only 24 years old when he became king and he reigned in Jerusalem for 29 years. After ruling for 14 years, he contracted a terminal illness and the prophet Isaiah told the king to get his house in order for it was God’s will that he should die soon. The king wept bitterly and prayed for his life to be spared. God granted his request and promised him 15 additional years of life.
It was during his extended reign that Hezekiah made two major blunders. When envoys visited him from Babylon, he vainly showed them all of his kingdom’s treasures. After his death, Babylonian armies came to forcibly take those treasures away. It was also during his extended term that he was given a son named Manasseh, who became his successor and was considered the most wicked king in Judah’s history.
It was by prolonging his leadership beyond what God had intended him to be, that Hezekiah planted the seeds for his nation’s certain demise.
“Most of the ladies and gentlemen who mourn the passing of the nation’s leaders wouldn’t know a leader if they saw one,” said Lewis H. Lapham. “If they had the bad luck to come across a leader, they would find out that he might demand something from them, and this impertinence would put an abrupt and indignant end to their wish for his return.”
So, get ready for a new leader. As Warren Bennis suggests, “A new leader has to be able to change an organization that is dreamless, soulless and visionless – someone’s got to make a wake up call.”
For comments, write me at henrytacio@gmail.com
