Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories. - Sun Tzu
I've been a leader of people for many years across various roles; I believe some are built for it, have natural attributes that lean them towards leadership, and others are followers. All good leaders will be able to learn from others, evaluate good and bad examples, and apply that knowledge to becoming a better leader. This new series is designed to expose great quotes by various leaders and to investigate how they may relate or apply to myself or others. original im src
This week's leadership quote
In all of the previous weeks of this leadership series I have received comments from people telling me they're not leaders - I call bullshit though.
Not everyone may lead men into battle, lead on the sporting field, in business or the workplace. Not everyone has children to lead through their formative lives, or siblings, social or peer groups in which to lead...I get it, but leadership isn't the sole domain of such people...leadership applies to everyone, in my knuckleaded opinion anyway.
Ownership
In my opinion, ownership of oneself is as much leadership as leading others is.
I'm talking about taking ownership and responsibility for one's own thoughts, attitudes, actions, behaviours and other such things that affect our lives and that of others. Not doing this means one is a passenger in their own life and I don't think that would lead to a good quality of life overall. Again, just my opinion. Failing to learn from past experiences, taking ownership of success and failures, and applying them to the present and future will lead to...well, more of what happened before rather than proactive forward progress. I say success and failure here as we can lean from both, failure especially. Learning what we did to achieve success is also important though, as we can build on that and create more of it moving into the future.
I used the word success in the previous paragraph but don't get caught up in the word; it means many different things. Treating someone with kindness and generosity is as much a success as securing a big new client at work. It's those small successes that help us lead a better life. I've said it many times, but will do so again, if we hold our breath waiting for big things to happen we may miss the many smaller things which, in my opinion, are the true essence of life itself, small things combined make up big things.
Discipline
I'm big on this one; it means a lot to me and I'm personally very disciplined - partly my personality and partly a learned behaviour.
Leading the best version of life possible takes effort and to do so consistently one must apply discipline. This takes many forms including finding the discipline to do, or not to do, things that could have positive or adverse effects upon our lives.
Having the discipline to make better choices is what leads towards a best-life situation and having to go without something now and then, or to do something consistently and to the best of one's ability, is part of that.
Taking ownership and having the discipline to apply it to one's life is going to help a person lead a better life and those that do it are leading themselves in the right direction. In my experience, those who show ownership and discipline are more focused on their goals, more honest about and with themselves, the situations they face and tend to live a little more passionately in respect of the best-life ethos.
Effort
We live in a world that brainwashes the value of effort out of people; it's done through lowering the bar, rewarding mediocrity and tearing down those who rise a little too high which makes those that do not look bad. You may not do that, but many do and it happens minute by minute around the world, even here on Hive. Tearing others down rather than lifting oneself up is a plague.
The other day someone popped into my Discord, a person who I've not engaged with before, and asked me for upvotes and delegations. They didn't warm up to it either, just asked. That's bonkers.
I'm a man who rewards effort; this doesn't mean I don't encourage others that don't show it though, just that those who don't show effort don't get rewarded. I said some things (constructive things) to the user mentioned above but I don't know, are they the sort of person to show ownership, discipline and effort? Time will tell I guess.
Effort takes effort...meaning it's sometimes difficult to maintain it, but sometimes [mostly] those things we most like to happen or achieve aren't easy to do; that's just the way of it. But if the reason we want to achieve a thing is compelling enough and ownership and discipline are applied the effort becomes less onerous and we're more likely to get to work.
I don't believe it for a second when people say they are not leaders - they might be lazy and not show leadership in their own lives and for themselves - but they're still leaders nonetheless. It's just that those people are leading themselves in directions that might not be overly advantageous or productive. A person can lead themselves in positive or negative directions; it's a choice and one that a person ultimately has to make, then own.
If you have read this post and have any thoughts on this leadership quote, experiences of your own, or questions please feel free to comment below.
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised so be humble and kind.
I always wait for your weekly posts about "leadership."
There's always a lot to learn from it. You are the right person who really understands what you are saying. I think you have lived what you said your whole life.
You are absolutely right, Mr. @galenkp. That we must learn from both failure and success. The parts of failure and success are always our guides to move forward. We simply cannot ignore parts of both.
In my opinion, the three values you promote in this post are at the core of the process of empowering yourself and others. These three become the main values in achieving every goal that we have set. Every leader must incorporate these core values into their leadership.
I will always look forward to the next leadership session in each of your posts. There must be a lot of other people here waiting for it, like me.
I agree...But let's take the word leader out of this and use the word person for a moment. Don't you think every single person could benefit from applying these elements? People get caught up on the word leader, and sure leaders need to possess certain qualities, but I strongly believe we all need to lead ourselves towards that which we desire most - an ideal life for instance - so I believe each and every person can benefit from applying these principles.
Thanks for your comment, as always.
I really respect the use of the phrase "lead yourself," as you say. My note, each of us is a leader who must be responsible for ourselves.
I expect a lot from quality posts here, like yours.
There are many people writing simple, but informative and valuable, posts that offer so much for those reading and understanding them. I'm glad to here my contributions reach a few people and provide something valid to take away.
You made me break out my copy of the Art of War, haven't done that in a bit. When I first read the quote I thought it was a rephrasing of "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle." I'm still not sure if it is, the sentiment seems to be the same, albeit more nuanced, but I'm not worried enough about to reread the whole thing. You wouldn't happen to know which chapter your quote is from would you?
I prefer to operate solo or with small groups of people who know what they're about and don't need anyone to tell them what to do. I guess that still fits your definition of leadership, never really thought of it in those terms before. Ownership, discipline, effort, those things I've always thought of as showing initiative rather than leadership, although I suspect that they're just two sides of the same coin.
I suspect people often conflate giving orders with leadership, which might explain some of the people saying they're not leaders. There's a saying, 'before you can lead you have to learn how to follow,' I feel like that is an important part of the know thy self and a big part of what distinguishes good leadership from bad.
*Random side note, did you know that Niccolo Machiavelli (of The Prince infamy) also wrote an 'Art of War' book?
To be honest I don't know the exact context of the quote snipper, like you it's been some time since I read the book...Bloody hell, now I have to go read it again.
Leadership, in one aspect simple is initiative. I have seen those not in positive of leadership take and show initiative and lead others to great things...and themselves.
People take the word leadership and turn it into finger-pointing, giving orders, entitlement and the like...Sure, it can be that, but it's so many other things besides. Most p poor have no clue what a real leader looks like as opposed to a leader in name only or one of those pathetic political creatures or managers people have. A title doesn't make a leader.
I learned something about Machiavelli today...more research needed now. Thanks man!
Hey, at least it's a quick read.
I saw a lot of that in 2020 at the protests here, ordinary people who'd never thought of themselves as leaders stepping up and doing stuff because it needed to be done and inspiring others to do the same.
Amen.
I learned about that by accident, included The Art of War on a christmas list one year and didn't specify Sun Tzu and ended up with Machiavelli's instead. It's not as timeless as Sun Tzu's but is still and interesting book. My pleasure!
You mention the protests...a perfect example of ordinary people leading. No differing than the person who stops to assist someone with a broken down car or being attacked...Leading happens all around us, all the time.
G-dog has some bookdepository.com orders to make. Thanks man. ✅
Aha, I think it goes for some people that they will apply effort and they will reap the benefits through hard work and putting in the time, dedication and hours, but there are others that won't. Why? A sense of entitlement. That I am realising is becoming one of the largest issues facing our society today. They feel that life should be handed to them on a platter with little effort on their part to earn it. Why they feel this way is a mystery to me but no doubt comes down to a very skewed psychology, almost a pathology that they feel life owes them something.
I am seeing it more and more and it's concerning because those are the people that will break down others to feel like they remain superior. I don't think it's healthy especially in a workplace environment let alone a private life scenario. These people often hang on the coattails of others, stealing their credit for hard work and rising through the ranks. It's interesting to note what percentage of CEOs these days are apparently psychopaths. Doesn't bode well.
Credit-stealers and those who feel entitled simply because they exist make me sick, and yeah there's a lot of them. Society promotes mediocrity, (everyone getting a reward on school sports day for instance rather than 1st, 2nd and 3rd), and seeks to create a level playing field for all by lowering standards and ontrol mechanisms for those who excel. BonKERS
I don't know why it is, when it started and why people put up with it although the latter...I guess lazy assholes who don't want to take ownership and work hard for what they earn are most pleased about this particular thing.
It's all going end in a heap of shite, society I mean.
Hello Galenkp
I always find your quotes impressive.Thanks for sharing those.
All the points you mentioned are absolutely
facts. Without decipline and effort leading anyone or anything is not possible.I know about a lot of great leaders in world. Today I met another one in yourself. 🤠🤠
Thanks for your comments.
It makes a lot of sense to apply these elements to ones life I think; we only get one of them, life, so making the most of it, working towards making it the best possible life we can, just makes a lot of sense.
When I was in the military working towards my senior non-commissioned rank I learned that we're all leaders. And leading others begins with leading yourself. You can tell a lot about how a person leads by the way they care for themselves. If they don't care about their appearance they won't care for the soldiers or sailors under them. We're all leaders like you said. Some are just leading in the wrong direction.
Thanks for saying this, and yep, I agree completely obviously. The military is (usually) quite good at bringing out a person's best and their leadership qualities, leadership of others and oneself.
A person can steer himself in positive or negative directions
It is definitive Galen, leadership is like an elastic, it goes from the tension pressure to the comfort zone. You decide what to do... it is between being a leader of success or failure, in both cases, there is still learning, the important thing is the habits that make you be disciplined so that the effort and dedication consolidate your goals, in our daily work so that our affairs flow in an orderly manner.
Achievement motivation without discipline does not exist, at least for me, it is not functional. Self-discipline is a positive and desirable virtue.
Being disciplined is not easy, but it can be learned. Above all, if you are interested in obtaining good results, living an orderly life, with health, energy, and harmony, in short, with fewer shocks, and going after every goal of any kind, in your life.
Yep, as I said.
Discipline is one of the core elements of me and a value I hold as incredibly important, along with honour and integrity - I would be a shambles without those things.
Total Galen is positive and convenient, I think it is the best regulatory habit in conjunction with active communication and that the environment does not hold you back from achieving your goals.
True, some people are just lazy to put in the effort to make their mark as leaders. I also think some just don't want to identify as leaders because they fear accountability and feel they lack the potential to measure up to the expectation. It is refreshing to read a post that encourages one to get outside their comfort zone and to learn to embrace failure as a momentary-learning event for a leader.
I like that you cleared the misconception that most people have about leaders- most perceive leadership as a role that comes with experience in leading others to success.
The way you described leadership in this post brings awareness that leadership actually comes in different forms-one doesn't necessarily have to lead a team or (war) but how one lives their life also counts. After reading this post, I think the thoughts process behind it (you) is what Tom peters meant in his quote:
"Leaders don't create more followers, they create more leaders"-Tom Peters
Possibly, but this post focuses on people leading themselves - Are there people who don't want to lead themselves to their best version of life? I mean sure, there's people that want to commit suicide, but generally I think it's feasible to say that most people want the best life possible...so leading themselves towards it is required...That's the point of my post.
We are all leaders in some way, shape or form...All of us.
I Agree that most people want the best life possible...so leading themselves towards it is required.
But some do not want to believe that they are in control of their success or failure even though they do want the best life for themselves- they rather blame others for the way their life is. Or is this different from fear of accountability for leading themselves to failure (i.e. a person can lead themselves in negative directions) if things do not go well?
You're right, some believe themselves out of control, but I think that's because being in control takes work and effort, ownership and discipline...and they're lazy and feel entitled to something for nothing. Generally speaking I mean.
I like this topic. This made me ponder things, my character and ability. However, crab mentality hinder people towards the position. For me, to be able to become a good leader you must know yourself well, your strengths and weaknesses.
Most people don't know themselves, or more to the point, are not honest with themselves, and so cannot act correctly. Deluding or lying to oneself is the ultimate in self-destruction I believe.
I totally agree.
Yeo I agree with all what you said here.
We need to learn from our past being failure just as the "saying experience is the best teacher in life. And as human to make it in life is when you fall, you raise, think, and make a step forward.
This is true and I guess one of the points I tried to make in my post. Thanks for reiterating.
It is my first reading your post, and excellent. To be honest for me we are all leaders but there's something that in a moment we forgot because of hardships we've been through, and it's a good thing that there is one thing that remind us on what we are and what we can do. Thank you.
Thanks for your comment, which I agree with and for taking the time to read my post. I hope you find more of value in my other posts as well.
One of the biggest factors of success, I think, is the experience gained as a result of failure. I've experienced this many times. It is also an important factor as much as experience in the discipline. You have prepared a great post about personal development, congratulations.
Failure shows us the way to success, and prepares us for it along the way.
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