One of my favorite misquotes is “All that’s necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing.” This statement is often attributed to Edmund Burke, but in reality, he never said it. Regardless of who first coined this expression, I love it. It is an absolute truth. When people do evil things, good people can stop them. But they must chose to act and to get others to act with them. Great leaders have the ability to stimulate others to be good, to act in the face of evil. Sometimes it means convincing others to take huge risks and make real sacrifices. Other times, it is as easy as pointing out a problem and inviting others to help you solve it.
This morning, my daughter was telling me about a homework assignment that she recently completed. Her teacher had asked each student to create her own Code of Ethics that reflected the student’s values and beliefs. What a great assignment! The more I thought about it, the more I realized it is an outstanding sef-awareness exercise, and I plan to encourage my coaching clients to try it. Let me know what you think. Post your Code of Ethics here. I’ll start working on mine and post it here soon.
It is one thing to do what we know is right, but doing so when those in authority are telling us not to (or ordering us not to) can be extraordinarily challenging. Add the element of repeatedly putting his life on the line, and it is easy to understand why Sgt. Dakota Meyer received the Medal of Honor last week. He is truly an exceptional human being, and his action on September 8, 2009 and his behavior since then have proven he is also an impressive leader.
Too often, pop culture is a source of leadership failures. It’s hard to turn on the TV without seeing another celebrity providing another example of how not to act in polite society. es of celebrity behaviors as examples of true leadership are almost non-existent. I can’t remember ever feeling a burning desire to blog about celebrity leadership, but American Idol has changed that. I have seen two great examples of leadership lessons recently. This week I’ll focus on the most recent, and I’ll write about the other next week.
Before I get started, I want to clear the air. Yes, I know this first question seems to be extraordinarily self-absorbed. The fact is that leadership requires that we as leaders understand ourselves. Leadership requires self-awareness, not self-absorption. There is a huge difference.