Leadership by example

There was once a prominent politician who told me that he was like a general who commanded his soldiers from afar, across vast distances away from the actual battlefield. Well, to be exact, from another country.

Now, this must be one of the most profoundly dumbfounding theories of leadership I’ve heard, and believe me, I’ve heard and seen a lot of stupid things done in the name of “generalship”.

Ever wondered why real generals like Napoleon, Castro and Rommel command such respect and honour from their soldiers? Simple – they fought with their men on the battlefield. What their soldiers ate, they ate. Where their soldier fought, they fought. They were not generals that were aloof but were soldiers themselves. And there is precisely where they draw their strength of leadership and respect from.

I have witnessed too many so called “generals” who were elevated into positions of rule, who failed miserably to gain the respect of their subordinates because they believed that they could afford to live the life of kings while the rest of the troops go through wars.

They believed that they were “above” eating the food that the soldiers ate, that they were “above” fighting the same battles the soldiers fought. In a phrase, they failed to “walk the talk”. Their words are indelibly emptied of their meaning because they have become mere words since they believed that it was “beneath” them to be on the same battlefield as soldiers like the rest.

So yes, it is true when it is said that “there are no bad soldiers, only lousy generals”.