Friday, March 12, 2010

Leadership Takes Courage

Hello fellow leader, 

The sound track to this post is ‘We’re not gonna take It’ by Twisted Sister on the Album Big Hits and Nasty Cuts

Last time I posted I talked about Hillary Clinton’s travels to several Latin American Countries. I believe that her efforts to build relationships with foreign powers highlighted her efforts to be developing her leadership skills through relationship building. In following her travels, I found that she also went to Chile despite the chaos surrounding the recent tragic earthquakes there.  During this visit in the wake of the Chile crisis, Clinton not only offered U.S. solidarity to the countries leaders but also brought with her much needed supplies.  I believe Mrs. Has done really well to build a positive relationship with Chile’s political leaders.


This week’s post is about leading courageously. Successful leaders oft make bold yet still reasonable decisions, taking risks and simultaneously using restraint as well as vigor. Through courage, all other things are possible. A courageous leader continues to try, lends trust to others, and speaks up and out. I found a great example of this kind of courage in the news this Tuesday in reports of a seven-year-old boy that saved his entire family from gun wielding home invaders. During the armed home invasion, the little boy quickly took his younger sister, hid in the bathroom with a cordless phone, and called 911 Emergency. Once on the phone with dispatchers he explained his situation and requested rescue, at one point demanding dispatchers “bring soldiers too”. In the released dispatchers audio one can hear the terrifying moments when the gunmen breakdown the bathroom door, and demand to know who the young boy was calling. When the boy replied 911, the gunmen fled- no shots were fired and no one was hurt. At just seven year old this young boy has exemplified the strength of courage found in successful leadership. Listen to the 911 Recording HERE.

Courage is the resistance of fear, the mastery of fear – not the absence of fear. – Mark Twain 

2 comments:

  1. wow! that was pretty courageous but risky at the same time

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  2. The mark of a good leader is about being able to make the tough decisions and not be afraid to stand up for what you believe in. The little boy saw that his family needed help and he made the decision to call 911 even when there was a chance that he may have been killed in the process, that in itself makes him a courageous person. As far as Mrs. Clinton, she has been in numerous situations where she was compelled to stand up for what she believed in regardless if her entire party backed her up or not. It is not the people who are afraid to make "ruffles" that excel at leadership positions, it's the people who are willing to go against the grain. Leadership does not equal being the most popular it's about having the guts to do what nobody else will.

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