WEBVTT 00:00:14.590 --> 00:00:17.589 Hey, everybody. Welcome back. This is Food for 00:00:17.589 --> 00:00:19.730 Thought, Thoughts If It Were You by Neogentrics. 00:00:20.530 --> 00:00:25.230 Now, I did do a podcast a little while ago. The 00:00:25.230 --> 00:00:34.210 current time is 5 o 'clock p .m. Now, I've had 00:00:34.210 --> 00:00:35.929 a lot of questions. I've had a lot of people 00:00:35.929 --> 00:00:37.950 tell me a lot of different things. And they say 00:00:37.950 --> 00:00:40.609 that with the way I talk, the way I carry myself, 00:00:40.810 --> 00:00:43.590 I'd make an excellent leader. Now, honestly, 00:00:43.789 --> 00:00:46.170 I've been in a leadership position before and 00:00:46.170 --> 00:00:50.229 it's not a lot of fun. But then it brings up 00:00:50.229 --> 00:00:52.390 the question, how do you know I'm going to make 00:00:52.390 --> 00:00:56.340 a good leader? Are you sure about that? Are you 00:00:56.340 --> 00:00:57.979 sure you want me? You know, these questions, 00:00:58.060 --> 00:00:59.799 they come down through my head. I'm pretty sure 00:00:59.799 --> 00:01:01.420 it comes to your head, too, if you've ever heard, 00:01:01.439 --> 00:01:04.739 you know, that phrase. So then let me ask you 00:01:04.739 --> 00:01:08.140 this. What is a leader? Now, we're still going 00:01:08.140 --> 00:01:10.159 to focus on communication, but I just want to 00:01:10.159 --> 00:01:14.519 take a chance to elaborate on that question. 00:01:14.659 --> 00:01:19.019 What is a leader? You know, ever since we spent, 00:01:19.159 --> 00:01:23.239 we learned to speak and work. together certain 00:01:23.239 --> 00:01:25.680 members of the rate of you know different races 00:01:25.680 --> 00:01:28.959 have sought to become leaders you know and so 00:01:28.959 --> 00:01:32.359 that's why you know it is that it's that here 00:01:32.359 --> 00:01:34.799 in the 21st century there are so many questions 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:37.439 and still so much debate about what a leader 00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:43.579 is and what they actually do you know i'm gonna 00:01:43.579 --> 00:01:46.719 do my best here to try to demonstrate how we 00:01:46.719 --> 00:01:48.879 are all capable of being a leader today or tomorrow 00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:53.560 even if only for today or tomorrow Where, not 00:01:53.560 --> 00:01:55.540 just specific people, but just about anybody 00:01:55.540 --> 00:01:59.159 could be a leader, and in their own way. First 00:01:59.159 --> 00:02:01.239 things first, the Oxford Dictionary defines a 00:02:01.239 --> 00:02:05.739 leader, you know, in human terms. I'm going to 00:02:05.739 --> 00:02:08.180 try to translate it as best as I can. The person 00:02:08.180 --> 00:02:09.900 who leads or commands a group, organization, 00:02:10.240 --> 00:02:13.979 or country. The leader of a protest group is 00:02:13.979 --> 00:02:17.039 a natural leader. Okay? Also, a leader of the 00:02:17.039 --> 00:02:21.680 house is British. uh a british member of government 00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:24.000 officially responsible for initiating business 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:26.659 in parliament that's a good example of that but 00:02:26.659 --> 00:02:32.539 i mean in either case um there is a degree of 00:02:32.539 --> 00:02:35.819 formality about it basically a whole organization 00:02:35.819 --> 00:02:38.699 accepts one person at its as its leader by virtue 00:02:38.699 --> 00:02:41.860 of that badge of rank the leader has formal authority 00:02:41.860 --> 00:02:47.340 and power this is understood though okay um with 00:02:47.340 --> 00:02:51.919 that There are three likely dangers of this view. 00:02:54.360 --> 00:02:58.199 I'm going to take a short break real quick. And 00:02:58.199 --> 00:03:00.379 then I'm going to cover those three dangers. 00:03:24.750 --> 00:03:29.270 And we're back. Let's see here. There are three 00:03:29.270 --> 00:03:33.090 dangers. But looking at a leader as a very powerful, 00:03:33.430 --> 00:03:38.169 godlike position. First things first, organizations 00:03:38.169 --> 00:03:42.250 come in many shapes. Okay? And sizes. Political 00:03:42.250 --> 00:03:44.870 parties, governments, charities, businesses, 00:03:45.389 --> 00:03:50.719 families, etc. By inference, if an organization 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:52.900 has one leader, that person alone is the source 00:03:52.900 --> 00:03:55.960 of all the ideas. That person alone is the maker 00:03:55.960 --> 00:03:57.840 of all the decisions. The rest of the organization 00:03:57.840 --> 00:04:01.780 must therefore be followers, or there's a better 00:04:01.780 --> 00:04:06.300 word for that, sheep, who take absolutely no 00:04:06.300 --> 00:04:08.620 initiative and make no decisions. These people 00:04:08.620 --> 00:04:11.039 are also free of responsibility for outcomes 00:04:11.039 --> 00:04:14.199 of their actions. When you say it like that, 00:04:14.680 --> 00:04:16.680 Yeah, I know it sounds bad, but that's basically 00:04:16.680 --> 00:04:18.800 the gist of it. This presents a big problem for 00:04:18.800 --> 00:04:21.279 the organization as a whole and followers as 00:04:21.279 --> 00:04:25.180 individuals. One. Well, this is one, but I mean, 00:04:25.220 --> 00:04:28.540 first things first, within this one, there's 00:04:28.540 --> 00:04:33.480 no synergy. There's little initiative. There's 00:04:33.480 --> 00:04:36.660 little incentive for anyone to do anything good, 00:04:36.920 --> 00:04:41.720 save following orders, of course. There's little 00:04:41.720 --> 00:04:44.939 reason for people to do... How do I put this? 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:48.759 Not do bad things, let's say it like that, so 00:04:48.759 --> 00:04:51.279 long as they are within the letter of the law. 00:04:52.540 --> 00:04:55.300 The second thing I want you to note is that since 00:04:55.300 --> 00:04:58.079 the concept of a leader is a job title, the leader 00:04:58.079 --> 00:05:01.480 must be the one leading every minute of every 00:05:01.480 --> 00:05:05.120 day, which means he doesn't get a break. He or 00:05:05.120 --> 00:05:08.699 she may not be less than perfect at any time. 00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:11.689 This presents a big problem for the leader. okay 00:05:11.689 --> 00:05:16.189 because he must be right all the time he or she 00:05:16.189 --> 00:05:21.870 must also be seen to be right every time in the 00:05:21.870 --> 00:05:24.629 sense that he has to be morally and technically 00:05:24.629 --> 00:05:31.569 infallible it's not possible um basically everyone's 00:05:31.569 --> 00:05:34.319 putting him on a or her on a pedestal. Each and 00:05:34.319 --> 00:05:36.800 every act or word, business and professional 00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:39.779 is subject to scrutiny and being judged by everyone. 00:05:40.040 --> 00:05:42.579 I mean, sadly, this kind of infallibility is 00:05:42.579 --> 00:05:46.439 not a constant for any human being. And how do 00:05:46.439 --> 00:05:50.100 I put this in nice terms? We're all idiots of 00:05:50.100 --> 00:05:53.079 some kind at some time. It's called the error 00:05:53.079 --> 00:05:56.879 of being a human. You know. The third thing about 00:05:56.879 --> 00:05:59.019 this is that the longer a formal leader is in 00:05:59.019 --> 00:06:01.060 its post, the greater the gap between the leader 00:06:01.060 --> 00:06:06.000 and the lead or the sheep become. The leader 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:07.879 becomes less tolerant of independent thought 00:06:07.879 --> 00:06:11.500 and the lead become less capable of it. At this 00:06:11.500 --> 00:06:18.259 point, if it is to survive after the leader, 00:06:18.319 --> 00:06:20.680 an organization has to look seriously at a succession 00:06:20.680 --> 00:06:23.750 planning. And sadly, that succession planning 00:06:23.750 --> 00:06:26.930 is still the responsibility of the leader. Otherwise, 00:06:27.089 --> 00:06:30.649 it's likely to be interrupted as... Well, how 00:06:30.649 --> 00:06:34.769 would it be interpreted? Oh, I got the word. 00:06:34.850 --> 00:06:38.889 A mutiny. The past has showed time and time again 00:06:38.889 --> 00:06:41.910 that families with a commanding father or mother 00:06:41.910 --> 00:06:46.800 can tend to be somewhat dysfunctional. Nations 00:06:46.800 --> 00:06:50.040 with a cult of personality around a single great 00:06:50.040 --> 00:06:53.199 helmsman tend to suffer in the long term. Companies 00:06:53.199 --> 00:06:55.800 which are ruled by the iron hand of their founder 00:06:55.800 --> 00:06:58.579 are lost when the founder dies or is shown to 00:06:58.579 --> 00:07:03.759 have had feet of clay, if you know what I mean 00:07:03.759 --> 00:07:28.120 by that. So, how do we look at this? Most modern 00:07:28.120 --> 00:07:32.379 definitions of a leader in current day's terms. 00:07:32.519 --> 00:07:38.360 Well, Frederick Arnander said that we're all 00:07:38.360 --> 00:07:40.699 leaders. Leadership is not a position, it's a 00:07:40.699 --> 00:07:45.339 mindset. Okay? Why is he proposing this difference 00:07:45.339 --> 00:07:48.620 of opinion? Well, to build organizations with 00:07:48.620 --> 00:07:50.699 the agility and focus to succeed in the modern 00:07:50.699 --> 00:07:54.420 world. Clearly, it is vital for any organization 00:07:54.420 --> 00:07:59.480 that initiative, ideas, authority, decision -making, 00:07:59.519 --> 00:08:02.920 liability, and respect, and kudos, be shared 00:08:02.920 --> 00:08:07.699 out to his or her needs from each according to 00:08:07.699 --> 00:08:12.319 their abilities as well, in the sense that it 00:08:12.319 --> 00:08:16.040 took multiple people to get to where we're at, 00:08:16.160 --> 00:08:19.300 not just one. Each one in charge of their own 00:08:19.300 --> 00:08:23.810 area, of course. I mean, it's not the aim of 00:08:23.810 --> 00:08:27.610 this piece to address leadership as a series 00:08:27.610 --> 00:08:31.009 of traits or behaviors. However, it's not possible 00:08:31.009 --> 00:08:35.450 to divide leaders from leadership. How do I put 00:08:35.450 --> 00:08:40.049 this? A leader goes in the front, leads the way 00:08:40.049 --> 00:08:45.429 by his actions, and people then follow. Okay? 00:08:45.549 --> 00:08:48.990 He's not given the mortars. He does by example. 00:08:49.309 --> 00:08:53.210 Okay? This is in contrast to a ruler. Rulers 00:08:53.210 --> 00:08:55.330 rule by the use of their power and authority, 00:08:55.549 --> 00:08:58.870 backing this up, if necessary, with heavy -handedness. 00:09:00.730 --> 00:09:07.870 This whole thing, how do I put this? It refers 00:09:07.870 --> 00:09:11.450 to leaders and rulers in a national sense. However, 00:09:11.629 --> 00:09:13.809 the same can be said for people at the top of 00:09:13.809 --> 00:09:16.029 any organization, be it political, commercial, 00:09:16.289 --> 00:09:20.090 or even religious. Therefore, for anyone to claim 00:09:20.090 --> 00:09:22.830 to actually be a leader, as opposed to being 00:09:22.830 --> 00:09:27.889 the leader, if you know what I mean, he or she 00:09:27.889 --> 00:09:30.769 must have real followers. These are people who 00:09:30.769 --> 00:09:33.470 follow out of choice, not because they're forced 00:09:33.470 --> 00:09:37.850 to. A leader may rise to a state where people 00:09:37.850 --> 00:09:41.570 follow them for many years and through various 00:09:41.570 --> 00:09:47.429 incarnations. A fine example is like... Let me 00:09:47.429 --> 00:09:51.929 see here. Oh, I got one. Nelson Mandela. There's 00:09:51.929 --> 00:09:55.570 an example for you. Who moved from personal commitment 00:09:55.570 --> 00:09:59.529 to small -scale political activism to national 00:09:59.529 --> 00:10:03.409 presidency to world statesmanship. Mandela embodied 00:10:03.409 --> 00:10:07.470 a vision and commitment for many, many years. 00:10:07.669 --> 00:10:10.850 In contrast to the previous quote that I just 00:10:10.850 --> 00:10:14.370 gave, Mandela preferred to think of a leader 00:10:14.370 --> 00:10:17.750 leading from behind. Actually, let me just use 00:10:17.750 --> 00:10:20.149 his quote directly. It is better to lead from 00:10:20.149 --> 00:10:22.129 behind and to put others in front, especially 00:10:22.129 --> 00:10:24.870 when you celebrate victory, when nice things 00:10:24.870 --> 00:10:27.529 occur. You take the front line when there is 00:10:27.529 --> 00:10:30.049 danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership 00:10:30.049 --> 00:10:34.350 more. Okay? This makes it way more valuable. 00:10:36.870 --> 00:10:39.250 With that being said, there's something called 00:10:39.250 --> 00:10:44.039 an emergent leader. Emergent leaders... It's 00:10:44.039 --> 00:10:46.740 a leader that may also emerge from the crowd 00:10:46.740 --> 00:10:51.200 for just a few moments. They're not 100 % a leader, 00:10:51.299 --> 00:10:53.419 but they have that moment where they're able 00:10:53.419 --> 00:10:57.820 to help out. This can be a serious matter or 00:10:57.820 --> 00:11:01.840 an entirely frivolous one. It depends. For instance, 00:11:01.940 --> 00:11:04.179 a young woman named Claire Pepper was knocked 00:11:04.179 --> 00:11:06.639 down while cycling in London. She was injured 00:11:06.639 --> 00:11:09.480 and trapped beneath the car. Unable to breathe 00:11:09.480 --> 00:11:11.659 due to the weight pressing down on her chest. 00:11:11.940 --> 00:11:15.299 Okay, a single passerby took a leader role straight 00:11:15.299 --> 00:11:18.059 away He gathered nine others who became his followers 00:11:18.059 --> 00:11:20.399 and together they lifted the car from on top 00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:22.639 of Claire saving her life until the medics arrived 00:11:22.639 --> 00:11:25.139 After the panic was over the individual ceased 00:11:25.139 --> 00:11:27.279 to be a leader and melted back into the crowd 00:11:27.279 --> 00:11:33.840 and basically disappeared And if you want to 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:38.090 know more about What a frivolous leadership looks 00:11:38.090 --> 00:11:41.230 like. There's this guy, his name is Derek Sivers, 00:11:41.409 --> 00:11:44.129 okay? That's something I had found the other 00:11:44.129 --> 00:11:46.830 day. He uploaded a video on YouTube entitled 00:11:46.830 --> 00:11:49.950 Leadership Lessons from a Dancing Guy, which 00:11:49.950 --> 00:11:53.990 is a little ironic, but it's there, which clearly 00:11:53.990 --> 00:11:56.490 shows how a person can, with no particular vision 00:11:56.490 --> 00:11:58.330 and certainly no rhetoric or verbal communication, 00:11:58.769 --> 00:12:01.570 can be a leader in style or fashion. That means 00:12:01.570 --> 00:12:03.909 that it doesn't matter where you're from or who 00:12:03.909 --> 00:12:06.539 you're from or what it is you're doing. You can 00:12:06.539 --> 00:12:08.179 become a leader depending on whatever the situation 00:12:08.179 --> 00:12:10.799 is regardless. Leaders come in all shapes and 00:12:10.799 --> 00:12:12.440 sizes and they can lead in all different aspects 00:12:12.440 --> 00:12:15.279 of life and human life and endeavor. We are all 00:12:15.279 --> 00:12:18.059 capable of being leaders somewhere at some time. 00:12:18.159 --> 00:12:20.559 We simply have to motivate ourselves to be motivated 00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:23.639 to lead. That's the only difference. That's what 00:12:23.639 --> 00:12:25.720 makes a person a leader. Not because they can 00:12:25.720 --> 00:12:27.519 stand in front of people and talk to them. Not 00:12:27.519 --> 00:12:29.379 because they can convince other people to do 00:12:29.379 --> 00:12:31.120 stuff. Though that is a great skill to have. 00:12:31.980 --> 00:12:34.299 It's because you know what to do, you're willing 00:12:34.299 --> 00:12:36.139 to do it, and you're willing to have everyone 00:12:36.139 --> 00:12:40.279 else do it while letting them retain their individuality. 00:12:40.320 --> 00:12:44.120 You're not taking it from them. So, every time 00:12:44.120 --> 00:12:46.419 I hear someone say that, yes, you could be a 00:12:46.419 --> 00:12:48.419 great leader, you were a natural born leader, 00:12:48.580 --> 00:12:54.759 that may be true. But, if my personality or the 00:12:54.759 --> 00:12:58.679 way I carry myself doesn't match, then it's all 00:12:58.679 --> 00:13:05.080 for naught. So, with that, getting that completely 00:13:05.080 --> 00:13:07.159 out of my system, though it sounds like I basically 00:13:07.159 --> 00:13:10.860 just raged through this entire podcast, I'm sorry. 00:13:13.200 --> 00:13:15.539 I just wanted to make a point that, you know, 00:13:15.580 --> 00:13:17.580 a leader is not someone that's just randomly 00:13:17.580 --> 00:13:21.500 picked. It's something that happens as natural 00:13:21.500 --> 00:13:24.440 as it could be. Just because someone is assigned 00:13:24.440 --> 00:13:26.580 a leader or is born from someone who's a king 00:13:26.580 --> 00:13:28.740 and is expected to be a leader doesn't mean that 00:13:28.740 --> 00:13:31.570 he's... that kind of leader. Every person is 00:13:31.570 --> 00:13:35.590 different. So with that, I thank you guys for 00:13:35.590 --> 00:13:38.190 listening. I thank y 'all for tuning in. I know 00:13:38.190 --> 00:13:40.210 two podcasts in the short period is probably 00:13:40.210 --> 00:13:43.590 a lot, but I mean, I've done worse. So thank 00:13:43.590 --> 00:13:46.389 you guys for listening. This is food for thought 00:13:46.389 --> 00:13:49.750 thoughts. If it were you by neogentrics, enjoy 00:13:49.750 --> 00:13:51.090 the rest of your day.