Spirit of Leadership

THE SPIRIT OF LEADERSHIP purpose and power. Second, even if the connection were to be reinstated, unless we obtain the right “machinery” or “software”—that is, unless we discover how a leader is meant to think and operate (the spirit of leadership)—we still won’t be able to fulfill our potential. Simply put, the leadership spirit is the inherent hardware, and the spirit of leadership is the software necessary for the hardware to function. I’ll be talking about these two crucial concepts in the next few chapters. THE GREAT LOSS In the Bahamas where I live, we are located in an area called the “hurricane zone.” From time to time, we are subjected to the uncontrollable force of nature as the phe nomena of the elements conspire to remind us of our vul nerability. During the hurricane season of 2004, when the monster hurricanes named Gene and Francis followed each other on a path right across our archipelago, I remember how helpless I felt. My wife and I made all our prepara tions and then sat waiting for the long-announced arrival of the category 4 and 5 storms. During one of the storms, the winds bore down on us like a living monster and shook the battened-downed windows. Suddenly, the electricity went out, and we were left sitting in darkness. I reached for the flashlight and surveyed the room. Then I took a walk through the darkened house and checked everything to make sure the shutters were hold ing. As I examined the rooms with the flashlight, I noticed the many items we had accumulated that had become so important to us, but that now were completely useless: the large-screen television, VCR, CD players, air conditioners,

166