Spirit of Leadership

LEADERSHIP ABILITY WITHOUT THE ATTITUDE them in their visions. Yet they were not overnight suc cesses. They had to have the right attitudes and then perse vere in them in order to be effective. Abraham Lincoln is a classic example of this. He failed to accomplish his goals many times, but he had an inner belief that he had something to offer his community, his state, and eventually his nation. This attitude is what kept him in the race even when he faced negative circumstances and setbacks. How do you react when you fail? You have to have an inner belief that is stronger than your experience. Victor Frankl, the holocaust survivor, said, “It’s not what happens to me that matters, but what happens in me.” Sir Winston Churchill is another good example of some one who persevered in his vision and in pursuing what he believed was right. He understood clearly that Nazism was a threat to Great Britain and the world, but he spent months and years as essentially the lone voice of warning before others realized the truth of what he was saying. He had an inner conviction that kept him going. Under the pressure of circumstances and a sense of responsibility for saving the nation of England, his leadership developed and matured. In a sense, George W. Bush’s presidency was born on September 11, 2001, when terrorists crashed planes into the World Trade Center buildings in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a field in rural Pennsylvania. This crisis introduced Bush to himself. The demands and responsibilities of his position put tremendous pressure on him, and the result was a new attitude of deep responsibility for the welfare of the citizens of America that brought out his inherent leadership ability.

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