Spirit of Leadership

THE SPIRIT OF LEADERSHIP

or crisis. Then, that very willingness to stand for what you believe in, no matter what, is what often inspires people to follow. Most leaders go against the grain, at one point or another, and have to stand alone in their convictions. For example, Nelson Mandela was willing to die or be impris oned alone to fulfill his passion to end apartheid. His deter mination inspired many people to keep believing during all the years that he was incarcerated. When he was finally released from prison, he went on to influence the world because of his courage. If you want to be a leader, then, as Mother Teresa said, “Do not wait for [other] leaders; do it alone, person to person.” When you have a purpose and a passion, you must act on it, even if you’re the only one who believes in it at the time. M OST LEADERS HAVE TO GO AGAINST THE GRAIN AT ONE POINT OR ANOTHER . The previous examples demonstrate that the purest form of leadership is influence through inspiration . I think of inspiration as the divine deposit of destiny in the heart of a person. It is the opposite of intimidation, and it con tains no manipulation. Let’s summarize this section with another definition of leadership that describes the lives we’ve just looked at: “Leadership is the capacity to influence, inspire, rally, direct, encourage, motivate, induce, move, mobilize, and activate others to pursue a common goal or purpose while maintaining commitment, momentum, confidence, and courage.”

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