LEAD FROM THE TRENCHES
LEAD FROM THE TRENCHES
When you look back into the history books, One of the celebrated heroes is Alexander the Great (356-323 BC). Now while he was not a perfect man, actually he had many defects of character, but one thing he was incredible at was leading his men into battle. It is written that "his cavalry were his 'companions.' His infantry 'loved the King and he loved them."
Alexander the Great won many battles for his country, and he did so not from afar, but from the battlefield. When his men would grow tired or would show fear, he would lift up his shirt to display the wounds he had from previous battles. He would say "I have been hit by a sword, lance, dart, arrow, and a catapult missile."
He didn't tell people to do what he wasn't willing to do himself. He didn't just bark orders and demands...he led by example and action, not by his words.
As I mentioned, Alexander the Great had negative attributes as well, and while he isn't exactly the man you would want to model your entire life after, we can learn from him on his outlook towards personal responsibility and leadership.
Many of us have people in our lives we wish could change for the better. Maybe people you love and care about struggle with accountability, action, depression, substance abuse, procrastination, responding to your text messages (lol) , anger... maybe it is as simple as getting them to pick up their half of the apartment.
But what we learn from the life of Alexander the Great is we lead others through our actions, not through our demands. It's damn near impossible to achieve long-term change by being nagged at or complained to about your behavior. We cannot change other people; other people are outside our control. What we can do is be willing to do the work, be willing to change ourselves, show others we will be in trenches with them. We will ride into the battle (whatever that battle looks like, small or monumental) and we hope they come with us.
We lead from the frontline, not from a place of comfort. Go out there and lead. Be comfortable being uncomfortable. And have a fantastic week. Love you all. (9.25.17 - Phillip Andrew)
