Whenever I am asked why leadership is important, and you’d be surprised how often clients ask me that, I always reply with one of my favourite quotes, which comes from Alexander the Great.This is the power of leadership, and it was recognised by one of the greatest military leaders in history.
Leadership has the power to turn an army of sheep into a force that could defeat an army of lions. Now I see this as a principle which can be applied not only to war, but also to sports, business, politics, anywhere.
It’s the leaders job to run his team into a team of lions, and we do this by creating belief and looking to get the best out of people.
Too often I hear people tell me my team isn’t strong enough, and again I share the same quote, this usually gets me some interesting responses. One person said, ‘are you telling me it’s my fault, that my team doesn’t perform?‘.
To which I just politely replied, ‘leaders are accountable for their teams performance, so yes I guess I am saying that’s a possibility, and so is Alexander the Great‘.
Teams of lions don’t really come along that long that often, and even then they need a lion to lead them.
Look at Manchester United, under the lion that was Ferguson they were the most successful team in English football, but under Moyes they became a team of sheep who meekly surrendered their title and finished they lowest that had for 20 years. And now with Van Gaal, who is clearly a lion, you can see the team is turning itself around, you can hear it in the words of the players, in their demeanour, they are starting to regain some of their belief.
So what does it mean to be a Lion?
It doesn’t mean running about shouting, real Lions don’t need to roar, they know that they are lions and so do others.
Being a Lions is about being bold, about not backing down, about having the courage and belief in yourself and your abilities, and then taking that and looking to create the courage and belief in your team, and in their abilities.
When your team has courage and belief they too become Lions, and then they are capable of so much more.
This is why leadership is important, and as leader it’s your job to create a team of lions, even when you are given a team of sheep!
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