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Leadership by Example
Outstanding practitioners
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Not the cry but the flight of the wild
duck leads the flock to fly and to follow. |
Chinese proverb |
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When it was wet, we bore the wet
together, when it was cold, we
bore the cold together. |
Genghis
Khan |
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A leader sets an example. He or she is
someone on whom people – especially younger people – model
themselves. |
Peter
Drucker |
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One characteristic of
winners
is they always look upon themselves as a do it yourself project. |
Walt
Disney |
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Be an example. Children watch – and
they will emulate what they see. |
Donald
Trump |
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An army of sheep led by a lion is
better than an army of lions led by a sheep. |
Alexander
the Great |
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Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great, the
legendary king of Macedonia, was
one of the most superb leaders
of all time. He became king at
the age of 19, when his father,
Philip II, was assassinated.
In the next 11 years, he conquered
much of the known world, leading his armies against numerically superior forces.
Yet, when he was at the height of his power, the master of the known world, the
greatest ruler in history to that date, he would still draw his sword at the
beginning of a battle and lead his men forward into the conflict.
He insisted on leading by example.
Alexander felt that he could not ask
his men to risk their lives unless he was willing to demonstrate by his actions
that he had complete confidence in the outcome.
The sight of Alexander charging
forward so excited and motivated his soldiers that no force on earth could stand
before them.
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Xenophon
Xenophon was a general. Xenophon
authored the first systematic
book on
leadership, two thousand
years ago, and it is still one
of the best. "Lead by example: a
leader shares fully in the
risks, hardships and dangers of
the army or workforce," taught
Xenophon. His book 'Our Military
Expedition to Persia' tells the
story of the fight to return to
the Black Sea against
overwhelming odds. It is a story
of courage, improvisation, and
discipline, self-sacrifice, and
above all leadership.
Xenophon practiced leadership in
a different time and a different
place, but the lessons of his
experiences, the principles or
laws of integrity, commitment,
duty and the others have eternal
value.
The Greeks were superior
fighters, both tactically and
technologically. They knew how
to fight as a team, and their
swords and shields were uniquely
adapted for their phalanx
warfare. They also possessed the
most salient edge of all:
leadership. Xenophon, like all
Greek commanders, led from the
front; he was seen in the thick
of combat, never flinching,
always seeming to do the right
thing. Historian Victor Davis
Hanson attributes Xenophon's
success to the superior Greek
culture – not superior in a
racial sense, but superior in
the sense of what we today would
call shared values, common
purpose, and genuine leadership.
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There is a small risk a
leader will be regarded
with contempt
by those he leads if, whatever he may have to
preach,
he shows himself best able to perform. |
Xenophon |
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The world will belong to
passionate, driven leaders – people who not only have enormous
amounts of energy but who can
energize those whom they lead. |
Jack Welch
GE |
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Jack Welch
To spark others to perform, you
must lead by example. Jack Welch
mastery of the
4 E's of leadership –
Energy, Energize, Edge, and
Execution – was always in
evidence.
Jack Welch had great energy,
sparked others, had incredible
competitive spirit, and an
outstanding record of execution.
He modeled the way and, while
doing so, he didn't lack in any
of the traits he espoused.
Though many at GE have been good
at their jobs, and have been
able to motivate and explain,
but no one was able to match
Jack Welch's ardor. He was GE's
number one evangelist and called
himself "the advertising manager
of our company." Welch used such
words as "exciting",
"remarkable", "staggering", and
"incredible" when he described
GE.
As W. James McNerney Jr., head
of GE Aircraft Engines, noted:
"The excitement comes from
within him and is extremely
contagious. He's a tremendous
motivator. He's excited and he
gets you excited and you're
always moving forward.
He keeps it simple. The
differentiator between GE and
many other companies is that
there are more people moving in
the same direction and with the
same enthusiasm. Jack might like
this on his tombstone. 'I wasn't
smarter that anyone else, but I
helped 270,000 people make me
look smarter than most.'"
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