‘I suppose that if you are going to grow in wisdom you need the humility to learn from others,’ reflected the young chief executive.
‘Yes, your teachers are all around you, not least at work or in your family. At the right time and place you must be open to what they really think of your leadership. As Francis Crick said, Politeness is the poison of all good collaboration, but most of us are too well mannered to be impolite to one another. In our culture rudeness tends simply to offend. What is needed is not rudeness so much as the more effective giving and receiving of feedback – information about the mutual effect you are having on others and they on you.’
‘Yes, and in addition to feedback, I need also some opportunities to reflect and talk about leadership and management with others, preferably in other fields as well as business, so that I can build on the wisdom I have, such as it is. I don’t suppose anyone ever improves in a sport, art or business unless they talk about it with their colleagues, do they?’
‘Not to my knowledge,’ I said.
The young chief executive closed his notebook and we had some coffee together.
‘I have greatly enjoyed our conversations,’ he said. ‘What I feel I have been able to do is to put together my own philosophy or framework. Now I shall have to put it to the test.
‘Whether I succeed or not remains to be seen, but I shall do my best. I know that I have a long way to go and it won’t be easy, but I shall strive for excellence in leadership for the rest of my days. For at some point in our conversations a flame ignited within my mind, something I know will always burn bright or rekindle unless I grossly neglect it. I call it the spirit of leadership.’
‘Well,’ I said to him, as he stood up to go, ‘you have fallen in love with a hard task-master, one who will ever be whispering in your ear Don’t spare yourself. Only those who are demanding of themselves can inspire great things in others. It is a thought captured in a prayer of St Augustine of Hippo, a prayer for all who, like you, aspire to be good leaders and leaders for good:
To My God,
A Heart Of Flame;
To My Fellow Human Beings,
A Heart Of Love;
To Myself,
A Heart Of SteelSt Augustine of Hippo