A
Kingly Tale of Inspirational Leadership
Garry Jacobs
July 31, 2005
The distinction between
managers and leaders is of paramount importance in the modern business
environment. Simply defined, managers direct, leaders inspire. Managers demand
respect and exercise authority. Leaders respect others and enhance their
freedom for individual initiative. Managers promote efficient execution of
routine activities. Leaders release and direct the energy of the organization
to propel it into higher levels and wider circles of accomplishment. Effective
managers promote horizontal expansion of the activities over which they
exercise control. Inspiring leaders promote vertical development and creative
initiative, even in areas over which they have no organizational power.
Efficient managers insist on strict adherence to policy and procedure. Dynamic
leaders strive to maximize energy, commitment, effort and resourcefulness.
Managers often mistake the
submissive behavior of subordinates as an accurate reflection of their own
worth. Perceptive leaders know their own weaknesses and know that others know
them too.
Most anyone can exercise
authority when the power to enforce obedience is placed in his hands by virtue
of his position within an organization. Great leaders are those who generate
the power for accomplishment by the strength of their own personalities in
circumstances where organizational authority does not exist and obedience
cannot be enforced. Strong managers enjoy the use of power and feel energized
by exercising their authority. Insightful
leaders understand that the only one who feels energized by the exercise of
authority is the one who exercises it.
The process by which a
strong manager evolves into an inspiring leader is beautifully depicted in a
recent film entitled King Arthur.
Arthur and his knights have captivated the imagination and entranced the hearts
of millions the world over. The triangular love affair between Arthur, Sir
Lancelot and Lady Geneviere, the magic of Merlin and Excalibur, the mysterious
quest for the Holy Grail are the stuff of legends. But the most recent
Hollywood movie bearing the King’s name has elevated Arthur from a courageous
ancient king into an inspiring modern leader. The secret knowledge this Arthur
bears is not of sacred relics or mystical powers, but of the art of leadership
that inspires ordinary men to perform extraordinary deeds.
The story takes
place in 4th Century Britain during the last years of the Roman
conquest. Hadrian’s Wall divides Britain across the middle. South of the Wall the
Roman governors and their legions rule, suppressing the aspirations of the
countless tribes of Celts, Scots, Angles and such who have migrated to this
island over the centuries, fought, subdued and ruled its local inhabitants, and
been subdued in turn by the Romans who conquered by superior military might and
ruled by superior organization. North of the Wall, the indigenous Woads of
Scotland led by Merlin live wild and free.
The task of
maintaining Roman supremacy in Southern England has fallen to bands of
Sarmatian knights, fierce horsemen whose ancestors were conquered by the Romans
on the Russian steppes and forced to offer successive generations of their
children as indentured soldiers for periods of 15 years service in the Roman
armies. During the last days of Roman rule in Britain, these knights are led by
Artorius Castus, son of a Roman father and native British mother.
Raised in England
on the ideals of freedom and equality proclaimed by Roman philosophers, Arthur
served his God and country as a sacred privilege. Unknown to Arthur, Rome has
long ago abandoned the noble ideals he learned as a youth and murdered the
philosopher who was his teacher. But these ideals have lived on in Arthur and
he has embodied them in his every act. As he says, “Deeds are meaningless
unless they serve a higher purpose.” Though his men have been forced into
military service, he treats them with the regard of close kinsman and is as
covetous of their lives and well-being as he is of the Roman citizens they
serve. Though charged to rule the local inhabitants by force of arms, he
abstains from all unnecessary cruelty and loss of life. In his mind, all are
endowed with equal rights as citizens of the Empire.
Arthur’s knights
have served bravely and honorably their 15 year term. The last six of the
original band who have survived are now to be released from their bonds and
free to return to the Russian homeland they left when still boys. Bishop
Germanius, an emissary from Rome, has arrived carrying the documents that will
serve as their passports to freedom. But instead of delivering them from their
bonds, he demands of them one last service to Rome.
A huge Saxon army
has landed in the North and is sweeping down to Hadrian’s Wall, killing and
burning all in its path. Rome has decided that Britain is no longer defensible
against the incessant on-slaught of attacks which have weakened the empire at
many points, so it is withdrawing its forces from the country. North of the
Wall, live Marius Honorius, a close friend of the Pope in Rome, and his son
Alecto who is destined to become a high serving member of the Church. The
Bishop calls upon Arthur to lead his knights on their most dangerous mission to
rescue Marius and Alecto from the invading army, so that they may return to Rome
with Germanius.
Arthur recognizes
the danger and accepts the task as a part of his duty as a Roman soldier. But
he vehemently protests the imposition of this task on his Sarmatian knights,
who have served Rome with distinction and have earned their freedom. When Arthur
informs his men that they are compelled to undertake one more mission in order
to obtain their passports to freedom, none are willing to serve Rome a day
longer. But neither are they willing to abandon Arthur at this critical moment
when he needs their support. Reluctantly his six knights accept the charge put
on them and ride off behind him to complete one last mission.
Reaching Marius
and Alecto just hours before the descending Saxon hoards, Arthur offers to lead
their family to safety. At the same time, he warns all the local Woad
inhabitants of the impending Saxon invasion, frees those that have been
imprisoned, and offers to take those who cannot escape by themselves.
Encumbered by a large caravan, Arthur’s small band is attacked by a few hundred
Saxons while crossing a frozen lake. The fearless courage and self-sacrifice of
his knights enables them to successfully ward off the attack and escape to the
Wall.
Until now Arthur
has demonstrated the prowess of an able general and the fairness of a just,
good man, but his true emergence as a visionary leader is yet to come. Arthur’s
knights have finally earned their freedom and obtained their rights of passage.
The Roman army is withdrawing from Hadrian’s Wall. Thousands of defenseless
Brits will be left to be murdered by the Saxon marauders. As the caravan of
Romans leaves the Wall accompanied by his knights on their way to freedom,
Arthur chooses to remain behind and fight the Saxons.
Arthur does not
seek to persuade his knights to remain. Rather he urges them to take the
freedom they have earned. But in secret league with Merlin, Geneviere and their
outnumbered Woad fighters, Arthur prepares a trap for the Saxons. As the
Sarmatian Knights ride away from danger, they see their former leader alone
astride his horse on a hilltop overlooking Hadrian’s Wall. Their horses slow as
if unwilling to proceed further, then gradually one by one they turn to rejoin
their leader in this final and most likely fatal battle.
Here for the
first time, the Sarmatians follow Arthur not because they are compelled by
force of obligation, but because they choose to do so of their own free will.
They follow a more compelling force than the force of authority. They are
compelled by an ideal and an inspiring example that captures their minds,
engages their hearts and releases their energies for heroic deeds.
Together Arthur,
his knights and the Woad forces face and defeat the larger Saxon army and send
it fleeing from England back to Norway. Following their unexpected victory, a
half-British Arthur weds the Woad Lady Geneviere and is crowned by Merlin as
the first king of the united people of Britain.
In many ways
Arthur is the prototype of modern leadership. He knows and cherishes the value
of each individual human being. His high values and genuine personal concern
for those he leads brings out the very best in all who follow him. Refusing to
live for himself alone or his own success and aggrandizement, he inspires
others to transcend their own narrow self-interest and give of themselves for a
large cause. Refusing to favour one people as superior to another, he comes to
be recognized by all as a man of superior character and leadership ability whom
all can willingly follow.
Can one man and a handful of followers make such a difference to the
life of an organization or a nation? They can and they do. Every great
accomplishment is the result of one or a few people who rise above the ordinary
to perform extraordinary deeds. What makes them extraordinary? It is not their
talent or strength. It is their attitude and determination. What can motivate
men to such an attitude and determination? Neither the power of authority, nor
the force of compulsion, nor the threat of punishment. It can only be
accomplished by acts that are self-chosen in an atmosphere of freedom in
pursuit of a challenging and inspiring goal that unites and benefits all rather
than divides and deprives.
The true essence
of leadership is to create that atmosphere of freedom, project that inspiring
goal and motivate people by determination and example to the highest
conceivable levels of accomplishment. For such a leader and followers,
anything is possible.