Neculai Fantanaru
Everything Depends On The Leader
Everything Depends On The Leader
Most of the leaders follow their ambitions till their old ages, more than anything. Animated by one thought, by a noble purpose, full of initiative, energetic almost until exhaustion, they act in good faith and a constructive spirit with the intention of building their road to success and keeping their position on the long term, facing manfully all the obstacles that stand in their way.
Tutankhamun, pharaoh of Egypt, also had a great ambition, only one, but as an ideal that went beyond the narrow ideas of that time. That of bringing back in the Kingdom the presence of the divinities. However, ambitions are not quantifiable for those who fail to properly evaluate strengths and limitations.
The enemies are just as numerous on the inside as they are on the outside. Tutankhamun was feeble like a night butterfly, under no circumstances, an ambitious person with a strong character. This boy was not able even to shoot an arrow and, as one of his generals well said, even if he knew how to shoot it, he would not know where to aim".
Before he was elected king, the high dignitaries thought they were assured that, thanks to his authority, the country will know wealth and glory. They were deeply wrong, because Tutankhamun, on one hand, did not have that leadership material, he was not a determined person, energetic, not a fearless fighter and, on the other hand, he suffered from a fatal evolutionary malady, which lead to decalcification, known as the "glass bone illness".
The cripple god. Could be called Tutankhamun a king? A young man aching hopelessly – a poor cripple, a burden for his Kingdom, an object of reluctance for himself? Could be called king a forceless, a wreck, a remnant of man? Could be called king the one who would shake with emotions when he had to take a decision, one who at merely 19 years old did not have the force necessary to bend an elementary bow, instead of being vivacious like a squirrel, burning with desire of living intensely would fall prey to the fiercest suffering? Could you call a king a man who instead of dominating and controlling thousands of people with an exuberant energy, strength of character and determination, was always helped by someone to keep his balance?
Always leaning on a rood in order to stand upright, or not to tire, such a man can only be dominated by a powerful feeling of pessimism, can only be timorous and haunted by a strong feeling of inferiority, under no circumstance, he could not be penetrated by a powerful sense of duty.
The unfinished work of a leader is the attempt to dominate a world from which he remains literally exiled and whose common space will no longer occur when the moment of assuming his own image will come to him. It can be compared to a physicist’s attempt to control gravity by defying the laws of physics.
How can a thing devoid of any value determine the value of another? Well, many of those who choose the hard path of leadership, in terms of an integrating vision and a specific attitude, often proposing a new model to go forward, just focus on inner development, but not to their weaknesses due to lack of predictability. These weaknesses are manifested mainly to themselves, in those moments that make them vulnerable to external contexts, generating anxiety, causing others to doubt the solidity of their leadership.
Leadership is the move you make on the chessboard of world, analyzing the usefulness of what you convey, which can often be interpreted in absolute terms as being "against you". The side of leadership that is formed, modeled and practiced on the chessboard of life, includes "the pawn" and the fields it has to cross to the transformation line, meaning to the status of "king". For the king not to be in check, he must have only sequels to bring him in material or positional advantage.
This transition from a good performer to an excellent leader will seem very difficult and stressful, but worse than that, even quite disturbing, you will experience the transition from a state of reference, of high spirits, to a state of panic, especially considering that how your supporters will perform on the chessboard of their success will define their future.
The terrible illness was fatal to him. While he was going down to the audience room, for an unseen and mysterious reason, Tutankhamun's stick slipped on the stairs, and he lost his balance, falling down the abrupt stairs. His head hit the edge of the column's pedestal. He died on the spot, without getting to say his last prayer.
The one who is meant to have a "body of clay" , not one of "light" , can never become a complete leader, just like the fluff of a dandelion cannot withstand a strong pale of wind. The dream can never be experienced fully by the man who is not born with inclinations for the great challenges of life.
You cannot trigger a man like this, and he cannot be better miraculously. Such a man cannot be put to sleep, and as soon as he enters a state of trance, in his hypnotic sleep, with his eyes closed, he may guess his illness and, still in his sleep, to order the proper medicine.
There is no medicine for the one who, with body and soul, have not been meant to become a leader. In order to be a leader, you must have both physical abilities, as well as native vocation. For the one he who lacks both of these characteristics, all he has left is to say a prayer or to take another road than that of the leadership.
Conclusion: The old proverb "the right person at the right place" is valid nowadays, as well. A leader must have the physical and mental force necessary to fulfill his destiny. Of course, some people seem to be born as leaders, seems as if their leadership abilities have been written in their DNA code, but, for most people, these abilities are the fruit of an endless work. However, to promote an unsuitable man to the position of a leader is a big mistake, which will end in a great failure.
Are you building your future on an illusion? Are you always relying on someone to make your leadership burden easier? Are you always using the resources of others to solve the problems which are of your responsibility?
Are you basing your desires on some erroneous beliefs? Evaluate well your qualities and limitations, before raising your leadership on some false pedestals. Remember that you cannot do anything durable on a fragile structure.
* Note: Gerald Messadie - Mastile lui Tutankhamon, Publishing House Nemira, 2009.
Why read this book? Because it is critical to optimizing your performance. Because it reveals the main coordinates after that are build the character and skills of the leaders, highlighting what it is important for them to increase their influence.
The essential characteristic of this book in comparison with others on the market in the same domain is that it describes through examples the ideal competences of a leader. I never claimed that it's easy to become a good leader, but if people will...
For some leaders, "leading" resembles more to a chess game, a game of cleverness and perspicacity; for others it means a game of chance, a game they think they can win every time risking and betting everything on a single card.
I wrote this book that conjoins in a simple way personal development with leadership, just like a puzzle, where you have to match all the given pieces in order to recompose the general image.
The aim of this book is to offer you information through concrete examples and to show you how to obtain the capacity to make others see things from the same angle as you.
Without considering it a concord, the book is representing the try of an ordinary man - the author - who through simple words, facts and usual examples instills to the ordinary man courage and optimism in his own quest to be his own master and who knows... maybe even a leader.
