Neculai Fantanaru
Everything Depends On The Leader
Everything Depends On The Leader
And this time I will start by saying a few words about famous Romanian actor Puiu Călinescu, considered by many film critics as one of the most talented actors in the world. On the TV show “Profesioniştii”, the director of the show, Eugenia Vodă, asked the old great actor:
- An actor such as yourself has to be very wealthy, that’s what viewers would think. But I saw how modest you live. Why? Were you a big spender, or have you not managed to save money?
And Puiu Călinescu answered:
- There are some who have money in their blood. It’s a disease. To have money. I’m going the other way around. All I want is for God to help me be loved by the people. I love Him.
You can have little, and still be a great man. Your success as a leader is only guaranteed if the influence you exert on others adds to the image of your leadership. And my opinion is that the actor Puiu Călinescu wanted to express a great truth: “Fullness is hidden in emptiness”. I mean, you don’t have to be rich to be someone. You can have little, and still be a great man.
This is one of the jewels of leadership that aligns the practices, values, and principles that guide virtuous people. This principle allows us to make wise decisions, to become more confident in ourselves, to think clearly, to judge more clearly the implications of our actions, to give an account of what we do, and to set out on the right path.
Another very important thing that transpires from the words of the great actor is that each of us must travel to self-discovery, to fulfill as well as possible the eternal purpose of art to understand ourselves, to manage our own existence as well as possible, and to transform into perfect beings without losing sight of the ideal of values we carry in our souls. Our journey to self-rediscovery can be very fruitful in terms of the quality of our own existence, being unanimously recognized by others as having the power to arouse self-interest, to awaken faith.
It is said that he who masters the meaning of a man’s life is the master of his soul. Or, in other words, find out what the leader wants, find out what his feelings and emotions are, and you will have a great influence on his life, on his conscience, on his leadership. And the most important values of the leader are: compassion, empathy, self-acceptance, forgiveness, spirituality, inner peace, understanding.
Many “artists” of leadership, especially those who started the change in time and facilitated the development of their own existence, gradually turning into perfect people (by virtue, by ideals, by personal example, instilling in people around the same mood ) first of all, they imagined the path they will take in life, in their career. They have thought of their own development as leaders, realizing that proper leadership is not just about advancing oneself, but about maximizing the value of those around them through their own special qualities.
Because, after all, the life of a perfect leader shows a sum of positive qualities which he proved to possess fully, qualities which he knew how to capitalize on highlight at the right time.
How do you maximize the value of those around you? How do you value your qualities? Do people follow you in terms of what you do for them? Are they following you for what you are and what you represent? How can your leadership gain extra “vitamins”?
There always comes a time when all leaders end up asking all sorts of questions about the soul, the human spirit, and spirituality. This usually happens towards the end of their career, when they can no longer advance in positions. Only then do they each outline clear steps by which they begin to express their deepest feelings without fear, without detours. This adds extra “vitamins” to their existence. These vitamins are nothing more than a source of principles, values and beliefs that can contribute to the formation and maintenance of a healthy mental attitude.
Just as all the burning processes in the human body consume oxygen, so do all the processes that ensure the evolution of your leadership consume some of your moods, feelings, emotions, and much of your “vitamin” supply – just to be able to give a better quality and stability of your own existence.
Hidden in emptiness is the full design of the agreement between you and your leadership, between your values and the values of others. When you develop your self, which in turn feeds on people’s attention, their positive or negative emotions, their happiness or unhappiness – you also deepen your leadership. As you learn to use people’s emotions as a springboard to accomplish great things, you will be able to help them develop a coherent system of goals that will bring good into your life. And at the same time, you will be able to strengthen and capitalize on your relational potential (which must be in line with your leadership principles and obligations).
As in any other field, in leadership professionalism is the “fullness” which is not always accompanied by material wealth. Based on competencies, abilities and behavior, it is completed over time and depends on the value system that each of us has formed under the influence of education and self-education. The free will in us has decided and decides where we are going and how to feed our professionalism. If we want to feel that we have not lived in vain, then we will feed the “fullness” sometimes hidden in the material “emptiness” of our existence, on which our physical survival depends.
In most cases, the “fulness” of professionalism fills the material “emptiness”. But there are always situations to the contrary.
Can you ensure the stability of your own existence? How? What is the scale of the values you value in your life? Is your leadership evolving because of the values you adopt and promote? Is your influence given by the specific responsibilities of your position, or is it due to the hierarchical level you hold?
Leadership highlights the possibility of being part of an experience that positively influences other people’s road to success, noting that what they will discover at the end of the road is the very ability to give up for the greater good of another.
Fullness Is Hidden In Emptiness if you realize that your abilities depend entirely on the ability to control your emotions and to act rationally, regardless of the situation. Someone, but I don’t remember who, said that life is not only measured by the number of years lived, but rather by the deep involvement of the individual in a spiritual, emotional and moral aspect.
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.
