J3: Leadership

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The Jampacked Bible welcomes the child psychologist and science fiction reader, Dr Abram Sterne, who writes about the difficulties of being a leader.

Introduction

It is difficult to clearly define what makes a good leader. Obviously, the time, place and situation are important factors which propel improbable characters to become the heroes and leaders of the moment. But is there more than luck and circumstance that creates the leaders that we all seem to need? It is possible that the gift and curse of being a leader lies in our genes and our life experiences.

The Wiggin family

"Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card, is a powerful story about the search for a leader to save the human race of a different planet. On this over-populated world, couples are only allowed to have two children. The first two children of the Wiggin parents are perfect in body and intelligence, but their spirit would not make them good leaders. So the government sanctions a third child in the Wiggin family, and his name is Ender. He fits the genetic criteria to be a great leader but is untrained, and so the authorities take him away from his family to learn to be someone that might save humanity.

The story is about the creation of a leader - with a training programme designed for the inherited talents of a five year-old boy - Ender Wiggin. The training is specific to him and would not work for any other person. It is not the training itself that creates the leader - for he was born with the necessary traits and abilities - rather these are only enhanced by the training. Is it possible to become a leader that people see, follow and emulate, by being trained for it? What is the relationship between being born with leadership qualities and being given leadership training?

Leadership training

Think about teachers as an example that we all experience. Teachers are often called upon by governments, parents and children to be role models and leaders. Yet, although anyone can go on a teacher training course and learn to communicate with and control children, only some are able to teach beyond a syllabus or national curriculum. What makes these few teachers so special and different that we remember them for all our lives? They are different because they have a special 'gift' for teaching, and an empathy for the children they teach. Such things cannot be learned at even the best teacher's training course.

And why are there so few wonderful teachers like the Robin Williams character in the film Dead Poet's Society? Such passion and empathy often comes from painful life experiences through which a person can come to care about others. But that's a difficult price to pay for becoming a good teacher. To often, caring can cost.

Lonely leaders

And Ender Wiggin? What does the book say about the talents needed by this child to become a leader? The focus of the training programme for Ender was to make him totally alone, forcing him to be self-sufficient, and depending on no-one. This separation made him especially aware of other people's needs and desires. With this knowledge Ender was able to command his troops in such way that they loved his leadership. Ender had an empathy and sensitivity to other people, and understand others with great patience. These then might be the things that create leadership - they cannot be taught, but are the results of life experiences and being born with certain inherent qualities.

Such is the nature of leadership: it requires one to stand alone and aloof from the pack. To be isolated, different, better than the rest, and to command respect is what makes a leader. To do this means to sacrifice casual friendships and acquaintances. And this we can see with our biblical heroes: Moses, David, Solomon and the Prophets. These biblical leaders lived lonely lives. Many of them were shepherds in occupation and personality.

Moses under the microscope

Take Moses as an example. We learn so much about loneliness from his biography. He is separated from his people from birth. He grows up in a strange household and he knows that he does not belong. When he tries to stop his Jewish brethren from fighting, they alienate him and he runs away. He is without a friend and finds an occupation where he can be on his own. It is at this moment that God appears to him and asks him to lead the Jewish people. Only when Moses had faced so much loneliness was he truly ready to lead.

There seems to be a sense of tragedy inherent in all leaders. This is the paradox of leadership. To be a great leader means to have endured great pain.

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