Who are we leading FOR?

 I do a lot of reading on leadership, management, and motivation (and HIGHLY encourage you to do the same). The current book I'm reading is Simon Sinek's "Leaders Eat Last". This week's tip comes from this book.

Remember the ancient Spartans? (From the movie, "The 300", about the Battle of Thermopylae?) The Spartans were the special forces of their day. If a Spartan soldier lost his shield he would be severely punished. He could lose his helmet or breastplate and no one cared. But lose that shield and he would be stripped of his Spartan citizenship. Why?

The reason is that the Spartans viewed the helmet and breastplate as providing personal protection. The shield? The shield was viewed as protection for the entire line. Remember the scenes in the movie where they locked their shields together to form the phalanx? Lose one shield and now there's a weak link in the line.

If you were able to ask a Spartan soldier why they fought, I doubt they'd tell you that it was for a political party, or some abstract idea like "God and country". I'd be willing to bet that they'd tell you they fought for the guys on the left and right of them. They were committed to, and felt a responsibility for, their fellow soldiers.

It's the same principle in Toastmasters. Granted, the stakes aren't QUITE as high as facing down 100,000 angry Persians, but NONE of us is going to be successful without our fellow members on each side of us. For us ALL to be successful, we need to be committed to, and feel responsible for, our fellow members.

I know that because we're so geographically spread out that it can feel like you're on an island sometimes.. But rest assured you are a vital part of the District team. You, as a club President, won't be successful without the help of your fellow officers and members. The Area Directors won't be successful unless their clubs are successful. And on and on it goes.

The District isn't going to be a success because I, Linda, or Mark are super, fantastic leaders. We'll be successful because we ALL buy into the vision. We'll be successful because we all BELIEVE that we CAN be successful. We'll be successful because we ALL feel committed to, and responsible for, each other's success!

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