Are we, as women, needed as leaders?
Do you look for different traits in a leader based on where the leadership is taking place: church, political, business, community, family?
Charity: how do you show this as a leader, how do you gain this as a leader?
Why do we have to be lonely?
Link to the article: //speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=11131
Yes, women are needed as leaders! But, I would like to add that all of us, male and female, are needed as leaders. That is one thing that I have been hearing lately from the Prophet and Apostles. One thing I have noticed as I am out and about is how people seem to be looking for someone to follow and basically told how they should think about something, dress, etc. I sometimes think that it is a natural state for man (gender neutral) to naturally want to follow, be told what to do, and be part of the crowd. And at times, that is okay. However, as the world is becoming increasingly wicked, we need to stand up and say "I will not go down that path. I am choosing not to follow the herd."
ReplyDeleteI think we can become leaders without really wanting to. I like Star Trek a lot and I am reminded of one of the movies when the crew went back in time and to meet the ‘father of warp drive.’ There is one scene when the engineer tells the creator of warp drive “Here is where they will build the monument commemorating what you will do.” The guy finally had enough and said “The only reason I am doing this (creating the warp drive) is so I can retire rich somewhere warm.” I guess what I am trying to say is that we may not realize we are already being watched, and that we are already leaders.
As read my last comment to make sure it made sense, it occured to me about why being a leader is lonely: We have to stand apart from the group in order to lead and can be noticed.
ReplyDeleteThat is why it is nice getting together with like-minded people once in awhile because, if only for that moment, we are not standing alone. Then, we are just being part of the group.
Last week I was reading President Monsons Priesthood Session talk from last conference "Dare to Stand Alone". I would recommend reading it if you haven't already. Reading it reaffirmed to me how important it is for both me to be a leader and especially to teach my children how to be leaders and not be afraid to stand alone.
ReplyDelete"As we go about living from day to day, it is almost inevitable that our faith will be challenged. We may at times find ourselves surrounded by others and yet standing in the minority or even standing alone concerning what is acceptable and what is not. Do we have the moral courage to stand firm for our beliefs, even if by so doing we much stand alone? As holders of the priesthood of God" [I believe we can say the same for all of us]"it is ESSENTIAL that we are able to face - with courage - whatever challenges come our way."
So this is not just a good idea, but essential in these last days. President Monson tells of a story when he had to stand alone and said at that time he thought of the rhyme he had learned in primary:
Dare to be a Mormon;
Dare to stand alone.
Dare to have a purpose firm;
Dare to make it known.
I liked it and am excited to share it with my children. So hopefully in their time of need they will remember it, as the prophet did, and it will give them strength.
I think that at one point or another, leadership in any area of our lives (school, community, family, church) will feel lonely, and that there is not escaping that. I believe one of the reasons for this is the core of what a leader is: "one who goes first" (Webster 1828).
ReplyDeleteHowever, I agree with the comment made above that when we come together with like-minded leaders, there is power and strength drawn from their like-minded determination to do what they feel is right...simply because it is right.
I read the following quote this morning and thought it applied: "You can take courage as I do from the example of endurance given us by Moroni. He was alone in his ministry. He knew the end of life was near for him. And yet listen to what he wrote for the sake of people not yet born and the descendants of his mortal enemies: 'yea, come unto Christ and be perfected in him...then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ.'" (Elder Eyring, pg 70 Ensign Nov. 11)
I think great leadership is made by what we do in those moments that we feel alone, different, isolated...faced with choice.
-Do we continue on in the path we feel is right, leading in loneliness?
-Or do we look to the crowds, long for the comraderie of what we are missing, and balk?
This leads me to my next and final thought for now: when we are leading in the Lord's way (as outlined in D&C 121), I do not know that we are ever truly alone. It seems to me that we can always find the hand of God in our lives, if we look hard enough for Him. (Betsy and the fleas--"The Hiding Place"?)
I wonder if there is any place in the life of a righteous, willing servant-leader so dark, so lonely, He cannot be there if we seek Him. I think of Joseph Smith crying out from that jail in Missouri..."where art thou!" and the beautiful comfort given to him in D7C 122 as a response.
He stands by us and holds our hand in the darkness of faith, but I believe He is always there.
I think of Mother Theresa, when she felt that all traces of God had vanished from her life, but she remembered what strong confirmation that she had received about her mission before that point and knew it was right...and she kept moving forward with that mission.
I think of the passage in C.S. Lewis's "Screwtape Letters": (from the devil's perspective) "Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending to do our Enemy's will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys." pg 39
There have many times when I have felt lonely as a leader, and, looking back, there were people around me who might not have understood where I was mentally, but were physically there. Perhaps as leaders we tend to undervalue those around us who support us with love, even while not understanding the burden we are called to bear.
Anyway, just some rambling thoughts about the loneliness of leadership...thanks for giving me a venue :).
"The essence of leadership is the process of influencing volunteers to accomplish good things."
ReplyDelete-Timothy Clark