on leadership:

I think of a camp leader taking us on a hike … she would walk behind us, so that she could keep an eye on us.  We couldn’t see her, but we always knew that she was there keeping us safe and moving ahead.  Leading from behind – camp style.

I think of people going into a very dangerous place, maybe a cave.  The head spelunker (cave explorer) goes in first.  He knows caves well, he’s the expert.  He knows where to go, where not to go.  He leads the way but he can’t see anybody else.  They’re all behind him.  But he knows they are watching and following him.  He knows this, because otherwise, they’d have no clue where to go.

One big difference between the camp leader and the cave leader: when you are at camp, you have no choices – you must go on the hike.  There is no escape.  Your parents dropped you off, this is where you live for two weeks.  There is nowhere else for you to go.  Good thing it’s so much fun.  So when you go on a hike, one of the reasons the camp leader is behind everyone is to keep us all in line.  Anybody steps out of line off the trail, she’ll be there with a holler:  “Hey you!  Back in line!  There’s poison ivy around here.”

You can’t see the camp leader behind you on the hike.  But she can see you.  And that’s the whole point of her walking behind.  Nobody gets lost, nobody gets hurt, without her seeing it.  You can’t watch her without walking backwards, or by being the goody-two-shoes who wants to hang back and walk beside the leader.

The cave leader, on the other hand, doesn’t need to watch everyone.  Participation is voluntary.  You can leave at any time if you want to.  Nobody else cares if you come or go.  Your parents didn’t drop you off, you ARE a parent this time.  Rather than keeping a bunch of pre-teens in line, this leader is dealing with adults.  These adult cave explorers need to pay attention to the leader, or else they might die or get hurt.  Knowing how important it is that people are paying attention, the cave leader just relaxes and does his thing, knowing everyone’s right behind him.  And if they aren’t right behind him, well, that’s their problem, not his.

And now we come to the false pseudo-leader who never lasts very long.  This type of person isn’t leading from behind, quietly watching his flock and making sure that nobody steps out of line, letting them go their own way as long as they are safe.  He isn’t leading from the front, bravely going forth into dangerous territory, looking ahead and trusting that his followers are behind him.

No, the pseudo-leader doesn’t fall into either of these categories.  Here’s what he does – he leads by walking in the front, but looking behind him.  He’s walking backwards and that’s never a safe or wise thing to do.

Why does the pseudo-leader walk backwards?  There are many reasons for that.  Take a dictator hated by his people, for example – he can’t afford to just forge ahead, trusting his people are behind him.  They don’t want him!  They will never follow him willingly.  They’ll have to be forced.  They’ll have to be punished.  They must be watched very closely.  This type of leader is always worried about being stabbed in the back by those behind him.  He must keep a careful look-out.

Of course, it’s difficult to walk backwards, so often people are recruited to keep the backward lookout so that the “leader” can at least try to look forward.  But it’s no good, he doesn’t even trust those whom he’s recruited.  The dictator, in removing choice from people, has ensured that nobody can be trusted.  People hate having their choices removed.  They resent it.  This is across the board.  And the pseudo-leader knows all of this very well.  He didn’t rise to his position by being stupid!  He’s a very bright guy.  He knows that people are pissed off at him.  He knows that even his closest allies could turn against him at any moment.

So no matter how hard he tries, it’s impossible to do anything but walk backwards.  That’s dangerous.  You can’t look out for what’s ahead while looking behind you.  Always worried about a new recruit taking over his position of authority, the dictator constantly glaces over his shoulder.  That could make you stumble.  There might be rough terrain ahead and this type of leader isn’t equipped to handle that, busy as he is looking behind him all the time.

So, you ask, why doesn’t the pseudo-leader lead from behind then, like the camp counsellor?   This would make sense.  Keep an eye on the troops, make sure nobody gets out of line, keep everybody safe.  He’d “have their back”, literally, and they’d appreciate him for it.  And looking ahead at his troops as they roll by the countryside, he could also see what’s ahead of all of them.  He could look long and far ahead, if he wanted to, while bringing up the rear.

Trouble is, the dictator never wants to bring up the rear.  If he did that, nobody could see him.  Nobody could worship him.  If somebody else came upon the group, nobody would realize that it’s HIM, he’s the leader, if he’s way back there.  My God!  Great Scott!  Somebody near the front of the line could even be taken as leader, heaven forbid that.  Or should I say, hell forbid it.  No, he’s got to be the person most visible.  He must be the person seen as leading the pack.  Leading from the rear while facing forward?  Impossible!  This would be “misleading” everybody.  We can’t have that!  We must be true and we know who the “leader” is, and that person must be front and center!

While looking over his shoulder and gazing behind him, stumbling along, crashing into obstacles … he walks in the lead.  And because he’s always looking back, he almost leads his troops right into disaster.  He’s got some protections, some armour, stuff that he’s made which keeps his dick safe even though he can’t always see what’s ahead.  He built up a stronghouse for his dick, because that’s pretty vulnerable, hanging out there while he walks forwards with his head swivelled behind him.  But he doesn’t share this dick armor with anybody else.  If their dicks get hurt, that’s too bad for them – “leader’s” perogative.

Well after meditating on leadership today (my method of “meditation” is to just let my ideas flow forward and write them down, it’s a very active form of “mind emptying”, one that I prefer to all others), I have decided that the best type of real leader is one who combines the best qualities and actions of BOTH the camp counsellor and the spelunker.  When you’re traversing easy territory, take it easy and hang back.  Let everybody do their thing.  If somebody’s about to get into serious trouble, maybe step up and make gentle suggestions, but always leave it all up to them.  Always leave everybody with ALL of their choices intact.  Encourage them to choose but don’t dictate their choice.

And then sometimes, it might get tricky.  If you as leader are asked to take the lead, going into a dark cave of mystery where the path is inivisble to all – even you – then there’s nothing wrong with stepping up.  But don’t look behind you.  Trust your own leadership.  Trust yourself and trust people not to stab you in the back.  Don’t worry about it, and try to enjoy the trip.

As spelunker leading the way into a dark cave, what’s the worst that can happen?  They all paid their money to come along, they’re all making their choices.  They might go off on their own, and that’s their own risk.  Nobody is in chains, they are free to go.  They’ll probably follow you, since you are the expert on caves in this instance.  But if they don’t, what’s the harm?

The worst that can happen is that you end up having the cave all to yourself, everybody else gone.  Is that so bad?  Caves are cool.  Being solitary can be wonderful on occasion.   Too much solitude isn’t any good either, but once in a while won’t hurt.  Enjoy the alone-time.  And, they’ll come back.  They’ll probably get lost and they’ll come on back, rejoin you, having exercised all of their choices themselves.  If the people come back to you as spelunker then you know you’re a kick-ass spelunker, one of the best – people seek you out.  That’s an honourable place to be.

No need to look behind you, no need to glance over your shoulder, causing you to stumble and fall.  Forge ahead, sometimes hang back and let others lead, always step up when you are asked, never force yourself on others.

And most of all, as a leader, never, ever remove choice from another person.  This is not your right.  Everybody has free will.  Always remember that.