Gladiator Level Leadership
Unreal test of character and strength.
Anyone can grow the leadership muscle…
How?
1. Core Values
Know what they are because when the tough time comes, you will need to make the right decisions through your values filter. Doing what is RIGHT is often very hard. Your values remind you of who you are and give you confidence.
“The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride.” – He could have been evacuated. But he is staying to lead his country. He knows who he is, and he knows WHY he fights – leaders must have core values and know their WHY especially when they are tested.
2. Emotional Intelligence: GROW THIS MUSCLE
Having a high level of EI is essential to leading. Reading a room, knowing how you feel, directing ‘how’ you speak and deliver a message. Leadership is authentic and often emotional.
From the Washington Post column:
“Then Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dialed into the meeting via teleconference with a bracing appeal that left some of the world-weary politicians with watery eyes. In just five minutes, Zelensky — speaking from the battlefield of Kyiv — pleaded with European leaders for an honest assessment of his country’s ambition to join the European Union and for genuine help in its fight with the Russian invaders. Ukraine needed its neighbors to step up with food, ammunition, fuel, sanctions, all of it.
“It was extremely, extremely emotional,” said a European official briefed on the call. “He was essentially saying, ‘Look, we are here dying for European ideals.’” Before ending the video call, Zelensky told the gathering matter-of-factly that it might be the last time they saw him alive, according to a senior European official who was present.”
Just that quickly, Zelensky’s personal appeal overwhelmed the resistance from European leaders to imposing measures that could drive the Russian economy into a state of near collapse. The result has been a rapid-fire series of developments boosting Ukraine’s fight to hold off the Russian military and shattering the limits on European assertiveness in national security affairs.
3. Consistency
Never underestimate the power of consistency. Consistent behavior, body language, tone of voice and message. This is where core values come to play.
“I’m here. We won’t lay down our arms. We will defend our state.”
4. Leadership is influence
This one man is influencing the world to stand up for what is right and true. Fighting and dying for European ideals. Now instead of fighting him, world leaders are supporting him. Top tier of leadership – influence. He is there.
All that to say, I stand with him and all the people of the Ukraine. May God give them the strength to defeat the enemy.