"If the test of a man is how he handles hardship, the test of a leader must be how he carries his people through hardship. The darkest periods in human history are the times when the greatest leaders have emerged because those were the times they were needed most. If a mortal man was the symbol of hope, the last strand people held on to when everything else was coloured in despair, it’s a fair bet he was a great leader. To inspire a single person to persevere for a cause when there is no hope to keep him going, to be the sheer force behind someone else’s strength is a hall mark of great leadership. Multiply a single person by nations and extrapolate from there and we might get a measure of greatness.
If only it were that simple…
Great leadership stems from great visions. Here lies the difficulty: the difference between the perceived diabolical politicians and the admired freedom fighters. Everyone can eventually agree on the beauty of humane visions like freedom and equality for all. Not many opinions are unanimous on the virtue of a vision that benefits one nation at the expense of others. But does that diminish the value of the leadership that achieved it?
There is another much repeated debate with an ever elusive answer: does the end justify the means? Effective leadership is a vision accompanied by effective methods. The controversy lies on the limits we draw, when ‘effective’ borderlines ‘immoral’. When is violence the answer? How much sacrifice in the form of human life is a cause worth? What determines that?"
If only it were that simple…
Great leadership stems from great visions. Here lies the difficulty: the difference between the perceived diabolical politicians and the admired freedom fighters. Everyone can eventually agree on the beauty of humane visions like freedom and equality for all. Not many opinions are unanimous on the virtue of a vision that benefits one nation at the expense of others. But does that diminish the value of the leadership that achieved it?
There is another much repeated debate with an ever elusive answer: does the end justify the means? Effective leadership is a vision accompanied by effective methods. The controversy lies on the limits we draw, when ‘effective’ borderlines ‘immoral’. When is violence the answer? How much sacrifice in the form of human life is a cause worth? What determines that?"
Nasim Mirzajani - From her response to the fourth task. Read the full essay here.