Day Six: Leaving a Legacy Good afternoon. We’re about to wrap up this Wood Badge course and conclude our six-day study of leadership. Burt there is one thing left that we want to share with you: “The Greatest Leadership Secret.” There are six clues ….

Clue 1: It’s a Palindrome - Sort Of Who knows what a palindrome is? … A palindrome is a word, phrase, line, or verse that reads the same backward as it does forward. For instance, the word EYE. That’s a palindrome. Can you think of others? How about these? …

GO HANG A SALAMI, I’M A LASAGNA HOG Palindromes MADAM MADAM, I’M ADAM RACECAR SENILE FELINES GO HANG A SALAMI, I’M A LASAGNA HOG an amusing clue, perhaps The greatest leadership secret is something understood from either direction. second clue ….

Clue 2: Lead From the Inside Out If you’ve seen this demonstration before, bear with me. Here’s a gallon jar … add bolders. Ask participants: Is the jar full? (Let the participants answer. The likely answer is “yes.”) Really? Now I add gravel to the jar and given it a good shake. Is the jar full? (Let the participants answer. The likely answer is “probably not.”) Good answer. What if I had added sand until it came up to the top of the jar? Is the jar full? (Let the participants answer. They will probably say “no.”)Now you are getting the hang of it. What if I were to take a pitcher of water and pour water in until it ran out of the jar? Now, is the jar full? OK, what is the point of this exercise? And what is the clue here about the Greatest Leadership Secret? (Let the participants answer. Possible answers might be: “No matter how full you are, you can always eat a little more.” “No matter how full your schedule, you can always do more.”) Those are all good thoughts, but they’re not my point. What this exercise teaches us is that if you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all. What are the big rocks in your life? Food? Security? Good health? Time with your loved ones? Your faith? Education? Your dreams? The best leaders lead from the inside out. Lead yourself first before you lead others. Accept responsibility for your own growth and progress—your own rocks—and take care of them first. Realize, too, that after you have taken care of your big rocks, there will still be room for more. There will still be space in your life for you to lead and serve others. And you’ll be better at leading others because you’ve practiced leading yourself first. Third clue …

Clue 3: Great Leaders are Great Teachers. You’ve experienced some profound teachers in your life, and not all of them in a classroom. I’d like to illustrate this with several video clips. The first is of a leader-teacher in his very first day on the job. And as you’ll see, he hasn’t yet developed greatness.

Video Presentation 1996’s Mr Holland’s Opus

Great leaders are great teachers Great leaders are great teachers. Unlike this guy, they develop their people. Great leaders develop other leaders—leaders who can lead themselves. The ultimate test for a leader is not whether he or she can make smart decisions, but whether he or she can teach others to be leaders. It’s whether that person can build an organization that succeeds when the original leader is not around. A key ability of a great Scout leader is to create an atmosphere in which young people can learn to lead their own Scout units. Good leaders help others learn to think, to judge, to act, and to motivate. If you are not teaching while you are leading, you are not doing your whole job as a leader. There are a couple of other dimensions to this that are important to talk about as well. • Great leaders are great students, too. They realize that learning is a lifelong process. They never stop learning—they have a passion for it. • Great leaders learn from what they do. They assess, analyze, try new things. Through lifelong learning, they continually grow and improve. Business sometimes refers to this process of lifelong learning as “continuous quality improvement” or “total quality management.” Use whatever works for you, but know that with continuous, careful analysis, everything can always be improved, just about everything we can do, individually or as a team, we can learn to do better.

Video Presentation Let’s take another look at our teacher to see if he has done any assessment and improved himself as a teacher.

Great Leaders are Great Teachers Fourth clue….

Clue 4: Build Heart Connections What I want to focus on now has to do with communication, with caring for and about others. I want to talk about respecting and valuing people—even the ones with whom we disagree. Building heart connections is about communicating genuine care and respect for our fellow human beings—those we lead and those we don’t. It’s about reaching out and touching people, connecting with them at a very simple human level. Respect, like love, has value only when it is given freely and is genuine. People can see through counterfeit respect, caring, and love. You may have noticed in the film clips from Mr. Holland’s opus that Mr. Holland’s son is deaf. Look for the use of American Sign Language in some of the scenes. Do you know the ASL sign for management? It’s this. (Make a gesture as if you were holding the reins of a horse.) That’s a fairly controlling image, if you think about it. Now, how about the ASL sign for leadership? Any ideas? It’s this. (Make this gesture: one hand pulls the other forward, guides the other.) That’s a very nurturing, caring image, isn’t it? (Now slowly extend your arms outward to the audience.) This is not part of the ASL sign for leadership, but it does help demonstrate what great leaders do in addition to caring and nurturing—they get out of the way. Think of how a parent holds a child, cares for that child, and nurtures that child. But at some point, to be good parents, we must also let go. We need to get out of the way and allow our children to succeed on their own. It’s the same way with leadership. We nurture, we encourage, we care for others. Build heart connections. Lead by caring for others and developing genuine respect for them. This by the way, is hard work sometimes. Oftentimes, I have to remind myself of the 5th clue ….

Clue 5: It’s in Every One of Us Once we’ve taken charge of our own life, we’ll be empowered to lead others. I accept responsibility for my own growth and progress; and so do you. What’s inside you is universal. As you give yourself the direction and support you need, turn outward and begin empowering those you lead. Empower everyone you can. Authority is 20 percent given and 80 percent taken. Free those you lead to realize and utilize their own abilities. Help them develop self-confidence. All people have untapped leadership potential, just as all people have untapped athletic ability. With coaching and practice, they can all get much better at it. It’s in every one of us. As a leader you must find it in yourself, and you must help other people find it in themselves. The most effective leaders empower themselves and others, bringing out the best in everyone.

Video Presentation

Speaking for myself a Quaker, I believe there is that of God in everyone. There’s one last clue I want to give you as you figure out The Greatest Leadership Secret …

Clue 6: Leave a legacy To get a sense of what this means to leadership, let’s check in again on Mr. Holland. Recall that the first time we met him he said something about having to drive his Corvair until the wheels fell off. Well, the wheels have fallen off. Twenty-five years have passed since last we saw him. He’s been laid off, his position eliminated. He is retiring before his time, and seriously questions whether his contributions have had worth

Video Presentation

After: The great thing about leadership is that it can be studied and practiced. We can all get better. We can all win at this game of life, and we can all leave legacies that bring us satisfaction and pride. What will your legacy be? What impact will you have upon others? How will you bring leadership to Scouting and to America?

On Leading Lead from the inside out. Great leaders are great teachers. Build heart connections. It’s in every one of us. Leave a legacy. This is what we know. So, what is the Best Leadership Secret? …

The Greatest Leadership Secret “What you do not want done to yourself, do not do unto others.” Confucius, 551 479 B.C. “What you hate, do not do to anyone.” Judaism “Hurt not others that which pains thyself.” Buddhism “The real way to get happiness is by giving out happiness to other people.” Baden-Powell, “the founder’s last message” The Greatest Leadership Secret is infused through human history, its message worded a little differently by different traditions. You know it …

The Greatest Leadership Secret “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The Golden Rule This is all you need to know. And, you already knew it. Do you see how it’s a Palindrome, sort of? This “secret” presents us with the challenge of our lifetime. I’m guaranteed to be enriched as “Do my best” … No more is asked of me. And no less.

The Golden Rule “The Golden Rule is of no use to you whatever unless you realize it is your move.” Dr. Frank Crane, American clergyman and journalist, 1861–1928 Have you had a kindness shown? Pass it on! Twas not given for thee alone, pass it on! Let it travel down the years, let it wipe another’s tears, til in heaven the deed appears. Henry Burton

All of you have what it takes to be great leaders. All of you will find opportunities to change lives and build our youth leaders. They are your Legacy. Each of you can leave a legacy, but none of that will happen unless you take action. What will your legacy be? It’s your move.