Leadership In The Gates Of Fire
He was tearing up! I hadn’t signed up for this type of seminar. This was not some new age self-actualization guru speaking to us. This guy was a Navy SEAL!
You could hear the words get caught in his throat and see his eyes fill as he read to the audience. Everyone in the audience listened intently to the words he read as his emotions took over. This guy was a Navy SEAL!
This was the final speaker at the Chick Fil A Leadercast in May. He was closing the conference for speakers like John Maxwell, Condeleezza Rice and Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski. This guy had a tear running down his cheek. But, I didn’t care. This guy was a Navy SEAL!
Leonidas, King of Sparta
Lieutenant Commander Rorke Denver’s talk was everything I expected from a man who led SEAL missions in Africa, the Middle East and other parts of the world. He spoke of character, honor and servant leadership.
What Is A King?
He didn’t waste words. I like that type of communicator. But when LCDR Denver pulled out a dog eared paperback and asked permission to read from it, I was confused.
I was confused right up until I heard the words he read. The one paragraph he read was a great summation of his talk. The book is Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield.
I will tell His Majesty what a king is. A king does not abide within his tent while his men bleed and die upon the field. A king does not dine while his men go hungry, nor sleep when they stand at watch upon the wall. A king does not command his men’s loyalty through fear nor purchase it with gold; he earns their love by the sweat of his own back and the pains he endures for their sake. That which comprises the harshest burden, a king lifts first and sets down last. A king does not require service of those he leads but provides it to them. He serves them, not they him.
Gates of Fire is a novel about the Battle of Thermopylae. The Spartans are the heroes of this novel and were immortalized on film in the movie 300.
What Is A Leader?
The lessons are timeless for all of us. When I reread the excerpt that LCDR Denver read I see key lessons in leadership exposed.
- A leader works with his people.
- A leader sacrifices with his people.
- A leader earns loyalty through working and sacrificing for them not through intimidation or rewards.
- A leader is the first to add to his workload and the last to lighten it.
- A leader serves the led, the led do not serve the leader.
That day, the Leadercast was broadcast from Atlanta to hundreds of sites across North America. During the lunch break, I was asked to speak live to the 600+ attendees at our location.
I spoke about how West Point Builds Leaders of Character. I had 15 minutes to speak. I took 18 minutes. I could have saved a lot of time if I had read this paragraph to the audience and walked off the stage.
The character of Leonidas, the Spartan King described in those few words would have been enough to make my point. Character is the bedrock of leadership.
The Bottom Line:
Gates of Fire is not a book everyone will like due to its course language and graphic battle scenes. I loved it. So will people who enjoy military history, historical novels or stories that inspire.
LCDR Rorke Denver inspired me to immediately order the book and read it cover to cover. When I finally got to the passage this man’s man teared up reading, I felt my eyes well up as well. Honor, Valor, Loyalty, and Courage oozed from the pages of Gates of Fire and affected me deeply.
This is the type of leader I want to be. This is type of man I want to be.
Question:
What stories (true or fictional) have you read that inspired you to be a better leader?
I too enjoyed the book and what an amazing passage. I am reminded of 2 additional military leaders who demonstrated what a leader should be by their actions.
1. Colonel Moore, portrayed by Mel Gibson in the movie We Were Soldiers, promised his men that his boot would be the first boot on the ground and last one off. The scene at the end of the movie as the helicopter takes off and his boot lifts off the ground is very moving. Your leadership lessons are nicely portrayed in this scene.
2. My understanding is that Lee did not eat better than his men. It is said that if he received special rations as gifts from admirers he was quick to send it to his men, particularly the wounded.
This is a very important post, I’ve had only one manager in my career that served before he was served and I would have done just about anything he asked of me.
It is too bad those leaders are so rare these days. But they leave an indelible impression. That is the type of leader I want to be.
I have not led troops in the face of enemy fire. I have led business unit in competitive proposal for billions of dollars and won. It is not the same, my deadlines are on paper the combat leader’s deadline is a real DEAD line. Ultimately, the people I have heard and respected tell me that faith and faith alone is the only solace for the leader under fire.