1 June 2006

An occupational hazard of my work is that I am frequently asked who is the Greatest Leader Who Ever Lived.  I tend to sidestep that question, but I can tell you that among my Top Ten list would be Dag Hammarskjold, the second Secretary-General of the United Nations.
'Remember that your position does not give you the right to command', Hammarskjold wrote to himself one night in his note book, as he sat alone in his flat.  'It only lays upon you the duty of so living your life that others may receive your orders without being humiliated.'   A great thought for all leaders, but did it manifest itself in his life?
A former British Foreign Secretary, Lord Hurd, recalls in his Memoirs the impact Hammarskjold made upon him as a young diplomat at the United Nations.  He had 'a personal dignity which required no buttressing with pomp and protocol.  No trumpets sounded when the Secretary-General entered a room;  there was no swarm of acolytes around him.  Yet, despite his simplicity, he was a grander, more authoritative figure than any of his successors.  When he talked you knew you were in the presence of an exceptional, perhaps a great, human being.'

Quotable Quotes
As you are, so will be the leaders that lead you.
Arab proverb

The mediocre teacher tells.  The good teacher explains.  The superior teacher demonstrates.  The  great teacher inspires.
William Arthur Ward

 It is the province of knowledge to speak, and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen.
Oliver Wendell Holmes