1 November 2006

'The secret of life is to have a task, something you devote your entire life to, something you bring everything to, every minute of your life', wrote the famous British sculptor Henry Moore. 'And', he added, 'the most important thing is, it must be something you cannot possibly do.'

Three thoughts come to me. First, it is vocational people who make the best leaders. Secondly, the challenge of making this world a better place is an endless one, it is always unfinished business. Thirdly, the very impossibility of the task induces humility.

As Ordway Tead wrote in The Art of Leadership (1935), 'the greatest leaders have been sustained by a belief that they were in some way instruments of destiny, that they tapped hidden reserves of power, that they truly lived as they tried to live in harmony with some greater, more universal purpose or intention in the world'.

Incidentally, I should welcome any contributions or relevant quotations for this 'Let's Talk About Leadership' page. Do let me know if you have a leadership pearl of wisdom that you would like to share with others.