One of the most famous stories about Mahatma Ghandi concerns a mother who approached him with an unusual request. Wanting to address her daughter’s eating habits, she asked, “Would you tell my little girl to stop eating so much candy. She’s consuming far too much sugar.”
As a diabetic, I can appreciate her request. If I was Ghandi I probably would have responded with some gentle advice for the girl or asked her father to handle it. Another option would be to give the mother some tips she could use. But Ghandi took a different approach.
It is said that after a brief time of contemplation, he told the concerned mom to “come back in two weeks.”
It was a confusing response and I’m sure the mother walked away disappointed and perplexed. But undaunted, she returned in two weeks and made the same request.
This time Ghandi did advise the young girl to stop eating so much sugar. Now perplexed even further, the mother asked Ghandi what was different this time than two weeks ago.
Ghandi said, “Because two weeks ago, I ate too much sugar.”
Ghandi knew he had no credibility to make the request of the young girl because he struggled with the same issue.
This is wonderful story illustrates several fundamental leadership principles:
- Leaders must lead by example.
- Leaders go first.
- Leadership is a picture of the desired destination at which others should wish to arrive.
- Authenticity requires you walk the walk before you talk the talk.
- Leaders should never ask anyone to do anything they are unwilling to first do themselves.
What Ghandi also teaches us is you can’t lead anyone unless you can first lead yourself. Self-leadership gives you the trust required to lead others. It gives you the “street cred” needed to ask people to follow you.
Experienced leaders know the hardest person to lead is yourself.
What self-leadership issues are you currently dealing with which may be hurting your credibility to lead others?
The Top 60 Leadership Quotes From 2021 Part 1 is my latest ebook. For many entering a post-pandemic environment, leadership looks completely different than the pre-pandemic world. People are more broken now. They are more uncertain. Fear and anxiousness are unwelcome constant companions. Cultures are more unhealthy. Relationships are more dysfunctional. Hope seems to be in short supply. Every day seems to bring a new hacking, natural disaster, or unexpected calamity.
Therefore, the fundamentals of leadership are more important than ever. The quotes in this book deal with the basics of leadership. If you want to be the best leader you can possibly be, click HERE or on the image provided to download this FREE resource. The lessons learned from last year, if applied, will sustain you for years to come.