Leadership is about many things, but ultimately about the development of YOUR character and wisdom. You will encounter very many different kinds of people as you journey through life and they will influence you in some way. You will be influenced by the very many different situations you experience, each requiring you to make judgements and to learn their inherent lesson(s). Your values and beliefs will steer those judgements into action.
The development of your character and wisdom will be shaped by the meaning you take from the people you encounter, from the situations you experience, from the actions you take and from the responses you receive.
Your expectations are critically important in all of this. How do you know what to expect? The set of expectations you develop while on your journey are critical to facilitating the development of your character and wisdom.
So what do you expect and how will you respond when your expectations are not met? These are not idle questions. When you experience the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune", how will you respond? How strong is your character? Others will say and do what they will, but what will be your contribution to the good of others and to society? Are you prepared to spend your lifetime to fully develop your character?
The following think piece has been around for some time and its author is unknown. Hopefully, you will find its message worthy of considerable reflection. Its message has to do with the development of YOUR character and wisdom, regardless of the actions of others. It's about leadership.
People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, you may be seen as vulnerable and people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.
People really do need help but they may attack you if you help them;
Help them anyway.
The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest people with the smallest minds;
Think big anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your being true to your own value system;
It was never between you and them anyway.
Caution...here is the non-politically correct version of the final phrase:
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.
A final word
Your actions reveal the developmental level of your growth in wisdom. Your actions define your character. There is no escaping from your personal responsibility in all of this. You decide. Observing yourself grow in wisdom and strength of character may well be the greatest adventure you will experience in your lifetime! Godspeed.