Religious narratives are redolent with stories of leadership, leaders, inspiring moments, and, of course, faith. Yet, despite my own personal observance and choice of practice, I have always found important and motivating lessons across the spectrum of beliefs and in the stories of all.
Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Native American: I have listened to and studied the chronicles, origin stories, and lesson fables of all, and found solace, hope, motivation, and sometimes just a good old warm smile.
On a snowy mountain top with a member of the Sioux Nation, each of us chanting our own liturgy but in amazing harmony; in the Grand Mosque in Dubai, hearing the call to prayer; in the Vatican with the pope, discussing the effects of social media; in a church in Harlem, lost in the rhythm of the moment; or in a temple in Bangkok, letting my mind go to the silent sound of my personal mantra.
Each occasion was special, and made more so by my friends and guides who were with me and the thoughts they shared before and after. Each experience added to my understanding of the world. My tolerance. And yes, humility, as I realized just how much connects us and how little actually separates.
Humility is a key leadership trait, as I have written about many times, and arrogance is the great separator between real leaders and mere power trippers. The “l” that begins the word leader says it all.
L – Learn: Leaders are always learning. They are always open to all. Their humility is rooted in knowing that they don’t know it all, they don’t have all the answers, nor do they think they ever will, but they will set the tone for all of us, inspire us, and think of the future and what might be critical, even if they are not sure. Learning is about hope; it says there is more to come.
All of which leads me to Hanukkah, the Jewish holiday we are celebrating this week, and a story my late father, a rabbi, loved to tell.
Hanukkah is a holiday of lights. Every night over a total of eight, we light candles in an ascending crescendo, beginning with one, that culminates with a full eight on the last night.
The celebration is in commemoration of the victory of a ragtag indigenous militia over the Seleucid Greek army who were religious oppressors – limiting, restricting, and trying to eliminate much, if not all, of the Jewish tradition.
But there is a side story that is linked to the lights themselves. When the Jews came back into their holy Temple and cleared out the idols and other symbols of Greek rule and religion, they had no oil to relight the massive candelabra as all of the oil had been defiled.
That is, no oil until they found a small hidden flask that seemed to be enough maybe for a day, certainly not enough to last until the messengers they sent out could bring back enough of a supply.
Yet, what could they do? They lit the Menorah, and miracle of miracles, it lasted eight days and nights… You get the rest.
A new perspective
It’s a great story. Miracles are always fun. But my father looked at it in a different way.
You see, there are many heroes in this story – generals, soldiers, high priests, and others – but in his view, the real hero is always overlooked.
We have no idea who it was, but someone had foresight, vision, and leadership wisdom to know that one day the Temple would be reconsecrated. So, as the idols went up and the Jewish presence was erased, that person, whom we never meet or hear about, hid a flask of oil for a better future.
And today, we dispel the darkness of hatred and repression with light… not by brandishing weapons.
So, there you have it, my holiday share.
One final thought. A verse from the beautiful and universally meaningful holiday song written by my dear friend Peter Yarrow and sung by the legendary Peter, Paul and Mary:
Light one candle for the strength that we needTo never become our own foe;Light one candle for those who are suff’ringA pain they learned so long ago;Light one candle for all we believe in,That anger not tear us apart;And light one candle to bind us togetherWith peace as the song in our heart!My holiday wish: Let anger not tear us apart…Be a leader.
The writer is a global brand builder, crisis whisperer, global influencer, author, full of big ideas, with a start-up ethos, always putting people first.