Lead a cause and lift others on your shoulders.
We want to stand for something in our work and lives, but how do you lead a cause? How do you know if you are championing the right cause?
Inevitably leading means you will stand out. You’ll be different than the status quo. As Seth Godin says, you’ll be weird.
That’s great and should be encouraged. However, if you’re standing alone make sure you’re not a Hiroo Onoda.
Lessons from Hiroo Onoda
Hiroo Onoda leaving his post
Hiroo Onoda died this week at the age of 91. He was an Imperial Japanese Army officer who lived for 29 years in a Philippine jungle, refusing to believe that World War II was over. He survived on coconuts, bananas and rice pilfered from nearby villages. He even treated local villagers like enemy combatants, occasionally killing locals during his nearly three decades on the island.
Only in 1974 when his former commanding officer and his brother came to the island to convince him the war was over and to relieve him of duty did he finally return to Japan to a hero’s welcome.
Some look to Onoda as a symbol of the importance of standing up for what you believe in, sticking to your guns or some other meaningless colloquial phrase.
Onoda, however, is a warning.
You can stick your head in the sand (or jungle) and call it standing up for a cause. You might even receive praise for your stubbornness as Onoda did when he returned to civilization in March of 1974.
To truly lead a cause however you should not stand alone. It may start that way. You may be the first person to step forward and take a stand, but your ultimate goal is to be the shoulders others will stand upon.
Leaders Eat Last
In his new book, Leaders Eat Last, Simon Sinek looks at what makes great leaders.
Leaders are the ones who run headfirst into the unknown…They put their own interests aside to protect us or to pull us into the future. Leaders would sooner sacrifice what is theirs to save what is ours. And they would never sacrifice what is ours to save what is theirs. That is what it means to be a leader.
The title of his book comes from the military where the highest ranking officers eat last, after those that rank below them. They do this not because they have to but because that is what leaders do. Leaders are the ones that build the foundation upon which others succeed.
Is it the Right Cause?
The question remains: how do you know you are leading a worthy cause and not standing on an island fighting a non-existent war?
As John Quincy Adams said: “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”
We can similarly argue that if your cause inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, it is a worthy cause.
If you are on an island, unable to find others to join your cause, you end up championing yourself.
It’s not about you. It’s about the cause.
If you are leading a worthy cause, you should find others to stand on your shoulders and further the cause, even though it means you will receive less attention.
Remembering True Leaders
This week we remember the great leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr. However, we also remember that he did not start the Civil Rights movement. His efforts were built on top of Douglas, du Bois and Tubman. Similarly, the movement did not end with MLK. It continues today with West, Watkins and Sharpton.
To truly lead a cause, you are one step in a long-term process. A part of a legacy. You should not be like Onoda, stubbornly holding your position because you believe you are right. You should attract others to your cause and enable them to move the cause forward.
Lead Your Cause
The cause you are passionate about needs you. It needs a leader. Someone to run headfirst into the unknown pulling the rest of us into the future.
No one needs to give you permission. All you have to do is step forward.
Be a leader and be the shoulders others stand upon.
