In the Absence of Leadership…
Just after I post this Leadership Weekly Note, at 11h00 today (11 November 2024), the 106th anniversary of The Armistice will tick past as a distant event obscured by time and memory.
There is nothing to celebrate about the War to End All Wars.
It is estimated that 40,000,000 people were killed in World War I.
Yep, in wars we always estimate the swathes of dead and wounded because who counts millions when millions are being murdered.
In ‘normal’ times we are at pains to save every life, to count every death and killing, but in war millions ‘go missing’… like they never existed.
A million here, a million there and soon there are 40,000,000 bodies scattered across erstwhile peaceful homes, villages, towns, cities and countryside.
Such a nice round number: 40,000,000.
The Great War. World War I.
It was thought so horrific that it was popularly referred to as the War to End All Wars.
Seemingly, humans had learned a final lesson that there were better options than waging war.
Nope.
On 1 September 1939—21 years after the evermore ‘lesson’—we were at it again.
The seeds of discontent and unlearned lessons bloomed into war, once again.
By the time we were finished with World War II, on 2 September 1945, it is estimated that 85,000,000 combatants and civilians had been killed or died as a consequence of the war—more than twice the number killed in the War to End All Wars!
Oh, and don’t forget about two atomic bombs unleashed on two Japanese cities in August 1945—not soldiers but cities full of families…
So, in 31 years we managed to kill 125,000,000 babies, children, mothers, fathers, grandparents, housewives, farmers, plumbers, doctors, professors and anyone else.
But, we are not done with the killing…
On 25 June 1950 the so-called Korean War began. Three years later there were 3,000,000 war-related deaths.
To make the point, let us not forget the next multi-million war deaths in the American War in Vietnam (1961-1975): 3,500,000 Vietnamese and Cambodians were slaughtered, with 2,000,000 of those being non-combatants. Children burned alive with napalm bombs and super-toxic Agent Orange defoliant sprayed on communities for good measure…
I have not listed all the other wars and human conflicts that add their own millions to the toll.
And, right now there are thousands of people killing and being killed in the name of some inane human unreasoning.
In 2024 humans are not yet done with their Stone-Age behaviours.
There lies the point of my brief history lesson on mass murder—the reason we do it.
We kill each other en masse because of Stone-Age reactions.
We are in the AI Age; we are technologically sophisticated so we can murder each other with greater precision.
However, that does not alter the essence of mass murder.
Our social consciousness has stood still.
People, often people with great institutional power, still react like cave-dwellers to Leadership Moments.
This is not the Influential Leadership way!
People who practice Influential Leadership respond to Leadership Moments in ways that enjoy productive outcomes!
Sure, human history casts a shadow over us, and we have inter-personal differences in many aspects of our lives, whether in our relationships, families, teams, businesses, communities and countries—but we do not need to murder each other to resolve such differences.
To date human history is the history of conflict and war, but that is a choice we make—it is NOT wired into our DNA.
Furthermore, the decision to engage in war is made by individuals who are misleaders and anti-leaders. Such people almost never put their heads on the block, preferring to send others to do the killing and dying.
This is NOT the Influential Leadership way.
Our way is productive—we respond in ways that avoid turning differences into conflict, war, murder and genocide.
So, the greatest and smartest way to recognise 11h00, 11.11.18 is to learn the lesson:
- War serves nobody, there are productive solutions through proper Leadership!
The lesson is not just for politicians and generals, it is for each of us in every Leadership Moment.
If I am ‘at war’ with my partner, my parents, my child, my teacher, my students, my neighbours, my citizens and anyone else, it ends in unproductive outcomes.
The Influential Leadership way always finds better outcomes than zero-sum options!
Influential Leadership breaks the chains of the past; it recognises that we have the power of choices, and that we must go first to alter our direction… for better lived lives!
If you have not yet joined the Movement, or feel you need refreshing, chat to me today.
Regards,
Colin @ Karoo
We Activate Leadership!
Leadership Weekly Note: 4624.111124
e: colind@karoo.world
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