saddle and propped him upright so he could lead his troops into
the fray. Seeing their leader before them, the Spanish soldiers took
heart and fought on to victory.
If El Cid had not been there, or if he had slumped in the sad-
dle, his army might have lost heart and gone down to defeat.
“That’s the way it is with much of life,” Jay said to us. “There
are so many battles won or lost depending on whether the people
involved hang on just a little bit longer. So the leader has a primary
obligation not to declare doubts or failures at the drop of a hat.”
Fred Smith agrees. “Leadership means plugging away until
the breakthrough comes.” He also makes this pungent observa-
tion: “The energy needed to retreat might have been just the
amount needed to succeed.”Never Underestimate the Power of the Positive
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell once said, “Leadership is
the art of accomplishing more than the science of management
says is possible.” Jesus said that all things were possible if we
would believe.
In a period of distress, a leader’s outward display of courage and
confidence is vital. The lack of it can cause a group’s resolve to melt.
“Confidence and optimism are essential,” writes Michael
Useem in Fast Company. “It’s not faking it. It’s remaining optimistic
through the most trying times, even when it looks pretty dark.
Think about Nelson Mandela. Twenty-seven years of prison. I
have to imagine he got a little discouraged, but from all accounts,
he never wavered in his confidence that one day South Africa
would be a multiracial democracy. I am sure a few African
National Congress people in prison with him said, ‘Nelson, you’re
full of it. This is ridiculous. Your optimism is misplaced here.’
“And in his deepest inner moments, I am sure Mandela had
doubts. But outwardly, it’s critical to have that sense of optimism.
As long as you believe it’s true and communicate that back to the
people you lead, you overcome any inauthenticity.”
In contrast, an absence of hope permeates today’s affluent
societies. Billy Graham has expressed strong concerns about this,
The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham