Creating Leaders
Reflection by Dr. Anjana Vinod Kumar: Explore the concept of perspective through stories!
One day, my daughter came home very upset. She said, "Ma, you know, I'm the best player on my team, yet the team captain is this girl who isn't as good as me. I was always the best, and everyone thought I would be the captain. It's so unfair." My smile said it all.
There was once a beautiful kingdom ruled by a young prince who took over after his father's death. A few months into his reign, challenges began to test him. A drought caused great losses for the farmers, killed many animals, birds, and precious plants in the forest. This was followed by an unknown disease that claimed many lives. Just as things were starting to improve, an enemy king invaded the kingdom, killing many people and imprisoning others. The young king somehow managed to escape and planned to seek help from his childhood friend, who was the king of a neighboring kingdom.
As he traveled, the young king pondered how all these misfortunes had befallen him. He had been born and raised to be the king of the most powerful and richest kingdom, but now he had lost everything. He believed he was cursed with bad luck since nothing like this had ever happened to his father or any other king he knew.
When the young king reached his friend's palace, the guards refused to let him in because of his dirty appearance and tattered clothes. He tried multiple times, all in vain. Eventually, he took up a job to earn enough money to buy some decent clothes. With his new attire, he was finally allowed to meet his friend. The young king recounted all that had happened to him. After listening to his story, his friend, the king, ordered his men to give him a herd of 100 sheep. The young king was surprised, as he had expected far more than just a flock of sheep. He didn’t want to be a shepherd, but with no other options, he accepted his friend's offer.
A few days later, while grazing his herd, a group of wolves attacked and killed every one of the sheep. Instead of defending his flock, the young king ran away. He returned to his friend and asked for more help. This time, his friend gave him 50 sheep. Once again, he failed to protect them from the wolves. The third time, he was given just 25 sheep.
This time, the young king resolved that if he didn’t protect his herd, he would receive no more help from his friend. So, he studied the area thoroughly, identified the wolves’ common attack points, and fortified the area with additional fences and guards. He closely monitored the herd, consulted with experienced shepherds, and continuously learned the skills necessary to maintain and grow his flock. After a few years, his herd had grown to 1,000 sheep. Overjoyed, he went to see his friend and proudly shared his achievement.
After hearing the young king’s story, his friend ordered his ministers to grant him an entire state to rule over. Puzzled, the young king asked, “Why didn’t you give me the state to rule when I first came to you for help?”
His friend replied, “When you first came to me, your mindset was that you were born and bred to be a leader. But the truth was, you were far from it. You might have been born into wealth, pride, and power, but you had never been properly educated or trained to lead your people. When I gave you the herd, I wanted you to learn how to manage and lead others. Now, my friend, I believe you are ready to lead.”
My daughter hugged me and began her journey to learn to be a true leader.
Reflection by Dr. Anjana This story encourages us to reflect on whether we have ever taken things for granted simply because we received them without effort. Remember, being a manager or holding a higher position doesn't make you a leader. Unfortunately, some people believe that leadership is something one must be born into, but that’s not true. Anyone can be a leader if they continuously learn the secrets of keeping their "herd" safe. Leadership is the ability to achieve extraordinary results with ordinary people.
If we want our children to be strong, let’s not give them money; instead, let’s teach them the art of making money so they will never starve. My daughter always had to work for what she wanted, whether it was scoring well in school to earn a Kindle or achieving other goals. Your place in life is not hereditary. As leaders, our duty is to create more leaders—that's the true essence of leadership.
"The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant."
Let’s move forward in life, learn to be leaders, and strive to create leaders in every walk of life.
How do you read this story?