Philosopher

I want to continue to share wisdom coming from Admiral Stockdale.?His ideas come from his lessons learned as a prisoner of war for 7.5 years in North Vietnam.?His views come from his book, Thoughts of a Philosophical Fighter Pilot.?

In his words regarding Hanoi, “” In that atmosphere of death and hopelessness, stripped of the niceties, the amenities of civilization, my ideas of life and leadership have crystalized.?I returned home with a simple almost sparse concept of what qualities a leaders should have.?And I believe with the utmost conviction that these traits are right.””?The next trait/role Stockdale espouses is that a leader must be a philosopher.?

Leadership and philosophy are two concepts that may not seem immediately connected, but upon closer examination, it becomes clear that a leader who embraces philosophy is often much more effective and enduring than the idealist who struggles to acknowledge that bad things happen.?The leader who can quickly put calamity in its place is also the one who is able to regroup, reset and get the team refocused on the shared purpose.

This is why having a clear shared purpose is so critical to an organization’s survival in times of crisis.?Individuals handle disappointment, frustration and the bad things that happen in life differently.?The sense of a shared purpose and a common goal is what brings people together and inspires them to work towards a common objective.?It is the leader’s responsibility to help each follower embrace reality and remain laser focused on why they exist.

I think that a philosophical outlook is a must to handle the world as it is.?Bad things happen to good people, evil is not always punished, and virtue is not always rewarded.?Life is not fair.?The leader as philosopher has a historical perspective and has considered all the people and examples where people lived and excelled after failure.?

A leader who is a philosopher is someone who possesses a deep understanding of the human condition and has thought deeply about the nature of existence.?One of the key benefits of having a philosopher as a leader is that they can see beyond the surface level of problems and issues. They can look at situations from a broader perspective and consider the long-term implications of their decisions. Stockdale from his study in stoicism calls this endurance of the soul.