LEADERSHIP BY EXAMPLE

Shepherds of God’s flock are not to lord it over the flock, but to prove to be examples. They are to lead by their example. This is graphically illustrated in the U. S. Army. The symbol of the infantry (footsoldiers who do most of the front-line fighting) is a soldier with a rifle in one hand, helmet cocked, and head looking back behind him. The rifle is pointing forward, the other arm is giving a “Come on ahead” motion, and the leader is shouting back, “Follow me!” This symbol illustrates leadership-by-example, as this soldier calls his men to follow him into the heart of the battle.763

General Eisenhower would demonstrate the art of leadership with a simple piece of string. He’d put it on a table and say: “Pull it and it will follow wherever you wish. Push it and it will go nowhere at all. It’s just that way when it comes to leading people. They need to follow a person who is leading by example.”

At another time he said, “You do not lead by hitting people over the head—that’s assault, not leadership.”764