Borderland

wikipedia.org Alaskan Husky

I’m not leader material. I don’t want to motivate or change people. I don’t try to persuade anyone to think differently. I’m a worker, an inventor and a problem solver. So how do I answer Kimberly Mortiz, who tags me with this question: “What are seven qualities we don’t know about you that help you be a leader?” which was apparently started by Miguel Guhlin?

People may be familiar with the concept of the lead dog in a dog team. What sets the leaders apart from the other dogs is their willingness to run out in front. The pressure of having 10-15 dogs on their tail is intimidating to most dogs, who’d rather chase than be chased. But the lead dog is fast and sets the pace. The leader is the brains of the outfit. The leader knows the gee/haw steering commands and makes good decisions when the trail is hard to find. Without a good leader, a musher can end up on an unscheduled camp-out along the side of the trail.

There are other jobs for the dogs in the team, as well. The two dogs that run directly behind the leader are called swing dogs. They help turn the team and maintain the pace. The rest of the dogs are team dogs. Their job is to keep their tug lines tight and contribute the raw dog power.

There’s still another position, though, that interests me. It’s the dogs that get hooked into the gangline right in front of the sled. Those two dogs are called wheeldogs. Wheeldogs are like football linemen. They’re generally the biggest and strongest. Wheeldogs are the dogs with the power to turn the sled around tight corners, and to break it loose when it gets stuck or mired.

I feel a special affinity for wheeldogs, and I don’t know why. To me, they represent a certain facet of leadership that’s often overlooked. It’s probably part of a martyr syndrome, but this isn’t about my Catholic upbringing. Most everything I believe about leadership can be found in the Tao Te Ching.

I was given a copy of this little book long ago. It’s now dog-eared (pun alert!) and taped together. Some people may consider it trite. But I’ve found this little bit of 2500 year old thinking valuable over the years. Not only that, it’s the best I can do right now with Kimberly’s question.

Since I can’t think of seven qualities, what follows is the partial result of a text search for the words, lead and rule.

Sound old rulers, it is said,
Left people to themselves, instead
Of wanting to teach everything
And start the people arguing.
With mere instruction in command,
So that people understand
Less than they know, woe is the land;
But happy the land that is ordered so
That they understand more than they know.
For everyone’s good this double key
Locks and unlocks equally.
If modern man would use it, he
Could find old wisdom in his heart
And clear his vision enough to see
From start to finish and finish to start
The circle rounding perfectly.

A leader is best
When people barely know that he exists

Other similar references in verses 20, 30, 37, 39, and 58.

You get the idea. This is all good in theory, but classrooms don’t often work like this. In the classroom I’d like to be more supportive and less directive (Who wouldn’t!), but those groups are rare. These aphorisms represent little bits and pieces of an ideal. They say a lot more about my attitude and expectations for myself than my actual practice. My students each get a leash that’s only as long as they can manage, and for some, that’s only about this long. I shocked them all today when I told them that I’ve loosened up over the years! And I have.

I may not be an out-front leader, but that doesn’t mean I’m without influence. I see that noticing and encouraging often motivate and move kids as much as telling and explaining.

Leadership, as I see it, can be a number of things – most of them not very attractive – but I’m grateful for anyone who cares enough to demonstrate it.

Thanks, Kimberly, for thinking of me.

Anyone else want to tackle this question?

updated 2/06: didn’t know there was a book with this title – same source.