Magnaimity
What do followers look for first in a leader?
Character.
This was found during a late 1990’s and early 2000’s survey. What do you think? Does this resonate with you? Makes sense to me. Trust is the foundation of any relationship, including leadership. Character is about knowing the person is trusted and has values that followers can support.
From years of conducting my own formal and informal polls, I have found that the most desired value is integrity. Again, it seems trust is really what is most desired. Followers need to know the leader is a man or woman of their word and is trustworthy.
A virtue rarely spoken of is magnanimity. With hundreds and hundreds of hours of leadership training and character building, I was not exposed to this virtue until near the end of my U.S. Navy career. What is it?
Magnanimity – of or being magnanimous.
Magnanimous – highly moral, showing forgiveness or not seeking revenge, of “great mind”, or a courageous spirit. (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition)
So, what does this mean and how do we apply it. The most notable example of magnanimity was when David was being chased by King Saul to be killed. David had taken off into the desert and sustained himself at En Gedi. When King Saul followed, he had taken rest in a cave. That’s when David snuck in, had the opportunity to kill his enemy, and chose to only cut a piece of Saul’s robe instead. (1 Samuel 24:1-4)
David’s life was threatened by King Saul who was chasing him with 3,000 soldiers. When David’s enemy was vulnerable to his own choosing, David spared his enemy’s life. The life of his master and his king.
My example had much less urgency or threat to life. As the executive officer of a Navy unit, it was my job to decide whether discipline and correction of a Sailor could be through additional training and extra duties or required attending Captain’s Mast where the Commanding Officer could take pay, demote, restrict, or even separate the Sailor from the Navy. In one instance, I had the opportunity to make a Sailor the example of how serious an offense it was to lie about executing maintenance, where ignored maintenance could cause failure and threaten life – especially in a combat environment. If this Sailor went on to Captain’s Mast, it would remove his opportunity to apply to specialty programs in the Navy with significant career impact. After hearing the Sailor’s case, the details of the situation, and the sincerity of ownership, I awarded extra military training and not Captain’s Mast.
This decision had implications of sending a message that the standards can be broken. This cannot be the case for a combat unit of over 500 souls. It might have also reflected my leadership as being inconsistent with policies and orders provided. What I hope it proved was that every case is unique, people make mistakes and can recover, every person’s career is valued, and magnanimity is alive and well.
“Withhold not good from them to whim it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.” Prov 3:27
Be magnanimous!
