Leadership: Through the Ages
By Keenan W.
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From King David to Lincoln to Queen Elizabeth II, leadership has been a key part of history. Leadership is defined as the action of leading a group of people or an organization or “the capacity to lead” (Merriam-Webster.com, 2022). Leaders have made themselves known through commanding armies to have authority and protecting their families and friends.
One of the most prominent stories of leadership is the folklore tale of King Arthur. The story shows how King Arthur was the only one capable of pulling a sword, Excalibur, from a stone. He was the chosen one, he possessed a certain something, and by divine right, he became king (Lumen, 2022). Further on through history, we see more characters portraying the role of leader. Boudica, Napoleon, George Washington, Julius Caesar, Sun Tzu, and Alexander the Great all represented what it mean and was to be a leader.
Although, when we look towards the Bible, we see a different side of what it means to lead. Mathew 20:25-28 says, “But Jesus called them to Himself and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” This passage shows that to lead you have to serve. There is no leadership without serving, sacrificing, and humbling yourself to the level of a slave (CU Online, 2019).
In recent times, with the world being wrought by a pandemic, leadership has changed in many ways. A lot of people have had to learn how to be leaders at a distance when they couldn’t make changes or oversee things face to face. According to Warwick Business School, “Strategic leadership is needed more than ever to deal with the complexity and uncertainty organizations face in the wake of the COVID disruption” (Warwick Business School, 2021). Where leaders were once hands-on with their employees or team members, they are now having to strategically operate and coordinate through a screen, a stark difference from coordinating an army from a podium. Furthermore, the pandemic has also changed the roles of leadership by changing people’s attitudes towards institutions in general, causing leaders to respond by reframing their approach towards others and focusing on each individual. Leaders must also use sociology and systems thinking to create flexible and responsive institutions that can leverage intangible assets and create value (Weforum.org, 2021).
Although a lot of this applies to the real world and business, it also applies to the student leaders and Student Council members found at NSA. Before the pandemic, student leaders had to take the initiative of leading, supporting, and ultimately, serving from a distance. From leading an army to leading fellow classmates through Teams, NSA student leaders are a great example of how much leadership has changed through the ages.
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Keenan W. is in 11th Grade and has been with NSA since 2019. She lives in South Africa with her family and their dogs on a grape farm. Keenan plays both the piano and the mandolin. She is also an avid reader, loves music, and enjoys watching 2000s movies. Some of her interests include psychology, criminal justice, international affairs, forensics, and politics. She hopes to one day pursue a career in forensic psychology.