Was recently watching a documentary about George Washington and it quickly became apparent as to why he possessed such incredible leadership capabilities…
Throughout the doc there were several historians giving their perspective on the American Revolution and the significant happenings that led to the eventual Continental Army victory and creation of the United States of America.
One common theme completely free of subjective analysis was George Washington’s consistent presence on the front lines but not necessarily in the reckless hard charging commando way we may envision…
When the British showed up with 32,000 troops in New York Harbor, Washington and his group of revolutionaries were up against long odds…
Yet as the late great Kenny Rogers pointed out, part of being a fantastic leader is knowing when to hold ’em and when to fold em.
Washington was a strategist and oftentimes in the early going, a huge part of that strategy was knowing when to retreat and save his army to fight another day…
Washington and his troops had no choice but to use unusual warfare tactics against the world’s largest and most powerful army. The targeting of British officers let the redcoats know that even if the Americans were defeated, it was going to come at a significant cost to the Royal Army.
Fittingly, after several years of fighting, the last American offensive of the Revolutionary War began at Yorktown with a shot fired by Washington himself…
A couple of monumental lessons learned here:
1. Fear the man that has nothing to lose
Great Britain was an established empire enjoying a rather conflict free civilization, so the motivation for Britain came from pure ego and greed… Yet the Continental Army was fighting to establish a new nation and they were fighting for freedom that they envisioned would long outlive them… Simply put, Washington & the US troops battled for a cause much bigger than themselves and were more than willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice for their efforts.
2. “People want to be led, NOT commanded.”
This was a statement from one of the historians interviewed in the documentary and he fucking drilled it… Washington was the Commander in Chief, but he was much more of a leader than somebody who barked out commands… Not only was Washington well known for going into the trenches of battle himself, but he was a master at delegating power to people he trusted.
Let this be a beautiful lesson to all of us the next time we find ourselves in a position of power…
Leaders don’t command, they LEAD.
-EB
P.S. Have you hopped on a Team GoHard Foot Reflexology Board yet?
