Leaders of 1776

Just recently I finished the book 1776 by David McCullough and was astonished by the level of leadership principles found in that book.

George Washington, a man without any military experience took on the role of Commander and Chief of the Continental Army and attempted a siege upon Boston. I admired that he saw a cause and need and charged forth without hesitation. He leaped before looking and after some serious hiccups, he came out the end of the Revolutionary war a hero. There comes a time in anybody's life where one has to charge forward despite inadequacies, leave the fear and doubts at the door, and place one's self at the cusp of chaos, destruction and destitute.

George Washington was superb at also being a duck (on the surface he's calm and resolute, but underneath the surface he fluttered frantically). Despite if one feels afraid, scared or hopeless, a leader cannot show that to the people under him. It is amazing to think that even George Washington had his moments of extreme agony and worry (as expressed in his letters to friends and loved ones), but his men always saw him a strong and confident leader whom, despite the insurmountably odds stacked against him and his army, still remained confident. Never loosing his temper, never panic stricken in the heat of a battle and stoic in the midst of a frenzy. If a leader bears to all his or her inner soul, the subordinates loose confidence and becomes infected with the very plague that burdens the leader.

I also learned that failures happen, yet victory is still possible. George Washington's men were dying rapidly from sickness. Men were deserting their posts and more men were being captured and killed in one failing battle after another. Despite these setbacks George Washington kept leading, never giving up, even when he was pushed way back from New York to Pennsylvania in the winter of 1776. This all may have crushed his spirits but didn't crush his desire to continue the fight. Life is hard, but we cannot let the fights with our significant other destroy our relationship. We cannot let the dying parent hinder us from doing our work. We cannot let a layoff tear a family apart. As we fight the hardships in life, we must preserve the true and noble causes in our lives.

1776 wasn't an easy year for Americans. But then again, what year was ever really easy for anybody? Within each of us our own revolutionary war rages on, and all we can do is keep fighting, and keep passionate.