What if the founding fathers had been half-hearted?

This week in Leadership we discussed three additional leadership theories: transformational leadership, authentic leadership, and servant leadership. As usual, I identified with one approach in particular—this week it was the authentic leadership approach. Per Google, authentic means “of undisputed origin, genuine”. Unsurprisingly, authentic leadership simply addresses a leader that understands himself and his abilities. But perhaps most important is the fact that the authentic leader never wavers from his ideals, beliefs or purpose. Additionally, he is completely transparent with his followers.

I knew I wanted to discuss this approach in the week’s post. However, it was not until I heard my preacher’s lesson this morning that I was truly inspired.  My preacher discussed the dedication of the founding fathers and he said one amazing thing—what if the founding fathers had been half-hearted?

What if they only partly believed in the cause? What if the professed beliefs that were not true? I’d wager we would not be the nation whose birth we celebrate on July 4^th if this had been the case. It was our leader’s passion, their dedication, their honesty that inspired untrained farmers to take up arms against our mother country. No patriot could have unwavering faith in the cause when it came to a fight for rights like this one.  In his book, Authentic Leadership Bill George says “Great world leaders—George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Margaret Thatcher, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, John F. Kennedy—all had very different styles. Yet each of them was an entirely authentic human being” (George, 2004, p.13). The founding father’s authenticity, their true dedication to their beliefs, and their willingness to die for them are what led to American victory and the birth of our nation. 

Check out Simon Sinek’s TED Talk “How Great Leaders Inspire Action” as well. In it, he says, “If you don’t know why you do what you do, then no one else will either” (Sinek, 2010). If Patrick Henry had not believed in America’s cause, would he have uttered his famous words “Give me liberty or give me death!”?

Our nation was built on authentic leadership. Though each man may have differed in opinions they united in the common belief in the United States of America. There are so many lessons to be learned from this time period. But because of the Fourth being Tuesday and Patrick Henry’s true authenticity throughout his life, I thought we would look into this man’s life a little more this week.

Patrick Henry was born on May 29, 1736, on his family’s plantation in Virginia. His father had emigrated from Scotland in 1730. He had fourteen siblings and was educated by his father and uncle. At 18, Henry married and received a large plantation. He brought with him six slaves, and our first example of his authentic self.

Henry struggled with “the contradiction of his owning slaves, while eventually demanding liberty for the colonies” (Patrick Henry, 2015). To address this, he once wrote in a letter “I am drawn along by the general inconvenience of living here without them. I will not, I cannot justify it” (Patrick Henry, 2015). Here Henry describes a serious flaw in his life. He is transparent about his shortcomings, and he is clear about his disappointment with himself. Authentic leaders are not perfect. Instead, they are aware and open about the flaws.

The month Henry was elected to a seat in the Virginia House of Burgesses in May 1765, the British Parliament enacted The Stamp Act. Henry saw this as a direct assault on American liberties. He was dedicated to this belief and courageous in the defense of it. He took the floor of the House of Burgesses on May 29, 1765, and said, “Caesar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell, and George the Third…” but he was interrupted by cries of “Treason! Treason!” from loyalists. Instead of backing down, Henry again proved his strong integrity and genuine beliefs by continuing, “Caesar, I say, had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell, and George the Third…may profit by their example. If this be treason, make the most of it” (Patrick Henry, 2015). He backed these words up with action—pushing through several resolutions undoing the effects of the Stamp Act in Virginia (Patrick Henry, 2015). This speech was credited by Thomas Jefferson as being the speech that “gave the earliest impulse to the ball of revolution” (Patrick Henry, 2015).

Later when on March 23, 1775, the fever of Revolution had come to a spike, at a Virginia convention, Henry made his most famous speech (Patrick Henry, 2015). No full transcript of the speech survived history, but its last refrain, “Give me liberty or give me death!” has outlived and perhaps even overshadowed this remarkable leader (Patrick Henry, 2015).

Henry was imperfect, transparent, brave, proactive, and unwavering in his beliefs—a true picture of authentic leadership. He was far from half-hearted in his dedication and willing even to die for his cause. Imagine a world full of leaders like these. What a wonderful place this world could be!

Thank you for joining me on this week’s leadership study. I hope you all have a Happy Independence Day! Take some time to remember the authentic men and women who made such great sacrifices for our freedom.

Be sure to stop by again next week or anytime at http://exploringleadershipinpublicadmin.blogspot.com/

References

Geroge, B. (2004). Authentic leadership: Rediscovering the secrets to creating lasting value. Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass.

Patrick Henry (1736-1799). (2015). In M. Grossman (Ed.), The encyclopedia of the Continental Congresses. Amenia, NY: Grey House Publishing. Retrieved from http://libproxy.troy.edu/login?url=http://literati.credoreference.com/content/entry/greycc/patrick_henry_1736_1799/0?institutionId=3456

Sinek, S. (2010). How great leaders inspire action. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/qp0HIF3SfI4