Selfless Leadership: Putting Our Cause First

In the fourth couplet of his poem ‘If-,’ Rudyard Kipling wrote:
 

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

 
Kipling is telling us that as leaders, we must be willing to put our cause or beliefs ahead of our personal gain. He is reminding us that true leadership requires a degree of selflessness. It requires us to put our cause and those we lead ahead of ourselves.


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About the Author

Doug Moran has more than twenty-five years of leadership experience in a variety of industries. Doug is the author of the forthcoming book, If You Will Lead: Enduring Wisdom for 21st-Century Leaders. He founded IF YOU WILL LEAD, LLC to help leaders and organizations reach their fullest potential. The firm focuses on leadership development, organization excellence and information technology. His book, speaking, and consulting leverage the power of story-telling and enduring wisdom to help leaders and their organizations excel and grow.

1 reply
  1. lisa
    lisa says:

    Rudyard Kipling has some really great words on selfless beings I found this Kipling’s famous IF on this blog too which I though of sharing;
    http://arbingersea.blogspot.com/2010/11/interigity-factor-if.html

    We as individuals always strive to bw part of something meaningful, instead of following leaders who are working for something important we should walk beside these leaders and learn and share to grow together in achieving the greater purpose.

    For me I believe that patience, sacrifice, or love are to be valued esp when there is a deeper purpose to what one is committed with doing. In the sense that if you are failing to give feedback, or failing to undermine a solution to a problem at work– selfless being may not help… but the fact that one is able to live out of the box concept really helps one identify the importance of freedom of choice…

    Nice Blog, cheers

    Reply

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