Humility, Courage and Civility

by ALLAN THOMPSON

I stopped at a local Tim's the other day to grab a coffee and thought I would pick up a camp bracelet, anyone is fine I said. They handed me a bright orange one that read leadership and that got me thinking.

I've always felt that leaders are not born, they are made, one decision and sometimes one mistake at a time. I've had the good fortune of being around and learning from some amazing leaders; they include teachers, businesspeople, volunteers and family (my MOM!).

One thing they had in common was they were driven by serving the needs of others.

CS Lewis said, “humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less” and to me that must be at the forefront of good leadership.

Billionaire Jeff Bezos made news recently when he flew to the edge of space and that's alright  however the more interesting news to me was the announcement he made afterwards. He gave 100 million dollars each to two people who exemplified courage and civility, Activist and TV Host Van Jones and Jose Andres, founder of the not-for-profit World Central Kitchen.

I imagine a lot of charities and initiatives will benefit from those awards. Giving out an award for courage and civility suggests that our society are lacking those. You don't have look any further than social media to see people tearing each other down while behind a keyboard. Don't get me wrong online platforms can also be used for good however it seems to me those are harder to find.

Leaders today need to look beyond themselves; they need to be courageous in the face of constant online scrutiny and politically motivated insults and even slander and they need to walk to talk when it comes to civility.