Rebuilding Rob

I know this is a new prompt, but I’ve talked about leadership previously; so if bear with me if this sounds repetitive. I think it goes without saying that a good leader must be intelligent, wise and strong. It’s important to be physically strong, but being mentally strong is equally crucial. Specifically, I’m going to talk about good leaders inspiring others and showing compassion. First and foremost, a good leader must inspire his/ her subordinates. A good leader is someone who not only believes in the people working for him/her but also inspires those open to believe in themselves.

It sounds sill to use professional wrestling as an example of this, but Paul Herman who used to run an independent wrestling promotion called Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) comes to mind. ECW is best remembered for bringing “hardcore wrestling” to the masses in America. Barbed wire, chairs, tables and the most rabid, passionate wrestling fans I’ve ever seen were the hallmarks of ECW.

With ECW, Heyman was trying to compete with Vince McMahon’s WWE on a national level. At this point, McMahon was the undisputed king of wrestling in North America, but ECW presented an alternative. Whereas McMahon’s WWE wrestlers were the giant, good looking body-builder types; ECW Had very much become, in Heyman’s words “the island of misfit toys”.

ECW’s performers were neither pretty, nor bodybuilders but they could wrestle and they were tough. More than that Heyman believed in his wrestlers; and he got them to believe in themselves. Even now decades after ECW going under and in spite of his inability to keep the company afloat, his former wrestlers speak reverently of Paul Heyman.

In a previous post Feeling Optimus Prime , I talked about Optimus Prime from the Transformers franchise. Specifically, I talked about the fact that Peter Cullen, who has voiced the character since the 1980s, drew inspiration from his brother, Larry, a military veteran. Larry had suggested that Peter play Optimus as “a real hero. Not one of those action hero guys. Be strong enough to be gentle”.

For most of adult life, I have tried to advised people to not mistake kindness and compassion for weakness. Larry, who most likely heard this philosophy from Douglas MacArthur, believes that compassion is a sign of strength. So-called leaders who thump their chest about how big and bad they are are, in truth, the most insecure. One need to look no further than the daily news to see a (former) leader who claims he is tough, but is ultimately a coward. People who are compassionate are so because they can afford to be. They have the strength to back up their convictions. 

Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier related posts:

• Thoughts that keep me up at night
• Requiem for a mall
• what makes a great teacher
• The O.R. Virgin
• A Day in the Life of Rob

The article “Leadership, according to Paul Heyman & Optimus Prime” originally appeared on Rebuilding Rob.