Leadership Forum: The Pursuit of Excellence

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In studying some of th^e

leads'*

produced by societies throughout

his­

tory, one striking quality become^

The Pursuit of Excellence

By Midshipman First Class Brad Rex, U. S. Navy

parent—the rich diversity of such ers in background, physical m^{a e}^_

and mental abilities. While this

versity strengthens the egalitarian^ ^

gument that ail have the potentia

■ ciaⁿ ’

be leaders, it hinders the academic

study of the traits possessed by -

leaden

. drive

Yet, there is one quality, one¹

who ^

which is possessed by those come society’s leaders—an all-c° ^ ing commitment to excellence•        ^

link between leadership and exce

is not direct, i.e., one does not

essarily become a leader because

he⁽

llencc

she is excellent or pursues exce ^

Rather, the qualities possesseu ^ who pursue excellence are those ities demanded by a society of^lts ^ ers. Thus, in recognizing a P^erS?^_oflfl' seeks excellence, a society ^aC _[0 edges one who has the capab¹'

lead.

Those who pursue excellence

make three important decisions-

nU^st

₀f^at;

must be determined; the mean^s^

taining the goal must be chosen-

a commitment to achieving must

the

th"*

be made. In resolving ^t^^ieS^|_eo(f

questions, the pursuer of ^e%c c j

demanded

exhibits four traits leader—decisiveness, rity, and courage.  .^ef

By determining a goal, ^fh^e [on

honesty,

m^atU'

brings a focus to his life. The q

\oW

for the potential leader is ⁿ° "What should I do with my 1* ^e' „ fii^e

rather "Are my actions

leading

closer to excellence?” The ^trern,^e„

energy previously consumed in

do"⁵

divei

.fit,

_use°

unproductive tangents can now

productively to gain an ultim*^^

“Through his personal decision to pursue excellence, the future leader has determined a destination and a path. Yet, the . . . final test must be passed—a test of perseverance and dedication. ”

•    • j ..             •     . ■ l pvCC*¹ •

jective. The area in whicn ^c ^ is is sought is unimportant. The ^_eSt to choose an area and become js excelled _h( be s°^ug _s

• i(\d^e^^Ci in others, with concomitant

in influence, power, prestige, ^an ^ ership. Thus scholar-athletes w in two areas of endeavor are hig

in that field. When achieved in one area, it can

spected.

The pursuer of excellence h^a _s

ven"'

shown his first attribute—^^eClS1 in ¹ The decision to pursue excellen

74

Proceedings

wh^C'u^C             P^rovides a scale upon

and*"- ^0t^*^er decisions can be weighed

Only

^tcsted. However, decisiveness

Paths are open to those who excellence

Pursue

S"' ^sW«“

sub^:

anrl u                                                    ^ak'-

y being changed, therefore, ^s overriding concern is to win play^?^{016 anc}f achieve excellence, he socjpt-,.'^ ^established rules. From a

above

t_ruste°_d^Clety feels that his word can be a h_ard ^ey^en when the truth implies

lead °^{ne t}*^{1e cr}‘^ter*^a by which a '^s Judged. The potential leader his l, ^{CXt ex}'¹'*-^>‘^t honesty, attained in g_0a|^C °*^ce °f the means to reach his

two

-an easy path of toad u- °r ^a rnore difficult

sub' ^IC^* ^^emands that the means not hi J^Uk^ate the ends. The pursuer of the cejtf”^{1 exce}hence looks askance at de- J^_e ^ methods for attaining his goal.

^strict ^ ^r^*^{S n0t} ^^0r ^^{ear socie}ty’^s

leng_e^UfeS ^^{Ut rat}f'^er because the chal- cell_etlc^an^ ^sat*^sf^action of pursuing ex- is _no ^{6 are} diminished when fairness lenc_e^{C employed}- The seeker of excel- w;_nn ^Un<^^erstands that there can be no < ^when the rules of the game are

since h‘

the ^{S overr}iding concern is to win §an-

•ys by

ex_Cen^ ^S Point of view, the seeker of act_er ^Cr*5^{e a}PPears to be strong of char- The L,^a °^{Ve tem}ptation and reproach.

•j. Path with few shortcuts.

*UUs *.L

su_ef ^ne potential leader and pur- excellence has now evidenced

two vital attributes for successful lead­ership—decisiveness      and honesty.

Through his personal decision to pur­sue excellence, the future leader has determined a destination and a path. Yet, the third and final test must be passed—a test of perseverance and ded­ication. The pursuer of excellence must make a commitment to excellence. It is by this commitment that the seeker of excellence overcomes obstacles.

In making his commitment to ex­cellence, the potential leader shows the final qualities—maturity and courage. Commitment implies discipline, a choice between what one wishes to do and what one must do. The pursuer of excellence seeks long-term accomplish­ment rather than short-term pleasure. The loss of short-term leisure is, in effect, the price of excellence. Few are willing to pay this price, yet those who do exhibit the foresightedness and maturity demanded of a leader. The leader must make hard choices, choices whose long-term implications are fre­quently not understood by his follow­ers, but whose short-term denials are painfully felt. Because he has made such choices in his personal life, the pursuer of excellence can persuade oth­ers of the need to follow difficult paths for the good of the society.

While the seeker of excellence by his example and sacrifice will be able to convince most of his followers, a vocal minority will probably not accept his judgments. To deal with this group, the potential leader will require the final quality in his pursuit of excel­lence—courage.

Douglas MacArthur, in a public statement in New York on 26 January 1964, recognized the need for courage in the pursuit of excellence:

“Last, but by no means least, courage—moral courage, the cour­age of one’s convictions, the courage to see things through. The world is in a constant conspiracy against the brave. It’s the age-old struggle—the roar of the crowd on one side and the voice of your conscience on the other.” (emphasis added)

The pursuer of excellence hears the roar of the crowd exclaiming the benefits of mediocrity and listing the adversities faced by those who attempt to excel. Yet, those who pursue excellence are undeterred by such exclamations and excited more by the prospects of the future than the sacrifices of the present. As a leader dealing with his society, the pursuer of excellence can thus focus on the needs of the majority, ignoring personal attacks from a vituperative few, and is thus awarded the respon­sibility and respect he richly deserves.

Comment and Discussion

(Continued from page 25)

J'h ■

ttej-j. J^’ⁿS Offensively”

T-Q.'o’D ^Parker. pp. 26-31, April 1981; ^V^,^rke’ ^P' ² b Jane 1981

Q

K^ⁿ₍^der Harlan K. Uliman, U. S. ⁽°°'94?^mandinZ °ffi^cer’ ^USS DuPont ^cb'arly _a '^~0>mmander Parker is ^COricern^a^ *^nte^*8^ent> competent, and °n th_e ^{6 nava}l officer with his finger ^alarg_e ^pu*^se of a major problem. But ^part of that problem is reflected by the “traditional” thought which adjudged this essay to be a prize winner and contributed, unwittingly perhaps, to the malaise which always seems to favor problem identification (with some bemoaning) over problem solution.

Don’t get me wrong; there is noth­ing inherently sinful about “thinking offensively,” provided one is also thinking clearly and properly at the same time. Perhaps neither Vince Lom­bardi nor Karl von Clausewitz would have agreed with the sentiment which

always favored the offense (neither did!), and perhaps if Admiral Halsey could have refought Leyte Gulf he might have done things differently. But, historical examples can demon­strate anything except accurately pre­dicting the future, and certainly, "thinking offensively" is a catchy phrase which, no doubt, will be with us for a while.

The problem is defining exactly what that phrase should and does mean.

If, by thinking offensively, one