| Stockdale on Leadership |
If you subordinate your standards to equality, you have no standards. The ideology of relativism has convinced too many people that everyone is good, simply because they "are." This philosophy undermines the high standards of Taekwondo. Some things, and some people, are simply wrong. All students are not equal. Some have to train harder and longer to achieve the same belt level that others achieve with ease.
A good leader appreciates contrariness and works through it. Instructors cannot force students to do what the instructors think is good for the students. Instructors cannot persuade students to act in their own self-interest all of the time. As stated in Dostoyevsky’s Notes from the Underground, "I will not be a piano key; I will not bow to the tyranny of reason." Students do what they want to do. They may say to the contrary, such as "I wish I had more time to train,” but in fact, if this is what they really wanted to do, they would do it. People always find time to do what they really want to do, and then they make excuses for not doing what they know they should do.
Life only makes sense when the element of freedom is included into the mix. Many people feel they are expressing individuality when they do what everyone else in a certain group is doing, but sometimes, you can only be an individual when you do what no one else is doing. Instructors must work to develop teamwork within their dojangs, but they must also realize that each student is an individual person and some may resist working in a team.
Principle 9: The self-discipline of stoicism has everyday applications
It may be hard for a young aggressive Taekwondo instructor to accept, but the Stoic's strong medicine is worth taking; as one such as Adm. Stockdale, who has been trapped in a web of adversity, suffering, and cruelty, can attest to. Sometimes emotions must take a backseat to reality. When things go wrong, sometimes, you just have to grin and bear it.
The person is a sum of his or her deeds. You cannot use your profession as a shield from responsibility for your actions. Taekwondo leaders are responsible for their own actions and, as leaders, for the actions of those under them.
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