Leadership Woes
by Moshe Katz
CEO
Israeli Krav International

January 21, 2018, Mexico City, Mexico

Many people want to be leaders. Study history; the lust for power will lead one to kill his own brother, his father, his mother, his own son. Just study the history of the evil Roman Empire and you will see all that and more. 

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. 

It is not easy being a leader. 

Plato wrote about the ideal leader, the Philosopher king. (I am speaking of the Classic Greek philosopher, not the animated Disney character).

Everyone wants to be king but few have a clue what is involved.

You cannot please all of the people all of the time, at best you can hope to please some of the people some of the time. (John Lydgate, adopted and adapted by President Abraham Lincoln).

It is not easy being a leader. 

As my dear late father would say it is easy for people to sit in the peanut gallery and throw peanuts at you. Everyone is a critic. 

My father for much of his life was a congregational rabbi, that is not easy. He used to say from the pulpit that his mother would say, Being a rabbi is not a good job for a nice Jewish boy. i.e. no matter what you do you will face a lot of criticism. Everyone has a comment, a criticism, everyone is a critic. 

Sure, it is easy to sit there in your pew and point out the faults of the rabbi; you feel that his comments were directed specifically at you, you are offended insulted, outraged!

Once my father made a general comment about people who have money for new cars, boats, vacations, vacation homes but no money to contribute to the upkeep of the synagogue. One man was outraged. 

He finally approached my father and challenged him. 

My father had no idea what the man was talking about. The man said, Rabbi, everyone knows I just bought a boat and a new vacation home. How could you publicly embarrass me?

My father minds his own business. He had no knowledge whatsoever of this man's recent extravagant purchases. 

Many people attempt to start their own Krav Maga organizations; good luck! You have no idea whatsoever of what you are getting yourself into. Leadership is not for the weak. 

Even the leader Moses complains to God that leading this people is just too much, "Did I give birth to them? Did I bring them into this world? Why did you tell me to carry them in my arms like a mother carries a nursing baby?" (Numbers, Chapter 11, verse 12)

Look at our presidents and prime ministers; Right, Left, whatever, they are being mocked, publicly shamed on a daily international basis. On social media we proclaim the great danger of teenagers shaming their classmates on social media, we know that it has lead to many suicides and yet we see no issue whatsoever with treated our democratically elected officials in this same way. 

You want to be a leader? Give it some thought before you embark on this path. Be prepared to face many obstacles.