I realize the title of the article is a bit on the nose since I’m going to talk about a great leader I knew named Mark, but the opportunity was just too good to pass up.
Mark was an unassuming man, a carpenter by trade. He was also the leader assigned to our little group of scouts with the Boy Scouts of America when I turned twelve. I joined the troop, excited at the prospect of becoming an Eagle Scout as fast as I could.
Mark loved his profession, and while he didn’t make buckets of money doing it, he was good at it. His quiet nature belied the fact that he had the physical strength and mental fortitude to accomplish just about anything he put his mind to.
In our area, there were a lot of boys that belonged to our troop. Mark, along with two assistants, planned and carried out innumerable activities for our band of misfits. To the best of my recollection, at its peak we had something like twenty boys in our troop. That was probably small compared to some troops in other areas of the country, but our group also met four times more than other troops and mixed in camping almost every month.
Mark and his assistants pulled that off while maintaining their employment and still finding time for their own families. Mark, in particular, had a young family that needed his time and attention.
Back then, the BSA worked hard to give as many young people opportunities to lead as possible. I think I was perhaps thirteen when I was asked to be the Senior Patrol Leader of our group. The Scout Handbook did a good job outlining responsibilities, but it took leaders like Mark to really help a boy learn what to do.
Mark and I met roughly once a week with either of his two assistants so I could learn about my duties as the Senior Patrol Leader. A young man’s responsibilities were tailored to the capacity of a person with little to no leadership experience; one who may not even have any natural leadership ability. The responsibilities were designed to help young men grow into those roles. It was usually about the time a person got good at it that the responsibility was given to another young man.
It seems that we’re all anxious to be heard these days, and people who are placed in positions of authority often feel the need to do whatever it takes to enhance their own position. None of us likely has to think hard to come up with examples of people who use others as stepping stones to achieve their own aims.
People like Mark are becoming increasingly hard to find. Mark was the kind of guy who exemplified the notion that a true leader does what they can with what they have to help other people become better.
Mark didn’t have much by way of financial means, but he gave his best efforts to building up the people around him. In particular, he expended tremendous energy to help young men gain practical leadership experience.
There’s a closely related trait that real leaders have, and that is they rarely seek personal attention or gain for their accomplishments. They just quietly go about doing what they see needs to be done. In particular, as he supported the young men in our troop, Mark helped to create and nurture leadership qualities in each of us.
Mother Teresa said:
Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.
Consciously or otherwise, that’s a sentiment that I’m sure Mark patterned his life after.
While I haven’t thought about Mark in years, jotting down this little missive reminded me that his influence helped established a pattern in my life for how I’ve approached a number of leadership opportunities. Mark taught me that leaders don’t need to shout to be heard. Real leaders are the kind of people who elevate themselves by lifting others.
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