Experience shapes and transforms a leader. Through adversity a leader will develop and become a bigger and better person in situations where regular people get knocked out. Reflect, learn, and grow from adversity.
There is a French adage that says “20 fois sur le métier, remettez votre ouvrage”. It sums up perfectly chapter 7. Basically, it means try a lot, try hard, get to it until you get it right. Then, you will feel that you’ve accomplished something of value that has the possibility of changing both yourself and your surroundings. As pointed by Northouse you have to be willing to forget about yourself, put the needs of others before, and see the greater good, the common good to become a transformed leader.
So, make the best out of everything instead of falling flat on your face when things do not go as smoothly as planned, take the bull by the horn, take action and go on as “everywhere you trip is where the treasure lies”. Adversity has a great deal to do with the development of leaders. Either it knocks you out or you become a bigger and better person.
Chapter 7 is about doing what is right, learning from adversity, learning from your experiences instead of being boosted by it. It’s about transformational leadership, it’s about change. But change is always associated with hope and people believe that the charismatic leader will transform their lives. But, is this at all possible? Is it fair? Isn’t it too much of a burden to place on one person’s shoulders? Aren’t we setting ourselves up for deception and disappointment? A lot of people seem to agree about the leader being some sort of a savior, but I don’t like being too dependent, so it makes me a little uncomfortable. To me it has to be a shared burden, because titanic tasks such as the ones carried by true leaders have to be shared because it gives everybody a sense of accomplishment and responsibility.
