Mr. Gorbachev...

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to sit in on a town hall style meeting with former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev. Before I write anything, I am not here to make a political statement. I am not going to weigh in on perestroika or any such thing. The fact is, at a time when there were really only two world superpowers, he led one of them. He is now over 80, and I think there's plenty to learn from that wealth of experience.

Gorbachev is a shorter man that one would think. Perhaps this is due to age; perhaps he's simply shorter than average. He is a stocky man, and he carries himself with what would appear as a gruff, abrupt confidence. As he spoke, there was no doubt that he felt he was 'the man' - he exuded a confidence that bordered on flat-out arrogance. While we find this to be an unattractive trait in people, think of anyone who has hit the top of their respective game: Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Nolan Ryan, Brett Favre. What do they have in common? Extreme confidence. While we can certainly debate the virtue of such a quality, we cannot deny that people like this often find their way to the top. Mr. Gorbachev is no different.

But the opportunity to hear him speak and to discuss what it was like when he led the USSR was too good to pass up. While it was a town hall meeting, he did not exactly answer the questions he was asked. Rather, he told stories which related to the question, and his stories illustrated his point. As he pointed out, he lived in a completely different context than we do now, so direct advice is not helpful. He preferred to tell stories and allow his stories to speak for him.

The two words I have used in describing Mr. Gorbachev are implacable and courageous. Implacable because he simply could not be moved off of his point, even when prodded to do so by the great journalist Jim Gray. Likewise, as he rose to power in the USSR, he was implacable in his belief that reform needed to take place. He was courageous because he essentially put his life on the line to put forward what he had committed himself to in reforming the political landscape of the USSR. He had to buck every entrenched belief among the 'old men' (as he called the established political elite) on his way to seeing his goals through.

Here's what I learned:

First, a leader must be fully committed to the vision he's been given. Once the vision has been established in his heart and mind, there must be an immovability to it. Perhaps some adaptation over time. Perhaps some improvements, refinements, tweaks, and adjustments, but rarely if ever a complete overhaul. To see anything through to completion requires a focused energy, and to see anything worthwhile to its conclusion requires even more. We would do well to learn this, to learn that being implacable on that which is most important to us is a necessary piece of who we are to become.

Second, a leader must be courageous. It is rare that any vision that is truly worthwhile is easily attained. There will be disappointments and failures and criticism along the path of any great idea. Therefore, the leader with the vision must be so committed to that vision that he takes the necessary steps to seeing that vision become a reality. This means facing down opposition, believing in something when it isn't popular, and working through the initial hiccups and failures to find success and achievement.

As a Christian, I would add that all of this - the vision and the courage and fortitude to see it out - all stem from God's grace at work in the life of the leader. The vision comes from God, the courage comes from the empowering of the Holy Spirit, and the fortitude comes from the example of Christ, who went to the cross on our behalf 'for the joy set before Him'.