The Making of Leaders

The Making of Leaders* By Elder John A. Widtsoe, of the Y. M. M. I. A. Genercd Board I am very glad, my brethren and sisters, to be allowed to Jook into the faces of so many M. I. A. leaders. Every organization must have officers, leaders; in fact, an organization implies leaders; and since civilization is built up- on organization, the condition of the existence of a successful cvilization is proper leadership. The question was asked, How big can we make our Mutual Improvement work? The answer came readily, without hesi- tation, We can make it just as big as our leaders; no bigger; it will not be smaller. It is an old adage that every institution is the lengthened shadow of a man. We might more properly say that every institution is the lengthened shadow of its leaders. Leadership is indispensable in successful M. I. A. work. Edward W. Bok, in his remarkable autobiography, recently published, tells the story of his gradual winning of leadership; and of his surprise to find as he climbed higher and higher that there were fewer and fewer leaders. When he finally reached the top, the pinnacle of his life's work, he found that the top was fairly shrieking for leaders — there were so few of them. The question before us is, whether we can make of our- selves, leaders of the type required by the Mutual Improvement work. We often say that a man has been called to a position as ward president or stake superintendent, or some other position, and that the mantle of leadership has fallen upon him. The mantle of leadership may fall upon a man, but it never makes a leader. Leadership is never put on a man from without; lead- ership always comes from within. A man must exercise all his powers to attain leadership, then from within, that thing we call leadership develops and grows and becomes part and parcel of the man himself. So, leadership comes through self- effort, and not as a gift, except as God may help us achieve leadership. Nearly all persons, who will properly seek after leadership may attain a sufficient degree of it, to do well their required work. The few moments I have at my disposal I will use in ♦Delivered at the M. I. A. Conference, June 9, 1922.

THE MAKING OF LEADERS 975 calling to your attention five major and five minor qualities of a leader. I will be very brief, because we are all anxious to hear from President Heber J. Grant. 1. The leader has faith in his work. The leader, first of all — as a major quality — must have full faith in the cause that Jhe represents; if he is an M. I. A. worker, faith in the Church, faith in the M. I. A. work, faith in his superiors, faith in his fellowmen, faith in himself, faith that the work with which he has been entrusted, may be done — may be "put over." Unless a leader has euch faith, his battle is lost, and there is no hope for him. He must have the kind of faith that made it possible for Brigham Young to cast his lot and the lot of his people with this barren wilderness by the shore of an alkali lake; the kind of faith that made the walls of Jericho fall, the kind of faith that made of the slow- tongued Moses, the mighty law-giver and a marvelous leader, and of the stammering-tongued Enoch the greatest of the pa- triarchs, after Adam; the kind of faith that knows that of every young boy or girl may be made a splendid man or woman. Such is the faith that we need if we are to succeed in becoming M. I. A. leaders. 2. The leader must love his work. Faith alone is insufficient; it must be qualified with love. There is a definite relationship between faith and love; but there is also a subtle distinction. The man who has faith, and adds to that faith, a love for the work, for the cause, for his superiors, for his fellow workers, finds ecstasy in the labor. Such a man has won the second great quality of leadership, for love begets love, as the electrified coil of wire induces a cur- rent in the nearby coil. 3. The leader must understand his work. Faith and love must be fed, and the best way to feed them is to acquire full knowledge concerning the work in hand. There- fore, the leader must understand his work. The M. I. A. leader for example must possess the H/andbook and he must know what is published from time to time concerning his work. He must know the structure, principles, ideals and practices of the M. I. A. While his love will beget love in those with whom he associates, so will his jknowledge, as he acquires it, make his fel- low workers stronger than they would be without such knowl- edge. The man who knows directs the world. 4. The leader must be industrious and persistent. Neither faith, nor love, nor knowledge, comes permanently except from labor. Industry is an indispensable quality of leadership. I need not emphasize that principle here, for it is so self-evi- dent; but the man who will not pay the price in hard work

976 IMPPROVEMENT ERA cannot achieve leaderhip. History is the story of how greatness and leadership have been achieved by hard effort and per- sistent labor. I call your attention to the record of the be- loved and respected head of our Church for industry and per- sistence, which has made it possible for him to overcome great difficulties, and by which God has qualified him to become the leader of His chosen people. Every great leader knows how to work, is willing to work industriously and persistently and never knows defeat. 5. The leader is prayerful. Every true leader knows his limitations. No leader is so foolish as to believe that he knows everything. No leader be- lieves that, unaided, he can accomplish any great work placed upon him. The great leader says, I know my limitations, but I also know that about me lies the unbounded world controlled by God, in which lie forces of all manner and description; and if somehow I can establish connection with these forces by obeying the laws of God, by keeping close to the Master of the universe, I can draw out of the things about me the help that I need. Thus the leader becomes stronger than a mere man. Therefore, every great leader has been prayerful. Marshal Foch on his knees at his daily prayers, is but an illustration of the manner in which leaders seek for help. The man who acquires these qualities, of leadership, faith in the work, love for the work, an understanding of the work, labor in behalf of it, and prayer to God, will through the aid of the Spirit of God find all his efforts vitalized and made alive. He must seek in all things the help of God's Holy Spirit. In the making of leaders, no satisfactory substitute has been found for the kind, helpful presence of the Holy Spirit of God. From these five major qualities of a leader, let me draw five minor ones, simply as a matter of helping the memory. la. The leader is an optimist. The man who has faith of necessity becomes an optimist. The leader sees possibilities; never impossibilities. He sees light; he does not dwell on the shadows. He sees good in his fellow men; he seldom sees that which is evil. He trusts, and does not allow himself to dis- trust. An uplifting optimism coming out of faith, is one of the great, personal qualities of the great leader. 2a. The leader is generous and self-effacing. Out of the quality of love comes the second minor quality of generosity and self-effacement. He gives more than he re- ceives. You remember the code of the old vikings. The viking chief rode the seas, and when the victory had been won, di- vided all the booty among his men; but not a thing did he take for himself. The M. I. A. officer who thinks of himself in the

THE MAKING OF LEADERS 977 limelight; who does not share the small public honors with his neighbors and fellow workers, is not a true leader. A leader need not always stand before the multitude; he may efface him- self at times and let someone else have the honor of the mo- mentary applause. If he can do this he becomes strong in his position of leadership. What is there in it for me? is never asked by true leaders. 3a. The leader is self-reliant. This quality is drawn out of knowledge. Though he de- pends on God, the leader believes that since he has been called to the office, if he does his duty well, he will be able to ac- complish the work assigned. He is not afraid. He stands self- reliantly before his task and before his fellow men. 4a. The leader plans his work ahead. This quality is intimately associated with the quality of work. That is ordinarily called organization. Every good Mu- tual Improvement worker, who desires to achieve leadership or- ganizes his work, and disdains to go to his work unpre- pared. He dreams of his work by night, and he thinks of it by day, and he throws it into such an organized form that he knows where he is going all' the time. Every smooth-working machine — this conference, for instance — has been made smooth- working because some one has planned ahead. This is a test of leadership. 5a. The leader is a good follower. Drawn out of prayer, out of communion with (rod and the Spirit of God, is the personal quality of being a good follower. The truly great man is quite as willing to) follow, as he is to lead; just as willing to be directed, as to direct; just as willing to be conducted, as to conduct; just as willing to do the toil of the day, as to tell someone else to do that toil. Somewhere, for every man, there is superior authority. The main thing is "to carry the message to Garcia." Such are some of the qualities that make leaders of men. This marvelous organization known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a world message — one of leader- ship for; the world. It is so organized that nearly every man and woman in the Church must act as leaders in some capacity. I believe that God has so provided that every man and woman of us, by observing a few simple rules, may attain to the power of leadership. God will add to our own efforts and we shall stand as leaders before our brethren and sisters, and be able to accomplish the work that is required at our hands. May God bless; us, and make of us all great leaders ! I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.