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I know how proud you must be to belong to DGS: and you have
much to be proud of.
My theme today is nothing new but is, I think, of importance:
it is "Leadership in the contemporary world": or perhaps more accurately
"Leaders and Followers".
None of us can be winners all the time. In the same way, we
cannot be leaders all the time. In the world that was one could be
But now I
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generally categorised as either a leader or a follower.
believe we must be prepared to be both leaders and followers.
None of
us can be big shots every moment of every day; neither, importantly,
should we be small potatoes all the time.
We need leaders who listen and followers who are alert and
critical but also constructive in their criticism and sensibly co-operative.
Indeed, a principal task of leadership is to encourage ideas, to encourage
others to speak out; to work for, and to induce, co-operation.
When you
are in a "following" role, there is room for obedience, of course; and
sometimes indeed, necessity reel necessity for obedience. But it is
also necessary to have other, more positive, forms of support; if you
like a need, not for mere blind obedience, but rather an understanding of
why obedience is necessary for a general good. It is in your family and
social group activities, your various clubs and organisations, such as
the Guides, that you can learn these "inter-personal" skills and
understandings. A sense of knowing when to take the lead: how to do it
without annoying everyone, when to be firm, when to be tactful; when to
give backing and support to someone else's ideas: when and how to make
auggestions; and when just simply to carry out orders intelligently.
These skills need to be learnt and will form a first class basis for
all your working and social activities in adult life. These are skills
that DGS, and all good schools should help to train you for.
/I believe