If you find yourself taking up the mantle of leadership I’m going to share with you three questions that served me well during my police career as a Sergeant and later as a Lieutenant:
- Where am I leading my people?
- Can I, should I?
- Why now?
First and foremost, am I leading my people towards Heaven or Hell? Am I leading my people towards physical life or physical death? Am I leading my people towards freedom or incarceration? Am I leading my people towards financial stability or bankruptcy? Am I leading my people towards staying in their home or having to move, and begin anew? Good leaders ought to frequently consider this question: Where am I leading my people?
When we begin striving to do the next right thing, at the right time, for the right reason, and in the right way, we will find in our current culture these battlefields will seem at times to compete with one another. What battlefields? There are primarily five battlefields:
- Moral Battlefield
- Physical Battlefield
- Legal Battlefield
- Civil Battlefield
- Social Battlefield
The first two battlefields are absolutely rock solid with clear underlying fundamental principles that are complementary not contradictory. In 2023 in various places in the United States of America we can observe the latter three battlefields increasingly suffer under the weight of madness, blindness, and confusion of mind (Dt 28:28). At Humilitas First students learn best practices offering the highest probability of winning on all five of the above mentioned battlegrounds. That simply means offering the very best tactics, strategies, and logistics. I don’t recall the exact quotation at this moment but great warriors have acknowledged that those who understand logistics can dominate those who only understand tactics. We need all three: tactics, strategy, and logistics.
There is a massive crisis in leadership today! A crisis in leadership soon leads to a crisis in craftsmanship! We have so few craftsmen today because we have so few good leaders today. We have a mess.
Secondly, just because I can do something doesn’t mean I ought to do that thing. Leaders ought to frequently place infinitely more weight upon the should I? Can I, should I? The should trumps the can. The mantra; Yes we can! Is a wee bit insane. Madness, blindness, and confusion of mind (Dt 28: 28).
Thirdly, leaders ought to ask themselves the question: Why now? This falls within: right time. When it comes to legitimate self-defense or defense of another we have to first acquire the knowledge base for principles like action beats reaction. There are definitely times when immediate action is the first priority of that moment! This is why it’s so important to do the work of building in a trained response as part of immediate action drills. If it needs to happen right now – then do it! However, there are strategies to avoid most of our problems. It’s common that through ego, ignorance, or complacency we tend to bring problems upon ourselves. At Humilitas First students learn how to avoid the vast majority of violent encounters. Students also learn the tactics, strategies, and logistics associated with the highest probabilities of winning when the violent confrontation cannot be avoided. Keep these three questions near the forefront of your mind. If you’re a Catholic ask your guardian angel to remind you of these questions.