This story….begins with an end. The
end of an era. The end of some good things. This story…ends with a new beginning.
The beginning of fond memories. The beginning of some great leadership lessons.
This story marks a paradigm shift. Where the chips fall, only time will tell.
There once was a Lion king,
gentle, kind. Hardly the types who lead the pack. He treated all as one. His
task was well laid out, to steer the herd past the sea, past the storm into the
far land of greener pastures before the others. Few would have thought he would
complete it for he lived in the present. “We will cross the bridge once it
comes” was his favourite saying. He was often perceived as myopic. Like every
herd, this one too comprised of the horses and the hyenas. While the horses
trusted their king, the hyenas criticised him for his lack of diplomacy. They
thought he lacked the vision, he lacked the aggression, he could not suppress
the rebellions.
And such they travelled,
day in and day out. Over the high mountains, the rough seas, the flat lands.
The pack stuck around. Barring a few who perished in the long journey, all the
animals continued. The king took good care of his fellows. Those who were weak
were not left to die. The strong were to bring them up. The hyenas would often
share a laugh on the king. “Were we to run a charity, Oh lord, you would have
been supreme”. The other groups who crossed the king’s pack, jibed at his compassion,
his tenderness. “You sure you a lion”, “will you ever reach the goal” were just
some of the statements the king had to live with. His pack seeing the others
would often get demotivated, the morale stooping low and would show anger and frustration.
On such days the king would encourage them to just take one step at a time and
keep faith. Thus the journey continued, day in and day out. The pack somehow
stuck around.
And then one day, the sun rose brighter than most of the days. It
was all green around. The place was warm and prosperous. The mission had been
accomplished. But hold on….there were more lion kings around. So they were not
the first. And everybody’s head hung in shame. Their king was not an able body.
The hyenas were right. They should have been in the other groups. The groups,
however, were nowhere to be seen. Upon enquiry it was learnt that the other
kings in their quest to reach first had pushed their packs beyond limit. They
had failed to understand the individual needs and had not cared enough for the
animals the pack represented. While some of them perished, the others had left
hopes of greener pastures and changed course. And so when the mission was
accomplished there was no one to celebrate.
On the other hand the journey for
the lion king’s pack all along was smooth despite the lows and highs which made
the goal seem easy and achievable. Together they all had made it. The hyenas
and the horses realised this alike. Just
when they were about to thank the king, the lion king came out of his den and
sought audience to an important announcement. “My friends, Congratulations on
this beautiful achievement. The journey seemed impossible without you. I had my
flaws but you guys kept me committed. I salute to every one of you for your
dedication and support. And now that my job is done, I wish to say good bye,
and I sincerely wish for you all to lead your individual packs. But do
remember, a leader is only as good as his last standing team mate”. With this
the lion king turned around to thousands of teary eyed herdsmen.
Someone heard a horse say, “You
never miss water until the well runs dry”.
