Are You a Corporal or a General?

The story goes that one rainy day a man on a horse came across a group of men. They were soldiers attempting to raise a wooden beam. The men were struggling to get the beam into position. The only person not working was an officer who was shouting encouragingly at the men.

After watching their lack of success for a short while, the many on the horse asked the officer why he didn’t join in and help, to which the officer replied, “don’t you realise, I’m a corporal?” Politely the man replied ” I beg your pardon, Mr. Corporal”.

The man then dismounted his horse and went to work with the soldiers to get the beam into position. When they’d finished, the man wiped the perspiration from his face, and said to the soldiers “If you should need help again, call on Washington, your commander-in-chief, and I will come”. The passer by had been none other than George Washington!

I don’t think anyone would have questioned General Washington if he had simply ordered the corporal into the mud to help his team, or even if he’d just added his voice to encourage the men to achieve their task. Instead he assessed the situation and did what was necessary to support his team in achieving the goal. In this case it meant doing exactly the same as them, his rank was not a consideration.

I’m sure the Corporal considered himself a good manager, and was encouraging his team. He may well have thought that to do the same work as the soldiers would make him seem like a weak leader and undermine his authority.

However, Washington understood that to be willing to get your boots dirty in order to help get the job done is what a true leader needs to be able to do.

So what are you? A Corporal or a General?