Page 173 - The Bible On Leadership

Courage 159

Did Patricia Carrigan, Peter, and John feel some fear? Probably. But
their courage helped them to act despite it. They became role models
for others, not because they were totally fearless, but because they over-
came whatever fears they had to act and speak strongly and decisively.
The Bible never says that courage and fear are mutually exclusive. In
fact, the most courageous acts take place despite fear. The Book of He-
brews expresses this quite graphically: ‘‘Stand firm on your shaky legs
. . . those who follow will become strong.’’ The message here is that
even when leaders are afraid or vulnerable and others see some of their
fear, the courage of the followers actually increases when they see lead-
ers acting in the face of fear or vulnerability.
One leader who justifiably might have had ‘‘shaky legs’’ was New
York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani during the World Trade Center disaster.
Giuliani, normally a fighter unfazed by public criticism, had been
rocked by a bout with prostate cancer and his much-publicized extra-
marital affair and marital separation. If anyone might have had his
‘‘shaky legs’’ knocked out from under him by the worst terrorist attack
on United States soil, Giuliani was a ripe candidate.
Instead, the mayor met the situation with a mixture of courage and
compassion. Minutes after the planes hit the World Trade Center, he
was on the scene. Like the firefighters and police whose ultimate boss
he was, he headed straight for the site of the disaster. When the first
tower collapsed, Giuliani was in a temporary command bunker, which
he had to hastily evacuate through a haze of dust and silt. But rather
than run for his life, the mayor insisted on setting up a news conference.
‘‘The mayor was adamant to have communication,’’ noted an assistant.
‘‘He was adamant to let it be known that we were not going to cede
the city.’’
Just after this, the mayor did have to run for his life, as the north
tower collapsed. But he quickly found another command post in mid-
town. He stayed in the thick of the action, but also managed to stay
above it, meeting with key deputies and commissioners, visiting hospi-
tals, comforting those who lost family members. ‘‘There is no doubt
that Giuliani is the man you want in charge of this situation,’’ observed
a policeman. ‘‘In this situation, it is like he is the only one who seems
to take command.’’ 6