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Perrin Aybara on Leadership (The Wheel Of Time)



The Stories have much to tell and teach us about the way we live.

 “You said something to me once, Elyas,” Perrin said. “You told me that if I ever grew to like the axe, I should throw it away.” “That I did.”

 “I think it applies to leadership, too. The men who don’t want titles should be the ones who get them, it seems. So long as I keep that in mind, I think I might do all right.”

 Perrin Aybara says it again and again, a deserving leader is one whose willingness to solve problems & bear burdens is much greater than his readiness to wear the titles. Yes, someone can appoint you leader but a leader who fails to evoke respect and only has authority to wield a stick as a means to make his people listen is probably better described as a tyrant. A leader does not need to be appointed or promoted, he is a leader by his actions & the respect he evokes.

 All this may sound preachy but I love this line of thought. And hopefully I will learn something. I am a part of a corporate machine and despite all my denials definitely a part of a rat race. But I should remember that I don't need a promotion to learn to be a leader, all I need to do is step up and take responsibilities for things which truly matter.

 And I see glimpses of this leader in the people around me. You know these people too. The people you respect, the people you look at to do the difficult stuff for you, the people you can truly depend on, the people who don't really care if they have been given authority or appreciation for doing what must be done.

 "He hadn’t asked to become a leader, but did that absolve him of responsibility? People needed him. The world needed him. And, with an understanding that cooled in him like molten rock forming into a shape, he realized that he wanted to lead. If someone had to be lord of these people, he wanted to do it himself. Because doing it yourself was the only way to see that it was done right. - Perrin Aybara"

 As I near the end of the Wheel Of Time series, I wanted to write about some of my favorite parts. And I started out with one of my favorite characters: Perrin Aybara, one of the three main protagonists; a blacksmith with a special connection with Wolves. Through the book he struggles to deal with the leadership thrust on him & this made me think about what leadership truly was about.











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