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| Photo Credit: Richard Chicoine iCopyright 2010: "Vision is the detail in the big picture" |
LEADERSHIP THUNDER BAY GUEST BLOG
THE SPARTACUS REVOLT
Background
Maggie was kind enough a short while ago to invite Joe and I to be Guest Bloggers for XOWhat (not to worry everyone will get their chance!) The topic for the Blog would be leadership. Topics could range from our thoughts on the LTB experience so far, a book review, a bio of a leader you admire, a funny story or expand on a quote or two.
How Spartacus Turned Up Here
After thinking long and hard about the subject of my Blog, I finally decided on the bio of a leader that I admire, and that leader would have to be Spartacus. He led a 3 year revolt of gladiators and slaves against the tyranny of the Roman Empire in 70BC.
I learned about Spartacus and his revolt from my mother Wilda. She is a remarkable woman who is now 81 years old, an Aboriginal woman, a Residential School survivor, and who as a young woman, refused to take the advice of my grandfather and paid her own way through nursing school at Cook County Hospital. This facility is located in one of the most poverty ridden sections of Chicago, Illinois. She still has great memories of the people there, and her experiences only made her more passionate when it came for her to be involved in her ‘causes’ (as she would call them).
My mother loves the epic movies made in the ‘40’s, ‘50’s, and ‘60’s.
Her favourite of all of them is Spartacus starring Kirk Douglas.
In our family, all of the members -
with the exception of my mother and I -
are left brain thinkers (I didn’t realize this until LTB) .
I think this is the reason that the two of us would watch the movie numerous times together from the time I was very young to the present.
Although the movie is 3 hours long we are riveted to the screen.
We are horrified at the treatment of the slaves, and
the inhumanity of the Roman Empire.
We cheer when Spartacus and the slave gladiators start their revolt and escape from the gladiator school, gather an army and fight the Roman Empire in their bid for freedom, and then together we are heartbroken when the revolt is crushed by the Roman Empire and Spartacus and his followers are executed by crucifixion and are lined up along the road leading to Rome so that surviving slaves and any citizen of Rome would see the fate of those willing to oppose the might of the Roman Empire.
As I grew older my mother would explain to me how important it was to be passionate about causes - how many important ideas and beliefs spring from the vision of one person -
and how that vision could evolve into a movement that could either make an impact,
on a small scale (our community) or a large one (the world).
She always said that Spartacus was a good example of this.
She pointed out that the Romans believed that by putting Spartacus and his followers to death they were killing their dream of freedom.
She told me that that decision by the Roman Empire only ensured that Spartacus’ dream of freedom would survive for a lot longer than the Roman Empire would.
The Spartacus Revolt and the movie Spartacus itself is
a subject of controversy amongst historians themselves.
They all agree that the revolt is a real historical event, but there is controversy and speculation regarding Spartacus’ motivation for the revolt:
his leadership abilities,
his strategic planning,
and if the revolt actually accomplished the goals that Spartacus was attempting to attain.
I believe that if Spartacus did not have the leadership abilities that some say he possessed that his revolt would have been a failure from the start.
It is said that at the height of Spartacus’ revolt his followers numbered at least 125,000
To successfully lead a group or organization of that size you have to be some kind of leader!
Believe it or not, the lessons that we are learning at LTB
are actually portrayed in the movie Spartacus:
Leadership and Vision,
The Tenacity To Follow Through On What Others Consider To Be Impossible Goals, Leadership Through Example,
The Follower As Leader,
The First Follower,
Leadership That Inspires Other Leaders and
The Enduring Legacy Of Great Leaders And Their Messages.
How Spartacus Helped Me On The Job
In conclusion I would like to share a story which I think really made me think about the impact that my mother and her “Spartacus School of Leadership and Values” had on me.
I was at work last summer, (if someone new to the Blog doesn’t know it I’m a Constable and Acting Sergeant with the Thunder Bay Police Service), and I had a call for service.
A local businessman was harassing another man over the fact that this man had a past addiction that he was successfully dealing with in treatment.
The man’s employer knew about his addiction and was fully supportive of his efforts,
but the harassing businessman was contacting the man’s employer as he felt it was something that the employer needed to know. For an unknown reason, he wasn’t going to stop the harassment because he felt duty bound to “do the right thing”.
When I contacted the harassing business man he informed me that as far as he was concerned I was a “small man with a small badge”
and that I had no idea who I was dealing with.
I made arrangements for the harassing business man to attend the station and resolve the situation by meeting with the man’s employer and then caution him regarding further harassing behaviour towards the man and his employer.
While we were alone, prior to the meeting, the harassing business man apologized to me saying that he didn’t mean what he had said earlier.
I told the harassing business man that as far as I was concerned, that
"I am proud to be a small man and
that my small badge protects small people from people like him."
After the successful conclusion of this matter I thought about what had happened and thanked my mother and father (yes they both have to take credit for the child they created!) and gave a silent thanks to Spartacus too!
- John Walmark, Class of 2010 - 2011
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FYI: I'm in Montreal at the moment, attending the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers' Convention.
Best!
Maggie
