Faisal Al Jalahma

The Power of Four – Reaction Paper

Leadership is a word thrown and used so frequently and so freely in today’s world by many

including myself. Walking around college campuses, posters and flyers advertising and promoting

“leadership activities” is not uncommon to a student and never had I asked myself, ‘what does it REALLY

take to make a leader?’ The power of four made me realize the true leaders are not who I often labeled

as heroes, but tend to be in fact what I refer to as the ‘unsung heroes’. The book speaks of Indians and

refers to Crazy Horse as the leader and whilst the likes of Spotted Tail and Sitting Bull were always the

ones to attract the plaudits. However, the most interesting part of the book in my opinion was

Marshall’s application of the leadership principles to modern day US politics. I compared the Lakota

society to Bahrain and contrasted it with United States. Moreover, I embraced key aspects of character

building and evaluated how it is enhanced throughout one’s life.

The author talks about how one’s character is shaped throughout his life depending on the way

they were raised and their life experience. ‘There is no special school for the training of heroes except

for life itself’ (Marshall 44). I agree with the author in the sense that these leadership classes or seminars

are not sufficient enough to build character, create a hero or form a leader. When comparing the Indian

days to modern North America, the way a child is raised is not the same anymore. The child is no longer

the “child of the village”. Because of changing technology and the nature of the US economy, families

are often distanced because of work or cheaper mortgages elsewhere. Having experienced both worlds,

I can relate to the difference and hence I become much more appreciative of what I have left behind. In

Bahrain, it almost feels as if the whole country is a small village. Due to its size, everyone knows

everyone. Family and friends are always close by and every child born in indeed, “a child of the village”.

Support is always all around him or her and the less tangible aspects of community and society such as

respect and family values have not been lost. On the other hand, when I came to the United States, I lost

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that support from “the village” as I had before and I realized it was much tougher than expected.

Although I do feel it has built my character in the sense that I am no longer heavily dependent on the

support from my family; I have temporarily lost my family values. I have become too independent and I

had forgotten the ones who have taught me the fundamental aspects of life. Every now and then I try to

contact my grandparents and the family that have supported me all through childhood and adolescence

to ‘validate [my] sense of identity’ (Marshall 55).

With that said, I strongly feel that the majority of North Americans are missing out the

experience that many internationals have experienced. The feeling of having a community supporting

you and guiding your every step is a feeling like none other. Independence is present to a certain extent

yet a harmonious and harmless atmosphere is commonly shared. In Bahrain, the size of the island

means that word spreads fast and people will be aware of someone if he or she us up to no good.

Reputation is key in a nation like Bahrain and the incentive to keep yours up is enough for most people

to maintain a good behavior. The actions of people are governed by the fact that they are aware that

the possibility of somebody knowing of what they are up to. Although this may sound to many as a lack

of privacy, one must not forget that there are many positives that arise from a community like Bahrain’s.

For example, when you need something to be done quickly, it is likely that you know someone in that

department or someone in the department knows your family so you could expect extra support and

special treatment in situations like these.

Marshall talks about the four principles that potentially make someone a good leader. I thought

the principle that is most ignored in the US society is the third principle – Know the Enemy. The book

illustrates this and uses the US government as a primary example. I am in total agreement with the

author when he claims that the US are fighting the wrong the enemy and highlights the military

spending to show the emphasis on the US targeting international threats. The true enemies to US and as

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matter of fact any country in world is in our backyard and as the author puts it, “Poverty, homelessness,

loneliness, racism, indifference, ethnocentrism, disease, disaster, ignorance, arrogance and apathy”

(Marshall 108). Billions of dollars is pumped into US armed forces every year to invade countries who

are an apparent threat to US security. If that wealth could be put to good use and be invested into

eliminating poverty and improving education, the real enemies and threats will be sedated. The US’

leaders have often been criticized by many and been labeled as poor leaders. If one could not

successfully identify who his enemies are, fine leadership may be out of the question.

Moreover, The power of four discusses many issues and comparisons between the Lakota

society and the modern American society are often made. The book talked about times have changed

and how the leaders before were often better then today because the people had a choice of who to

follow. If people did not like the way Crazy Horse led his people, they would stop following him to

battles. When Crazy Horse entered a dangerous battle, we hear of the hundreds of volunteers to who

would be honored to fight alongside him. Today the president - who many would assume is the leader of

the US – is making everyday decisions that shape the lives of “his people”. This to me is arguably the

most difficult job in the world. Unlike in pre-reservation times, the people do not have choice to follow

the leader or not. Once he or she is elected, the people are under his leadership and are affected by his

the choices he makes.

I have always been taught that if you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one. The

president has a balancing act to try and please over 300 million people. Marshall argues that modern

leaders have lost the true value of leadership because they prioritize on pleasing those who put them in

charge first as oppose to a nation as a whole. Rarely do politicians get elected into power nowadays by a

landslide and we often see them going into office with a few percent more votes over the other

candidates. With that said, there is an obvious significant opposition to those in power or at least a

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preference to an alternative leader. The leader without a doubt has policies that will please some more

than others and it is these very policies that were promised and subsequently got him elected into

office. Just because he could not make decisions that please everybody, that does not make him a poor

leader as Marshall suggests. The leader voted into power - although does not please everyone - does

seem to appeal to the majority of the country. Many countries around the world do not have a say with

regards to who their leader is.

In Bahrain, democracy exists to a certain extent. The kingdom is ruled by a monarchy and hence

the throne is passed on to the rightful heir. The king’s advisors however are however chosen in a

democratic way. Cabinet and the leaders of the municipalities across the kingdom are voted in by the

people. Each municipal candidate launches a campaign attempting to attract votes from the municipal

area that they are representing. Although the news headlines labels them as leaders, The power of four

made me realize that in fact they are not at all leaders and they are by no means the most suitable

candidates to represents the people of the municipality. The financial reward for assuming the

leadership role is not the most attractive aspect of the job. The more educated and more suitable

candidates are often on much higher payrolls in the private sector and will have to alter their lifestyle

substantially and take a huge pay-cut to represent “his people”. The unwillingness to make these

sacrifices means the remaining candidates are not the most intellectual people and the most suited for

the job. Most of those who take the jobs are Mullahs or Islamic clergy who are looking for a higher pay

grade. They promise changes that never occur and fail to establish proper communication channels that

allow the people to express their ideas. Most of these candidates seem to the public that they are in

office not to serve the public and represent the people, but are in fact there for self-gain, whether the

incentives are monetary or political power. They do not have the character of a true leader like Crazy

Horse.

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Marshall stresses the importance of character when evaluating a good leader. I believe that

leaders are leaders because of who they are and not what they do. Good leaders lead by example, are

honest and above all must be selfless. Like I previously mentioned, too many leaders, especially

politicians, make promises that they can’t keep in the interest of self gain. I myself try to always be

honest and selfless with my family, friends as well as with my professors. However, this is easier said

than done. When your grades and subsequently your future come into the equation, dishonesty can be

very rewarding and hence very appealing. Our minds often convince us that we have no choice and play

down the dishonesty as something that is small and necessary to reach the goals that we set ourselves.

Character and reputation that is built over a long period of time yet could be tainted in moments. Going

into the professional world, we must all develop key elements like selflessness and honesty in order to

be considered as future leaders and have a successful career. We must never forget the values that have

shaped us and built our character and like Crazy Horse, we must lead by example.

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