Leadership, Part One

Some insights from Colonel Lee Ellis, from his book Leading with Honor: Leadership Lessons from the Hanoi Hilton.  My own reflections in smaller italics, befitting their comparison to Colonel Ellis’.

“Authentic leaders consistently live in harmony with their values, even when no one is looking.  Their walk matches their talk.”

Is “victory” a value?  I do not believe it is.  Prowess is certainly a virtue of Chivalry, but is victory necessary to exemplify Prowess?  Again, I do not believe it is.  Therefore, striving only for victory, favoring Prowess over all other Virtues, is disharmonious to Chivalry.  Can such a person be a true leader?

According to Colonel Ellis, self-reflection is most important element of personal leadership:

“Our culture desperately needs courageous servant leaders—men and women who have clear vision and strong character, who instill confidence and inspire excellence, who don’t fold under pressure, compromise on principle, or practice deception.  In short, we need leaders who are committed to leading with honor.”

“Leading with honor is about doing the right thing, even when it entails personal sacrifice.  More often than not, doing the right things—accepting responsibility, fulfilling your duty, telling the truth, and remaining faithful to your word—is the most difficult thing to do. . .”

“Becoming a leader is not easy.  First, your ego will sting a bit when you realize that you have not arrived, and still have room to grow.  Second, changing some of your attitudes, behaviors, and habits can be difficult, even painful.  You must go to war with your ego, your dogmatic opinions, and some of your old ways of doing things. . .”

Our Society also seeds courageous servant leaders, committed to leaving their offices and charges better than when they came into them, not content to serve out the term and check the box; who seek out the difference they can make, even if it gain them nothing but the satisfaction of having made the difference; who see beyond how they believe things ought to be to see that how others think it ought to be is not lessened by their station in the SCA or the activity they choose to engage in, but is of equal weight as a fellow member, whose belief is necessary for our society (and our Society) to flourish. 

But, with what weapons does one “go to war with [his own] ego [and] dogmatic opinions”?

According to Colonel Ellis:

 

  Leading Yourself

    1.  Know yourself. 

          Be honest and accept responsibility for your actions and inaction. Know what you 

          stand for.

    2. Guard your character. 

          Make your actions matter; let them be balanced manifestations of the Virtues of 

          Chivalry. Stand strong in your convictions.

    3.  Stay Positive. 

          Life is trial, and often success but unveils new challenges.  Joy lies in each new 

          challenge; joy lies in the fight for what you believe in.  Do not let difficult or 

          successive challenges lead you to despair.

    4.  Confront your doubts and fears. 

          Do not shrink from the fight, within or without, but certainly do not avoid the 

          fight within by throwing yourself only into the public fray.  Those who face only 

          the outward foe merely “seem.”  You must conquer yourself to truly“be.” 

          To quote Neil Peart:

                         Living in the limelight,

                                 the universal dream for those who wish to seem

                         But those who wish to be

                                 must put aside the alienation,

                                          get on with the fascination,

                                                    the underlying theme.

    5.  Fight to win. 

           Chivalry at its most basic.  Always bring your best fight and fight to win.  To do

           otherwise would be disrespectful to your opponent and dishonorable generally.   

           To do less would be untrue to yourself.

    6.  Bounce back and be resilient. 

          Failure is unavoidable, internally and externally.  Success knows its own timetable.

          In the immortal words of Albertus Pacinus: “On any given Sunday you are either 

          going to win or you are going to win.”  Get up and get back into the fight; the next 

          dragon awaits!

  Leading Others

    7.  Clarify and build your culture.

           To lead any group, you must be a driving part of defining the culture you want

           to build.  How can you manifest the virtues of your estate if you have not 

           defined that estate to some degree?  How can you model the behaviors you 

           would see in others seeking your same estate if you cannot articulate, or at 

           least recognize, them in yourself?  How can you judge the merits and 

           shortcomings of others toward achieving your estate without?

    8.  Over-communicate your message

          It is not enough to simply say you follow Chivalry, to say you are a Knight or a Don.

          You must continuously celebrate what Chivalry means, must extoll the Virtues of 

          Chivalry and not suffer dishonor to flourish.  You must constantly manifest and 

          exemplify your virtues and define them for future generations.  Tireless effort is

          necessary for success.

    9.  Develop your people

          Chivalry does not allow one to simply sit back and observe.  Virtue requires 

          action, and perpetuation of virtue, the spread of Honor and Chivalry, requires 

          great effort to ensure those who come after you develop the skills and

          understanding necessary to ensure Chivalric virtues thrive. If such mentoring

          and training appears easy, you probably are not doing it well, right, or to the

          degree necessary. 

  10.  Balance mission and people

          Don’t forget the fun!  All work and no play make Lord Jack a dull boy.  People are 

          more important than expensive trappings.  What a man believes in, what he does,

          should be more important than who he cleaves to or what award he bears. 

          'Nuff said.

  11.  Build cohesive teams

          Celebrate the multitude of relationships available in our current middle ages, 

          but don’t lose sight of the larger goal.  Chivalry and the greater good are more

          important than individual or group (shire, household, etc.) success. 

  12.  Exploit creativity

          Let everyone contribute according to his skill and loves, and don’t insist things

          be done only your way. Never turn down a volunteer.  There is much work to do,

          always another challenge, and many hands lighten the work.  If you fear to

          share whatever spotlight you perceive yourself to bask in, you are in it for the 

          wrong reasons.

  13.  Treasure your trials; Celebrate your successes.  

          Keep victory in its place.  Trials reveal character, require character to 

          overcome. Character is the product of all your virtues.  Therefore, ensure all 

          your other virtues are as practiced and sharp as Prowess.

  14.  Free the captives. 

          Help others confront their own doubts, fears, attitudes, behaviors, and

          habits; help others lead themselves.  

Rapier Peerage - A Modest Proposal

This is my first draft of a letter I intend to send to the SCA Board of Directors regarding the creation and implementation of a Rapier Peerage:

In considering and implementing a proposed "Fourth" or "Rapier" Peerage, preservation of the current structure, traditions, and mythos of the SCA's rapier community is not only in the best interest of the activity, it is also in keeping with previous SCA precedent for implementing new peerage orders, and is achievable, though not without significant cross-Kingdom coordination and possibly the temporary relaxation of a few corporate policies.

 

How do you institute a new Peerage for rapier atop a community that has already grown as inspirational and responsible a body of overseers as any other field of SCA endeavor--a group whose members have already shepherded the activity through three decades of expansion and serious growth in sholarship, who are already "clear beacons promoting not only the ideals of the society, but also the activities necessary for our Society to function and to best fulfill its mission"?[1]  Do you simply supplant this current, intrensic group of leaders, and tell the various Orders of the White Scarf that they no longer represent the pinnacle of all that is most noble and most responsible in the field of rapier?  Do you tell the Dons and Provosts that they no longer embody the highest estate in their field, that they may no longer embrace the responsibility for the activities, traditions, and mythos they created--often against very tall odds or open opposition?

 

I believe it would be wrong to marginalize the healthy, self-actualized  structure that already exists in rapier.  Afterall, Knighthood, as a formal peerage, merely codified the structure already in place for the field of armored combat, as did the Pelican for the subset of "service" Laurels.  The precedent for recognizing the existing social organization of a field of endeavor in the creation of a peerage is clear and strong, and should be followed once again in the case of rapier.  I assert that it is simply the potential magnitude of perpetuating that precedent for rapier that makes this matter daunting in the least, even though, ironically, it has been the SCA's own lengthy reluctance to change anything about the existing Peerages that has created the problem's magnitude, in the first place. For this reason, I believe the matter of implementing a rapier peerage deserves greater effort, and formal exception where necessary.

 

THEREFORE, in keeping with SCA precedent, I believe the best way to implement the proposed new rapier peerage is for the Crowns of the Known World, in close cooperation, with clear oversight on the part of the SCA's Board of Directors, and incrementally over the course of a year, to raise to the new Peerage Order all of those who are already Companions in a White Scarf Order. 

 

1. Because of the special nature of this effort and the preexistence in the majority of the Laurel Kingdoms of an Order already occupying the place, fulfilling the role, and embodying the virtues and ideals of the proposed new peerage, the implementation decision by the SCA's Board of Directors ought to be more "imperial" in nature than would otherwise be the norm, coordinating the various Crowns in the new peerage's implementation, rather than the BOD "firing and forgetting."

 

2. I believe a small implementation committee of Heralds and/or representatives (at the Kingdoms levels, overseen by someone appointed by the SCA Board) should oversee coordination of a timeline with the Known World's many Crowns to make all possible efforts to preserve the chronological order of current White Scarf precedence, and to convert it into the new peerage.  Offers of elevation to the new peerage should be made to still-active and responsible (for at least the previous year) companions the White Scarf.  The offers and subsequent elevations should be paced and coordinated to preserve the order of precedence within the current collective Orders of the White Scarf. To wit, the first should be offered to Tivar Moondragon, to preserve his premier status. Next, offers/elevations should be made in the date order of those who followed in the same year as Tivar, then to those who followed in the next year, and so on, over the course of a year.  Any current White Scarf not wishing to be elevated may decline and maintain companionship in their particular Kingdom Order of (High) Merit.

 

3. To facilitate the implementation process, the Board of Directors should, for the course and scope of this effort only, suspend or relax portions of Corpora that would inhibit this process, such as restrictions on the Crown of one Kingdom recognizing the accomplishments of individuals whose applicable accomplishments occured in another Kingdom, and allow the Kingdoms' representatives to the implementation committee (as proposed) to coordinate elevations, objections, etc.

 

4. This process is almost certain to result in some "mass elevations" at one event or another, necessary to synchronize the generations of White Scarves across Kingdoms.  Admitted, this could detract from traditional peerage elevation mystique, and will be less than palatable to some.  Nonetheless, I regard this as a fair trade-off in light of the greater structure and longer-held traditions that will be preserved by the effort.

 

5. Some SCA members will quite rationally point out that not every White Scarf Kingdom has always treated its Order as something akin to a peerage when selecting the Orders' companions, and that raising all current White Scarves to a peerage will grant that estate to some who are potentially undeserving of peerage.  Alas, this could be true in some cases.  It would be dishonest to deny it.  However, any current companion of the White Scarf who has not already grown to meet the peerage standards as a result of the responsibility and trust inherent in his Companionship, will quickly do so.  This "adapt or be marginalized" dynamic is nothing new to the SCA's existing peerages, to which individuals so elevated are often held by themselves or others to be lacking in one peerage quality or another.  Such individuals either rise to the occasion, or they do not.  So, too, would it be with a new peerage initially comprising the active White Scarves.  As such, this should not be an impediment.  I openly assert that the overall level of commitment, skill, scholarship, and virtue embodied by the collective Orders of the White Scarf rival that of any existing peerage.

 

Preservation of the current structure, traditions, and mythos of the SCA's rapier community in the implementation of a proposed rapier peerage is, by far, in the best interest of rapier.  As importantly, it is in keeping with previous SCA peerage implementation precedent, which should not be set aside due to the perceived complexity of the implementation task.  Such implementation as I have described above is quite "doable," despite requiring significant cross-Kingdom coordination and possibly the temporary relaxation of a few corporate policies.  In the end, I believe it is the right thing to do.

 

 [1] SCA Census MMX, p. 5.

You can never go back...

I live in Meridies. 

Before that I lived in Ansteorra. 

Before that: Meridies, Ansteorra, Meridies, Drachenwald (when it was part of the East), and Meridies. 

Before that, Novgorod. 

I was born in Novgorod, the Northern principality of what is now (but was not then) Russia.  At some point--and the why's and specifics are unnecessary--I left the land of my birth and wound up here in Meridies ((the first time…, in 1982, when I started in the SCA)).  I have not, since that time, taken up residence in Novgorod, or any other part of the Rus lands.  I do not hold lands there, and trouble myself very little with that land's goings on, except for the bits I pick up from others who once lived there, whom I encounter here in the Laurel Kingdoms.

I am not sure how I could manage to live all the way back there, anyway, (like I could ever convince my lady wife to tolerate that much snow!) and still make it to tournaments and courts and revels here in Meridies.  It takes many weeks to accomplish even part of the trip, if I even knew how to get back.

And how would I explain one sovereign to the other?  Rus traditions are certainly more relaxed than those in Western Europe.  I could leave service to one Prince or magnate, shift allegiance to another, and still keep the land I was given by the first.  The ways of the Laurel Kingdoms are even more relaxed.  Nonetheless, I cannot bring myself to pledge my service and fealty to a Meridian King while at the same time espousing similar devotion to a French or English King or claiming to hold lands from a Turkish Emir or a Grand Prince in Tver'. 

No, that doesn’t make sense for (to) me.., temporally or feudally or any-way-ally.

No, I live here in Meridies, full time, with my family and all the retainers, troops, and tenants befitting my station, in my fortified chalet overlooking Altantia’s southern border vale. 

There's more to it!

Register some damn heraldry already!

At least adopt and use some consistent heraldry, even if you decide not to register it.  Squatter's rights, or common law registration, or something!

You have no business in an Order of Merit--let alone a peerage Order if you haven't seen fit to get your "estate" in order. If the decision were mine to make, I wouldn't let you enter Crown tournament without registered or "common law" arms.

It's called Franchise, and it is a virtue of chivalry.  Look it up.  Do it.

Being a hot blade or mindless autocrat drone or mad Elizabethan seamstress or [instert other obsessive gig here] shouldn't be enough.  Round yourself out in all the the other aspects, as well.  That includes heraldry. 

Hell, in Meridies your AOA charter/scroll directly charges you to develop and register the arms your King just awarded you.  I'll bet other Kingdoms do the same or similar.

Obey your King. 

Get off your ass and register some damn heraldry, already!

There.., tongue removed from cheek.

Why do I feel this way...?

It's like when you are with friends.., or just meeting someone for the first couple of times.., and you want --NEED-- TO fill any potentially awkward silence, to get a conversation going on *some* topic.  You end up talking about things you are not sure the other person will EVEN be interested in, but the need to fill the silence makes it worth the gamble.  Or you end up as babbling incoherently, or stream-of-consciously.., just to fill the silence.  It's even worse if you are the host, because that creates a social pressure to keep your guests entertained.., the drive to fill the silence is amplified.

Yeah.., THAT is how I feel when I fight rapier these days.., for the last few years, actually.

I experience a visceral *need* to attack.., to initiate something, so that I and my opponent are actually and actively engaged. 

It's stupid, I know.., and it is certainly detrimental to skillful combat, and reputation, and fun.., *my* fun, at least.

I am, by nature, a counter-puncher.., or at least I *was* a counter-puncher back when epees were the standard for SCA rapier and I went to at least one practice a week, against thoughtful and capable opponents.  Now, the weapons are heavier, challenging my body's 20-year ingrained epee-centric reflexes (No, mister wrist, that is not an epee, you've got to start that parry combo earlier--the rapier blade in your hand doesn't move as fast as an epee  No, mister automatic distance control, all blades are not the same length--that 48" tickler changes the algorithm you have always relied on.)  Today's weapons are stouter, making me much more concerned about hitting too hard.  And those damn period grips!  It's amazing how used to a french or pistol grip you can become in course of decades.  I am more than a year back into this game and I still do not feel comfortable gripping my own weapons; my hands are constantly seeking the comfortable position of yore.

All that stuff makes me feel.., inhibited, out of sorts.

But, it's not just that stuff.., not really.., not totally.

For the last few years before returning to the SCA I did modern epee.., and I felt the same *need* to start and maintain the conversation there, too.  In tournament bouts you get 3 3-minute periods of fencing separated by two breaks.  The clock is stopped with each touch, then restarted with each command to engage, so that's 3 minutes of actual fencing.  The first fencer to score 15 touches against his opponent, or the person with the highest score at the end of the time, wins.  It is quite common for epee matches in high-level competition to run right up to the end of 9 solid minutes of fencing with neither fencer having scored 15 touches on his opponent.  Epee can be a waiting game, a counter-punching game.., my game.

And yet, in my first tournaments, I found (in hindsight, of course) that I had initiated almost every engagement and had brought my bouts to conclusion.., to 15 touches scored (at least I won a few more than I lost).., all within the first 3-minute period!!  Whoa!  Where's the fire!?  Slow down!  Wait.  Think.

Why do I get in such a hurry?

It was in examining the commonality of my behavior between fencing and rapier, after a backyard practice with my friend Graham, that I discovered the social pressure that seems to underpin much of that behavior.  Since Graham was a guest at my house, and fencing with him actually was kind of a "host" thing, the feeling that I needed to initiate the action was stronger and more distinct than it had been in the past.  It was easier to recognize.  Epiphany!

Funny, though--I don't remember feeling this 15+ years ago, at the height of my activity as a Don in Ansteorra.  This datapoint is what got me examining the rest of the factors that could be contributing to my inhibitions (different weapons, grip, etc).  But is this all of it?  Certainly the lack of local practice (hell, lack of local group to even facilitate a local practice) seems to raise the "stakes" of each bout at an event.  That has to factor in.  Although I usually don't care too much whether I win or lose, I find afterwards I am a bit concerned about how I am perceived.., and that is a recipe for a thick soup of performance anxiety. 

Hell. There sure seems to be a lot of stompy foot-traffic on the bridge between my head and my heart.

What is it they say?  Admitting that you have a problem is the first step...?  Ok.  Check.  Step one accomplished.

Step two?  Not 100% sure.., but I do know that I need to slow the fuck down as I figure it out.

The Granting of Largesse for Virtuous Acts

The matter of largesse is large in my mind right now, so I wanted to post this.  It is an article I originally wrote for a booklet handed out at the Michaelmas Passage of Arms, hosted by the Barony of Bjornsborg, Kingdom of Ansteorra, some time back in the late 1990's or 2000.  It represents an earlier outlook on Chivalry overall, and the style is awkward to my 10-year-older self.., but, hey, I was who I was back then.

*          *          *          *          *

 

During a tournament you will see many notable, courageous, and virtuous acts.  It is incumbent upon us all, spectators and combatants alike, to recognize those acts that represent the best parts of what we are trying to recreate.  Medieval man divined five classic virtues inherent in chivalry.  These were largesse (generosity), courtesy, loyalty, franchise, and prowess.  Exemplars of each may be seen throughout the day, upon the field and off.  We suggest the use of one of these very virtues, largesse, to recognize and laud virtuous behavior, and thus reinforce its place in our society.  Non-combatants, especially, may bestow largess upon those whose acts have impressed them.

Largesse is most often manifest upon the field of combat as mercy.  Offering an opponent the opportunity to yield, rather than insisting that the combat continue, is an example of generosity.  Similarly, giving up an earned advantage, such as casting off a shield to match an opponent’s disadvantage, is quite laudable.  The virtue courtesy is very important in such situations, as well.  It is not enough to merely offer such generosity to an opponent, but it should be offered in ways not demeaning to the disadvantaged party. 

Courtesy may also be much evident off the field.  How combatants treat each other off the field, and out of the limelight, is an insight into their true character.  More importantly, how they treat non-combatants (do they have time to offer greeting, carry another’s burden, or ask after a strangers day?) is the surest mark of their true courteousness.  Of greatest importance, however, is how they treat the one for whose honor they are supposed to be fighting.  More than mere courtesy, loyalty now comes into play.

Loyalty is perhaps the most difficult of the virtues to observe in others.  It should motivate a combatant to excel in all things, not in his own name, but for the honor of that soul who inspires him.  Far from refraining from those acts which might shame the one for whom he fights, a combatant should demonstrate that all the glory he earns is for his special someone, and not for himself.

Franchise is the manifestation of the rank, estate, and prerogatives of an individual.  This is most clearly seen upon the field in the dress, weapons, and trappings of a combatant.  Has the combatant taken the time to maintain his gear, repairing straps and rivets instead of encasing his thighs in duct tape…, again?  Beautiful, proper, and period use of heraldry is the hallmark of franchise.  While those of greater rank may fight in that same tired tabard, the young Lord who cunningly weaves his heraldry and persona into his display upon the field (or off!) should be rewarded for enriching the atmosphere for everyone. 

Prowess is by far the most obvious virtue on the field.  Whether demonstrated through feats of great skill, or through acts of great courage, unusual acts of prowess should be lauded.  A relatively new combatant who defeats a Knight or Centurion would certainly be worthy of note, as would a combatant who stubbornly defends against several opponents (especially if he is victorious!).

A most appropriate way of recognizing a virtuous act is through one of those self-same virtues: largesse.  By extending our own generosity to reward laudable behavior in others, we perpetuate the type of behavior upon which our society is founded.  This generosity, often referred to as “giving largesse”, can take almost any form.  At its most basic, it might be simply mentioning to a combatant that you were impressed with what he did, and why.  This shows the combatant that folks do watch close enough to notice, and will almost certainly result in his continuing such acts in the future.  Similarly, you might grant someone “word fame” by openly sharing with all in attendance that virtuous behavior to which you were witness.  Recounting the act and celebrating the virtuous actor provides example to everyone that such virtuous behavior is rewarded.  Gifts, tokens of appreciation and recognition, are also a tremendous way to reward virtuous acts. 

However, largesse need not be granted in open court, or on the public tourney field.  Often the more subdued and personal tokens are the most cherished.  Extend the hospitality of your table or campfire to the new combatant and his consort.  Those old knee cops gathering rust in your bag might be a generous gift to a new young fighter.  Understated, but meaningful items are often very nice as well: a brooch you won in an earlier tournament; a wooden box given to you as largesse; the ring from your hand; a beaded necklace; a quill pen; a bundle of candles; a decorated tin; a flower; anything.  Finally, when considering largesse, try to remember the one for whom the combatant fought.  Too often the excitement of victory overshadows the one who inspired it.  It is always appropriate to gift that silent inspiration with a token of appreciation.