Have you got a little Captain in you?

Greg Burleson

Great Leaders: Have You Got A Little Captain In You?

An examination of leadership is not an endeavor which I take lightly.  This topic includes the most charismatic and dynamic actors in the world’s stage.  This is not a biographical series of significant world leaders, nor is it any sort of compilation or worship of success.  Instead, we will focus on the traits, behaviors, and dynamic individuals that have shaped Western Civilization over the last twenty-four hundred years.  An appropriate place to begin this topic is precisely where one expects to find no candidates; we will discuss the ideal leader.

While it is difficult to find the ideal leader, one such candidate does exist.  Beginning his rise to prominence in March of 1941, this American enlisted to serve his duty and never looked back.  This All-American over-achiever demonstrated a host of traits that made him the epitome of a true leader.  This man took every opportunity to stand for his beliefs, to lead by example, to demonstrate humanistic values. This man even showed the moral intensity to break rules to facilitate the right and pious outcomes.  Quickly rising to the rank of captain, this man was a key figure in defeating the Axis powers and changing the world to a better place.

If you have not guessed at the true identity of this perfect leading figure and hero, do not question your knowledge of 1940’s military history.  The man of whom I speak is none other than Steve Rogers, better known as Captain America.  Considering no man or woman has ever lived up to our extreme standards of leadership, this façade was created first to define the values which western society has evolved to judge our leaders.  So let us now examine Captain America to see what he can teach us of leadership.

Attempting to list the leadership qualities of Captain America is surprisingly difficult as there are too many to name.  Before the great transformation of his physical stature, Captain America truly had the heart of a champion.  Displaying courage, honor, patriotism, and virtue, he lived the life of an undersized, unhealthy castaway.  Rogers began by proving his numerous virtuous attributes and then carried the pain of the oppressed and never forgot the lessons he learned as the “little man.”   He led by example both on the battlefield as the war’s greatest soldier and off the front lines, supplying an emotionally starved nation with an embodiment of patriotism and valor.  His skills as an orator were unmatched as the nation and world hung on his every well-spoken word.  To top his list of character traits, Captain America was even willing to sacrifice his own life in the pursuit of protecting his fellow soldiers.  In short, Captain America was the perfect leader.

In going forward, we will next examine a duo of leaders that exhibit much of what we see in Captain America.  Two men, separated by two-thousand years, each were seen as liberators to their people.  Both men willingly gave up complete power in the pursuit of liberty and as a result they have been immortalized