What kind of leader are you?

According to a Greek mythology, a dispute once arose between Athina, the goddess of wisdom and Poseidon, the ruler of the seas, over the patronage of the city of Athens.  All the Olympian gods, the Cecrops - the founder of Greek civilization, and the citizens of Athens acted as the judges.

Poseidon was the first to stand on the witness box. He struck the rock of the Acropolis with his trident and a spring of salt water gushed out. As Athens was close to the sea, it made very little or no impression in the minds of the judges. Then he conjured a beautiful horse to emerge. Again, the judges were not impressed.

Next was Athina on the witness box. In her majestic elegance, she presented before the judges, an olive tree - a symbol of peace and prosperity. All the judges unanimously awarded the case in her favour.

Whilst Poseidon defended his case against Athina using the power of fear and intimidation, Athina presented her own case using the power of peace and hope. What is the difference between these two great characters? What is the difference in their defence strategies? What can we learn from the attitudes of the two people?

Both had to rely on what they already had inside to present their cases before the listening judges. Poseidon had war intent. Athina had peace intent. None of them could offer what they did not have. Poseidon could not offer peace because he had none. Athina could not offer war because she had none. Even though Athina was born with great power, she personified beauty, peace and love. She did not use her power to bully the judges to submission. She did not use her beauty to charm them. She relied on love and peace to create a feeling of hope for the future. She won because she had wisdom one the three pillars of great people. The other two are knowledge and understanding.

Poseidon lost because he lacked wisdom. He used his power to create fear. Fear is the enemy of progress. An individual cannot make progress in fear. No one can sustain a relationship with fear. An organisation cannot survive for any length of time when its top managers continually depend on bullying tactics to get employees on their toes. A nation cannot achieve sustainable development when the leadership consistently rely on fear, intimidation, manipulation and deceit as strategies for ensuring that the citizens of the country vote for them during elections.

What kind of leader are you? Are you Poseidon or Athina?