Leadership Anonymous

Mahatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln have one, very obvious trait in common: Leadership. They were exemplary leaders and left a prominent footprint on the pages of history. But as with the many other lofty ideals that are often subject to my scrutiny, leadership has been my most recent victim.

The thoughts about leadership, that we experience when we imagine the impact that people like Ho Chi Minh and Martin Luther King have had on our world is marked with the giddy feeling of glory, like a rose-tinted dream. But what about the lesser known, yet impressive leadership challenges faced by people like Jacques Rogge

Being forced to act like the stuffing of a double layered sandwich, with angry human rights protesters on one side and the delicate, political sentiments of China on the other - managing, executing and negotiating must be the hardest endeavor ever. The worst part is - not many people even know about Jacques Rogge. Forget fame, Jacques Rogge's political tact is perhaps without much political impact - unlike that of Abraham Lincoln. It might be proper to even say that his attempts at preventing a tip in the balance of his front on the "Tibet" and "Darfur" issue might reflect a confusing model for the sportsmen participating in the Olympics.

What is the real recognition of such leadership? Is it personal satisfaction - is it thrill? Is it just the love of being in a squared situation? Perhaps it's just for the sake of the prestigious event. Anyhow - what I feel is the obscure leadership demonstrations as that displayed by Rogge, who stepped in to succeed the 20 years tenure of Juan Samaranch, while remarkable has very little appreciation tied to it - not to mention widespread impact. I, personally, would hate having to act like Kofi Annan when I actually want to work on sustaining the prestigious, glorifying experience for athletes participating in the Olympics.