Inspiration Series - Leadership

Inspiration Series

Leadership

The character of Eveline aka Celestine came to me a few years ago and as I was designing her, one of the first queries I encountered was this: What kind of a leader would she become?

Being a History graduate with an honors, I thought it was time to use my academic experience and really dive into my research. I believe if we are to ask ourselves which historic leader would you most likely serve we would all have a near exact answer. When I was busy creating Eveline, I knew inherently who she was like, who she mirrored and which leader I wanted her to draw aspiration from as I had spent a year studying her myself, maybe this was a coincidence, I am not entirely sure. Try and take a guess:

I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a King, and of a King of England too…

Elizabeth I is one of my favorite Queens and leaders, for many varying reasons, but truly it is her unyielding courage that has always drawn me towards her. I wanted my main character to mirror Elizabeth in intelligence, courage, boldness, fiery temper and determination. I understood really from the beginning that Eveline’s journey towards her destined role as a Queen was to be difficult, painful and unjust and so it was important that she had the character in which to face all the obstacles and overcome them all. She is a born survivor whose odds have always been against her and so her insatiable determination and courage are her constant allies.

Of course Eveline despite her immediate reflections of Elizabeth, is wildly different and unique. For instance, she isn't naturally fiery or bold, these are tools she comes to acquire throughout her tumultuous journey. Eveline is not a natural born leader unlike her love interest, Galean who is a born leader and soon to be King.

So what kind of leader is she?

Eveline is a great learner and I decided early on that she wouldn't be a natural leader, because I wanted to showcase her journey towards leadership and the sheer determination and knowledge needed. I wanted my readers to connect with her and I want them to follow and observe her as she rises from her lowly state as a humble soldier’s wife to a historic figure and leader. Eveline’s greatest setback is her firm disapproval in the theory of divine right and over the series she must tackle her own private conflict on whether or not she wishes to become a Queen, a Queen with absolute power over her subjects and whether or not she is the right person to lead an oppressed and disillusion people. She spends a great deal of time debating within herself, her own strengths and weakness and will ultimately have to decide whether or not she will willingly accept who she is. She has a very real fear that power will corrupt her soul and is afraid that such power would only weaken her Kingdom and render her people vulnerable.

A born survivor…

Eveline is a born survivor what with her parents being murdered by her half-brother Heidan making her an orphan at one. She was passed around many families before settling down with Estelle and Theodore in Keswick at the young age of thirteen. She has grown up pretty much in isolation and labelled a witch due to her unnatural looks, abilities and lack of confidence. With the trauma she has experienced so early on in life, she has suffered quietly and deeply and this has influenced her way of thinking and behaviour, producing both positive and negative results. She is determined and has an insatiable thirst for knowledge, however she struggles with self-worth and confidence and if she is to rule she will need to break with her bad habits and evolve, firstly by being able to look at herself in the mirror without disdain.

One of the great positives of being a born survivor is being able to adapt to changing circumstances and situations, and Eveline is very accomplished at doing exactly this. But with such trauma comes the need for a simple and quiet life and Eveline has been practising both the ability to live in simplicity, forced isolation aiding her quest for peace without any conflict despite the ever growing powers that are beginning to slowly come to the surface almost working against Eveline in some malevolent way.

Leadership Traits…

1.     Focus

2.     Confidence

3.     Integrity

4.     Patience

5.     Innovation

6.     Passion

7.     Inspiration

8.     Transparency

Eveline’s Traits…

1.     Compassion

2.     Generosity

3.     Determination

4.     Empathy

5.     Inspiration

6.     Patience

7.     Innovation

8.     Diplomatic

Eveline’s Weakness…

1.     Social Agoraphobia

2.     Perfectionist

3.     Can become rigid

4.     Can succumb to being cynical

5.     Pleasing others in spite of her true feelings

6.     Too forgiving

7.     Lacking in the ability to be assertive

8.     Too comfortable in her own isolation

Celestine the Queen…

I knew that as I have already stated, Eveline’s journey would be hard and dark for the most part. She will face peril, death and betrayal from all sides but her greatest nemesis will be herself. Eveline will  be forced into reconsidering who she is and her belief system through various situations she finds herself in and there will be many pivotal moments in which she will find herself trapped or unable to find direction, but these hazardous situations will force Eveline to overcome hurdles she has been refusing to face for many years.

Leadership Theories

·          Great Man Theory (1840’s) - A belief in which only a man could be a great leader and that true great leaders are born not made. It is a theory that binds itself to the belief that a great leader is one that is destined for greatness since birth and that when the time presents itself to them, they will rise up and fulfil their destiny. These men are seen as being intelligent, charismatic, wise and political astute. It was the Scottish writer, Thomas Carlyle who popularized this theory, “The history of the world is but the biography of great men”. He believed that it was great men or heroes that shaped the history of the world. Other prominent writers and historians supported this theory like, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and Spengler. However many critics were unaccepting of this theory, especially Hebert Spencer who believed that the relationship between historical events and the decisions of men was primitive, childish and unproven.

“You must admit that the genesis of a great man depends on the long series of complex influences which has produced the race in which he appears, and the social state into which that race has slowly grown…Before he can remake his society, society must make him.”

·        Trait Theory (1930’s - 40’s) – This is also known as the dispositional theory and it is a study of the human personality. This theory believes that people are either born great or are made with certain qualities that could enable them to become great leaders. Some of the qualities believed to be possessed by great leaders are: Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Charisma, Intelligence, Neuroticism, Self- Esteem, Perfectionism, Impulsivity and Obsessionality. The founder of this theory is Francis Galton who believed that leadership was a unique property of extraordinary people who possessed leadership traits.

·        Behavioural Theories ( 1940’S – 1950’S) -  In response to the trait theory, theorists began to experiment with the idea that a great leader is not born with exemplary traits but that it is through their behaviour that greatness comes forth. It means that great leadership can be taught, which means that anyone willing to educate themselves can learn to develop certain traits of leadership.

·        Contingency Theories (1960’s) – This theory was developed by Fred Fiedler in 1958 (Leader Attitudes and Group Effectiveness). In brief his theory looks at a leaders personality as a means to his or hers effectiveness to lead. There are three principle factors: How they are received, how they can exert control and the task involved. Fiedler believed that a person’s true effectiveness could be measured based on certain situations and environments.

·        Transactional Leadership Theories (1970’s) – They are characterised by the exchange between a leader and their followers. It involved the leader motivating their followers by appealing to the own self-interest using a system of rewarding and punishing.

·        Transformational Leadership Theories (1970’s) – Introduced by James Burns in the late 70’s. He defines this theory as “leaders and their followers raise one another to higher levels of morality and motivation”. In the late 80’s Bernard Bass developed the theory by defining transformational leadership and explaining that a leader should be measured by their influence on their followers, that followers should feel trust, admiration and loyalty towards their leader and that leaders should offer their followers more than self-gain that they should offer them an aspiring project and vision that gives them an identity.

Explanation….

In my book series, I write on behalf of a dozen or so leaders, ranging from Kings and Queens to High Priests and Tribal Leaders, so it is important to know what kind of leaders they are and how they differentiate from one another and in what ways. Also, how will Eveline’s leadership stand out from other leaders? How will she be able to establish herself as a leader considering the fact that she was never raised among her people and knows little of them and little of ruling?

In order to better understand who she is to become or who the other leaders are and what makes them good or bad, it is imperative to understand the different styles and theories of leadership and a good way to do this is to study various historical leaders, good and bad and to also study various academic schools of thought.

Some Leaders that I personally admire and despise… and draw inspiration from…

Admire:

·        Alfred the Great

·        Joan of Arc

·        Elizabeth 1

·        Catherine the Great – Empress of Russia

·        Brian Boru – Last King of Ireland

·        Marcus Aurelius

·        Antoninus Pius

·        Trajan

·        Queen Boudicca

Despise:

·        Nero

·        Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus

·        King Léopold II

·        Attila the Hun

·        Vlad Tepes

·        Henry VIII

·        Ivan IV of Russia

·        Ivar Ragnarsson

To conclude…

Ruling a Kingdom or empire is by no means easy, nor is it always pleasant and it is a rarity that a great leader who is fair and just comes along. Power is not for the faint hearted and it greatly alters a person and a system of ruling and is greatly determined by the ruler itself. So as an author and historian, I understand Eveline’s reluctance and hesitance over claiming two thrones and becoming a Queen and in the distant future if all goes to plan, a Goddess, the first to ever rule over Aurelius’. She has to question herself constantly and must find justification in her motives and truth in her beliefs. She will find herself torn from her belief system, allies and lovers, she will find herself encircled by foes seeking her power and dark forces seeking her soul and through all of this must find will and courage, so that she can become a leader of her people and mouthpiece for the oppressed and that is if she can overcome all of the hurdles along the way.

And what then if all goes to plan? How will power alter Eveline?

Iseult x