Noblesse Oblige

Leaders have a duty to speak up.

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Portrait of the Villers Family by Jean-Bernard Duvivier, 1790 (public domain - Wikimedia Commons)

“When virtue is banished, ambition invades the minds of those who are disposed to receive it, and avarice possesses the whole community.”
— Montesquieu, 1745

Leadership is not a set of perks. Leadership is the manifestation of duty to others.

Last week, we talked about the role of a leader as a steward of an organization,¹ holding a place perhaps previously occupied by someone else and preparing it to be occupied by another.

A leader’s duty isn’t only to an organization, but to its people as well, as they think beyond themselves and consider the greater good.

It reminded me of a related concept called noblesse oblige.