Later on,
King Arthur married Guinevere, and they lived happily ever after. Eh, wait a
minute. Unfortunately for King Arthur, things turned out slightly different. On
the one hand, the legend of King Arthur tells us a lot about how to build
successful teams; on the other hand, it also tells us how you can still ruin it
all.
Let us
first continue a little further with a focus on the positive. King Arthur
remained very healthy and successful for 20 years. Hereto I have distinguished 3
wells of ‘cleansing living water’:
1. The
source of inspiring relationships
2. The
source of character training
3. The
source of mastery
1. The
source of inspiring relationships
During his
youth, for example, they were his foster parents Ector and Livinia, and Merlin
(who also remained Arthur’s loyal advisor until his death). During his reign, they
were some of his closest friends, like Gawain and Percival (who were also
Knights of the Round Table), who always stood by his side, and who fought with
him to keep England free of the plundering hordes. Also, Lucius the Bishop had
a special place in Arthur’s life. So, King Arthur was evidently capable of
making new friends, and of maintaining friendships for a very long time. At the
same time, this tells us something about his open and studious attitude, and
about his willingness to learn from others.
2. The
source of character training
King Arthur
indeed remained open to learn and willing to serve. As we saw before, his
education had already lain down a solid fundament for that, yet it also
required a lifestyle of discipline to maintain such an attitude. In Arthur’s
surroundings, it seemed that most of the Kings grew fat and lazy after they had
passed 30. King Arthur, however, lived a life of healthy moderation (and his
friends were a great support in doing so – which underlines the importance of
healthy relationships).
3. The
source of mastery
To become a
master is hard. To stay a master over a longer period is even harder. Arthur
managed to do so only by staying focussed, and by making a strong commitment to
quality. He kept on training his fighting skills well into old age. He kept on
delivering masterful work by increasing the prosperity in Camelot and in his
kingdom, and by taming the Saxons.
But still!?
Somehow, it ended badly for King Arthur. What kind of fatal mistakes did he
make? Firstly, he married the wrong woman. Guinevere was extraordinarily
beautiful and had a keen intellect, but she was never quite satisfied, and she perceived
everything from behind a veil of self-pity. She proved to be a bad advisor, or
a schemer even. Before long, she undermined the trust that others had invested
in her. To remind you, trust had been the most important element for King
Arthur when he started building his kingdom. Amongst other things, Arthur’s
disappointment in Guinevere resulted in a series of impulsive and rather stupid
decisions.
Furthermore,
Arthur forgot to find new young advisors. Many of his most trustworthy and wise
advisors were quite a bit older than he was, and when he turned 50, most of
them had passed away. Not finding new and young advisors in time proved to be a
vital mistake. So when King Arthur commenced on pointless endeavours, such as
trying to find the Holy Grail, there was no one to tell him what an idiot he
was becoming. Even though King Arthur died a hero, his last few years were
little heroic.
In
short: how do you remain healthy and successful as a team leader?
- Develop and maintain the right healthy relationships
- Remain a studious and open leader
- Keep developing your mastery
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