LeadEtics®’ Nine (9) Leadership, Sentient, and Humanity Virtues

Leadership, Sentient, and Humanity Virtues of Leadership Number 3:

“Ensure that Your Expressions are Reasonable and Understandable.”

Herein this Chapter are the Definitions, Clarifications, Descriptions, and Examples of the Nine (9) LeadEtics® Sentient Leadership Virtues that can make for Leadership, Sentience, and Humanity in an individual.

The number three (3) of the Nine (9) LeadEtics® Sentient Leadership Virtues that make for Leadership, Sentience, and Humanity in an Individual is hereby discussed.

1. Sentient Virtues of Leadership number 3.

“Ensure that your expressions are reasonable and understandable.”

Definition of the keywords of the Virtue.

In defining this virtue, we should understand the meaning of the keywords, which are, 1) Expression, 2) Reasonable, and 3) Understandable.

By Expression, we mean our communications with ourselves and others. When we express our viewpoints, wishes, concerns, and so on, to ourselves or others, we are communicating.

By Reasonable, we mean to utilize the main power that makes you a sentient human being. Reason is the ability to think and come to a desirable decision or invention, etc. The power of reason lies in the acceptance of one’s decision, conclusion, or invention by others, otherwise, it is unreasonable.

By Understandable, we mean for our expressions or communications to be worthy of the word, communication, they must bring about an understanding in the mind and action of the person with whom we communicate.

To understand is to have as close to the same ideas, feelings, and viewpoints as the originator of the communication. Do I understand what was said exactly? Is the essence of ‘understandable’.

Definition of the Virtue.

To define this virtue, we are enjoined to make sure that our expressions, be they facial, emotional, verbal, written, graphic, generative, tactile, contact, and so on – things we give to others that are aimed to inform other people of our intention, feelings, viewpoints, etc., – should be reasonable (full of good and acceptable reasons) and understandable.

There is no reason for anyone to communicate with another where the other will not gain an understanding.

There is no reason for anyone to express their person, intention, feelings, and viewpoints to another where the expression is lacking in the core attribute of rationality.

Clarification of the Virtue.

Communication is life. When we say communication, we mean the whole hog of the consideration and action that enable perception and completed exchange of particles of life and matter between two or more living beings.

The use of the word, expressions, to define this virtue, is deliberate. We feel people can easily mentally step over communication than the term expressions. Expressions carry an additional meaning of those “innocent, unassuming, tentative, and almost unrecognized messages, although embedded within a communication”.

Facial, muscular, nervous, emotional, eye motions, and voice tones, among others, are some of the expressions that almost always accompany every in-person exchange of live particles between live beings.

Whether it is in the vital message, the nuances, or the mode of delivery, the expressions we give to others determine whether or not we are given reality (we are even noticed), understood, and can obtain what we desire from our companions. This is on the one hand.

On the other hand, whether our expressions or communications are reasonable and understandable to the target audience is another factor that we should pay the currency of attention to.

A reasonable expression or communication is an expression that meets the agreement of the other person with whom we communicate. Does our message get home? What is home but reality? If reality is agreement, as espoused and observable in practical experience, then we should strive to ensure that our expressions are real and agreeable. Otherwise, we might have talked, we would not have communicated.

Ordinarily, an agreeable expression must be taken as an understood communication because reality or agreement is a composite of communication. And, the essence of communication is the attainment of understanding.

Sometimes, we must strive for understanding and not agreement in communicating with people. Understanding is boss. Agreement may come later or never.

Know this; without understanding, an agreement is impossible. What is it that I am agreeing to? That is understanding.

Whether or not you agree with your boss’ or the EFCC officer’s communication, it seems to us that you will strive to understand, and get the so-understood message affected.

However, the best expressions are those that combine agreeableness with understanding.

2. Leadership, Sentience, Humanity Sayings or Actions that Exemplified the Virtue.

One of the most memorable sayings of within the religious and spiritual cycles is, “Do you believe?”

Why would anyone ask another who desires a person extending a hand of spiritual or religious help if they believe?

Great leaders have learned to communicate with distinct simplicity and clarity of intentions and seek the agreements of those they led or tried to assist to obtain those great outcomes they achieved for themselves and humanity.

Why would any great leader not jump in, order people around, and enforce help on them without consent and agreement? A great leader knows that such an imposition does not work no matter how good one’s intentions are, how powerful one is, or how desperate the leadership or help condition might be.

We know from history and experience that the expressions of great leaders with leadership, sentience, and humanity virtues were humane, concise, subject-focused, and understanding.

Some leaders are wont to speak and write in poetic parables and other literary styles. One who knows the antics of those whose intentions are dark and destructive can understand the need for these difficult-to-understand communication styles. For instance, in ancient Bharat (India) as in many other areas of the world, spiritual and religious lessons thought to be too sensitive for the intolerant rulers or his arms-wielding minions were spread through poetry and dramatic plays. They were vital for the fear of oppression and suppression from powers-that-be who must protect the status quo to maintain their control over the minds and thoughts of the masses of the people.

With such “artistic presentations”, the great Hindi spiritual work, in the Bhargava Gita, the Tao (Doa) Tey Qing of Lao Tzu, among others, were born. In the absence of such brilliance, it is very likely that humanity will still be holed up in the darkest of spiritual nights.

Therefore, the responsibility is on the person who originated an expression to make it understandable and agreeable.

3. Positive Example of the Virtue.

Understandable and agreeable communication or expression is an art that many people do not appreciate. Talking is all that matters to the vast majority of the people, and not understanding.

When we look at the underlying cause of misunderstanding, quarrels, fights, and wars, we find poor effort at communicating one’s ideas, opinions, or desires to attain understanding and agreement with the opposite party.

Ron Hubbard says, “There are no human problems that cannot be resolved through communication.”

Communication is one of the few universal solvents, including admiration, understanding, and agreement, among others. In the absence of communication, chaos and disasters always prevail.

Former South African President, Dr. Nelson Mandela

One man who used the art of understandable and agreeable communication so effectively was the late and former president of South Africa, the indefatigable freedom fighter, Dr. Nelson Mandela.

Upon the resumption of Mandela of the presidency of the South African nation at the death of the evil Apartheid system of misgovernment, the South African people, the native Africans, who had suffered unbelievable horrors in the leprous hands, warped minds, and under the molten iron boots of foreigners for centuries, tried to retake and remake their destiny.

The stage was set for a war of redemption, a war of reformation, for some, revenge. While this rage and impending war was justified by every ethical, moral, and international legal reasoning and system, everyone knew the ensuing disasters would destroy more than construct.

This was a war that would eventually become a racial conflict between the Africans and the Caucasians. Unlike the Africans, the Caucasians have always, from their emergence from their homeland, defended, protected, and supported their own, no matter what evil their own committed.

Dr. Mandela, wherever he imbibed his humanity, and especially the arts of understandable and agreeable communication, plunged himself into the midst of the impending conflagration. Many in Africa and beyond anticipated his leadership of the war. Many had expected that he had a score to settle with those who practically destroyed his life, hassled him across his own land, and imprisoned him for 27 years on a desolate island.

But Mandela rose like a gentle, calming, healing giant above the timidity, frailty, smallness, cowardice, and fear of little men who sought revenge and the antics of the worst of humanity in the foreigners who fled to Europe and those of them who prepared for war.

Of course, he was not the only one who suffered under the evil foreigners, their inhuman Apartheid, and their Caucasian aiders and supporters in the US and Europe. Most of the people want restitution, with blood and the recovery of their stolen lands.

Mandela was caught between saving his country by setting aside revenge and restitution, and the genuine demands of millions of South Africans who sought an outlet to bleed out their pent-up agony and misery, burdens they carried for all their ancestors from centuries past.

The task was impossible, simply put.

The Caucasian nations, led by the US, had started planning to invade South Africa to unleash war with all manners of weapons, including nuclear.

However, where a riot, violence, or racial incitement occurred, Mandela jumped in between the contending parties. Understanding that they dare not harm the symbol of freedom of the people, both contenders simmered down, and gradually the words of understanding, unity, forgiveness, and future prosperity of Mandela prevailed and gradually sank into the consciousness of all parties across the country.

And so, understanding and agreeable communication prevailed, and although the vexed issues of stolen lands, etc., are yet to be resolved, the people have a chance to breathe and birth a true nation, for all who called themselves South Africans.

4. A Negative Example of the Virtue.

The lack, or unwillingness to express oneself clearly and obtain agreement with the other fellow has been identified as one of the banes of poor relationships. Unknown and unnecessary conflicts, disputes, misunderstandings, fights, and estrangement of perfectly good relationships have fallen into the abyss guided by poor communication.

When we examine the whole of interpersonal relations and the geopolitical environment of humanity, we find that the seemingly intractable conflicts have their true origins in the lack or unwillingness of good and persistent communication to obtain understanding and agreement of the other party.

Several times Israel Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu

The man Benjamin Netanyahu, the regular and longest-serving Prime Minister of Israel has consistently shown his inability, unwillingness, or sheer disdain for honest communication with the opposite party of occupied Palestine to bring about peace and mutual tolerant co-existence of the people of the Middle East. The man seems intoxicated with the power he has over the defenseless people of Palestine.

“Communicate with whom?” has probably been his response to any and every call for the settlement of the Palestinian question.

“What is the United Nations?” has probably been his rejoinder, when confronted by leaders of the international community – of course, except for the US and a few European nations that always aid and abet the human tragedies unleashed by Israel on the Palestinian people.

Even the US has limited access to decent and understandable communication with him. Barack Obama failed to get him to the negotiation table. Trump did not try, we know. Biden seems ingloriously delighted with the flow of innocent blood of hapless children and women being killed with the weapons, money, intelligence, and even troops of a country that prides itself as the defender of the weak, human rights, and democracy.

These great humanist concepts and ideals have been so poisoned, corrupted, diseased, and misused that no one knows what they mean anymore, except that military and political might are right and above every concern of humanity.

With the unwillingness to engage in communication with an opposition party, endless conflicts are imminent.

A cursory read of the Old Testament, the European version of the book of the Jewish religion, presented similar cases of atrocious and inhumane wars, conflicts, and disputes until the Roman Empire sacked Jerusalem and dispersed the Jews all over Europe.

As if that was not enough, the story of the Jews, carving their own areas out of their hosts’ lands, segregating themselves from integration with the native people who hosted them, their crafty and unforgiving harsh business dealings, epitomized by Shakespeare’s Shylock, etc., made them repugnant to the most-friendly host.

And then came the scourge of humanity, Adolf Hitler. The evil one ran amuck, causing the genocide of over six million innocent Jewish people, and much more than fifty million soldiers and civilians across Europe. But for the Soviet Union, humanity, and especially Africans, would have been under the evil boots and enslavement of the heirs of the third German Reich.

Whether we ascribe the historical cause of the Second World War to one event is beside the point.

The point we are making is that history seems to have the habit of repeating itself, replaying itself almost like a phonographic machine, or a loopy song in one’s mind that runs endlessly. These tragedies are recurring, right at the same place and with the same set of peoples. Will the world boil for this again?

It behooves anyone with an iota of humanity, who bears witness to the bloodshed in Gaza, in the last three weeks until today, (November 2023), to cry out, “Communicate! Netanyahu, Communicate!”

Some people had opined that such admonition should be extended to the pretended democrats and fake defenders of the week, the lords (not elected officials) who administer the government of the US and the European Union to “Get the parties onto the negotiations table, and strive to put an end to the inhumanity that is corrupting our individual and collective humanity”.

“Netanyahu, communicate!” “Biden, communicate!” “Europe, communicate!”

1. Narrative on the Virtue.

A worthy leader who has imbibed this Virtue will never condone ancient or modern priesthood’s hunger to aggrandize the blessings, glory, and protection of a segment of the people. We know this of Christ and other great leaders.

They never accept that there are special people of God made up of a select few of a small tribe of humanity. Everyone knows that the stance of Christ on the universality of God and the protection of every human being, and not a selected few, were the reasons why Christ, and later Prophet Mohammed, was rejected by the core Jewish elites.

In more modern times, in more ‘civilized’ society, similar rejections and attempts were made to discredit L. Ron Hubbard because he would not permit his works to be held from the generality of the people of the world, irrespective of race, location, and sundry divisive means.

It has always been the elite and privileged few in a group, community, and across the world who are insane enough to ascribe insane attributes to themselves to continue their domination over the vast majority.

We imagine, assuming there are “special people of God chosen”, these people should be godly and godlike. We should expect them to be compassionate, honest, truthful, helpful, forbearing, forgiving, and cooperative, among the virtues the “Great Eight” exemplified. We would not have a “people of God” act as though, not just insane and inhuman, but evil. Would you?

We would not have a nation or a group of nations strive to destroy, retard, or assault the genuine development activities of other nations, especially Africa. The Caucasian race, Britain, France, and the US especially have been hard and smart at work destabilizing the efforts at Africa’s social and economic development. These people do not merit this Virtue, less being people of God.

The Creator created all of the universes and everything sentient, semi-sentient, non-sentient, and nonlife matter, without exception or discrimination. For this fact, no single entity, tribe, race, class, or human being, individually or collectively can claim the ownership of the Creator.

For humanity to destroy the world, it will destroy itself. Destroying all fauna and flora, call them semi-sentient or non-sentient lifeforms, and humanity will perish.

Efforts to appropriate the Creator to oneself, a tribe, race, genus, etc., is an appropriation toward destruction.

Each one of us reading this and doing this course should understand that we owe it to ourselves, our families, societies, and all of humanity to engage with others to bring about understandable and agreeable expressions or communications in all that we strive to do.