When my book was first published,
the first question everyone has is, what is violent leadership? How can
leadership be violent? It is true, the
phrase “Violent Leadership” is not something you would expect to see in the
business world, yet it refers to a distinctive type of leadership that is
passionate, innovative, and disruptive and above all takes things by force. Although
our society has defined this word in only a negative manner, there is a different
definition than we commonly use today. The word violent does not refer to
fighting, anger, or brutality. It is a positive and energetic pursuit of purpose
and success.
Violent
Leadership originates from the King James version of Matthew 11:12: “The
kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force.” In this
scripture, Thayer's Greek Lexicon
defines "violent" as "those who strive to obtain its [the
kingdom of heaven] privileges with the utmost eagerness and effort.”[1] Strong's
Concordance defines "violent" as "a forceful, violent man;
one who is eager in pursuit."[2] The HELPS Word studies further defines it
as "positive assertiveness."[3]
"Violence" has a
positive context in the original Greek word biazó[4] or
biaios,[5] which
is translated as the laying hold of something with positive aggressiveness. It
is a positive, energetic, eager effort to effect change. In Latin, "violence"
comes from the word violentus, which
is equated with strength, robust energy, and enthusiasm.
Merriam Webster defines “violent”
as "marked by the use of usually harmful or destructive physical force” or
“extremely powerful and forceful and capable of causing damage.” In my
philosophy, it means the powerful energy that is capable of causing change.
In my book, Violent Leadership
references the root meaning of the word as used in the Bible. I’ve translated that
meaning to the business arena where it refers to momentum, positive philosophy,
and change or displacement that comes about through aggressive action, not
passivity.
Violent Leadership has been my
style of leadership from day one. It has evolved and grown, been tempered and threatened
with termination, but it is still at the core of my belief that goals and
success do not just happen. Achievement takes planning, action, risk, and
disruption—it takes Violent Leadership.
In business leadership, you can
see this force as an intense focus and pressure from your competitors. Can you
see this ferocity around you in your profession? It is violent. It is not
killing and looting, but it is an aggressive, zealously disruptive pursuit of goals.
Your world is disrupted by the determination and wherewithal of your
competitors. It is disrupted by technological advances, political policy, and
generational differences. Professional services, specifically the accounting profession,
are certainly not impervious.
This turbulent and disruptive
environment demands Violent Leaders. A Violent Leader does not wait for change
and disruption to determine success but strives with the utmost eagerness and
effort to attain the privilege of leadership. Violent Leadership requires
action, assertiveness, and a proactive style—a style that takes risks and leads
the change within an organization, whether that is a business, family, church, or
other organization. It demands a leader who will make tough and sometimes
unpopular decisions and yet persevere. A Violent Leader knows what he or she wants
and takes it by force.
Howard Rambin, cofounder of Moody
Rambin Interests, signs his emails with this statement: “Success comes by doing
things.” It is that simple. The chapters in my book will demonstrate how this
is a core tenet of Violent Leadership.
________________________________________________________________
Wesley Middleton author of Violent
Leadership: Be a Force for Change. Disrupt. Innovate. Energize. (ForbesBooks),
co-founder and managing partner of Middleton
Raines + Zapata LLP (MRZ), a tax and accounting services firm, and is also
an executive team member for MRZ Financial and SKY Valuation. With over 25
years of tax compliance and consulting experience, he has demonstrated a knack
for helping business owners transform their companies into growth and
strategy-oriented organizations that excel in operations, marketing,
technology, customer service, and workforce engagement, as well as tax and
accounting services. Middleton is a certified public accountant and member of
the AICPA, Texas Society of CPAs, and the Association of Accounting Marketing.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wesleymcpa
Website: http://www.wesleymiddleton.com
MRZ LLP: http://www.mrzllp.com
[1] http://www.bible-discovery.com/dictionary-license-thayer.php
[2] http://www.eliyah.com/lexicon.html
[3]
http://thediscoverybible.com/features/word-studies/
[4] http://biblehub.com/greek/971.htm
[5] http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/biazo.html
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