In a tiny village, a farmer spotted three soldiers.
Seeing how tired and hungry they looked, he ran back to the village shouting a warning, “Close the doors, and lock the windows! There are three hungry soldiers coming, and they’ll take away all our food.”
Lo and Behold, the soldiers were hungry. When they entered the village, they started knocking on doors, asking for something to eat. The first villager told them that his cupboards were bare, so did the second. The next door didn’t even open.
Finally, one of the starving soldiers said, “I have an idea -- let’s make stone soup!”
With that, he knocked on the next door. He asked for a cauldron and some firewood with an intention of making stone soup.
The villager, although confused, assumed there’s no risk, as it was just a soup from stones! She agreed to help. So, she gave the soldiers a cauldron and some firewood while another villager fetched three rocks and some water.
The soldiers brought the water to a boil and placed three large stones in the pot. News spreads around the town, and the villagers begin to gather. Everyone was very curious to see how the soldiers were going to make soup from stones.
After standing around for a while, another villager asked if he could help. The soldiers asked if he had a few potatoes to spare. It would make the stone soup even better. The villager quickly fetched some potatoes, peeled them and added them to the pot of simmering stones.
Another villager asked how he could help. The soldier, quite pleased, asked for a dozen carrots to make the soup even better. The villager then fetched some carrots. Soon, the entire village joined forces to add poultry, barley, garlic, and leeks to the stone soup.
After a while, one of the soldiers called out, “It’s done!” and shared the soup with everyone to taste and enjoy.
The villagers jauntily relished the soup and exclaimed, “Soup from stones! It tastes fantastic. We had no idea.”
The stones are, of course - passion, the big bold idea; the drive to make it happen. Passion imbues people with focus and drives them to not just work harder but also to work smarter. This you can’t fake.
It’s the carrots, poultry, barley, garlic, leeks and all the little things that the villagers brought in; the bits and pieces that truly made the soup!
It’s often easy to look at great ideas by passionate folks and overlook the small steady contribution that the others bring in. It is the latter kind who truly define the flavor of the endeavor. Great leaders know this. They galvanize people behind the idea, the goal, using passion and a simple message to accomplish wonders, like making soup from a stone.
A leader doesn't need to do all the work...have all the answers... all the time. They instead create an environment that encourages people to think, share and grow their own ideas. By their behavior and encouragement, they take their team to higher levels, nurture a culture that inspires others into action, influencing others. Not just show them to get better results, but teach them to be better.
Leaders don’t just get people together, they give them an idea, a reason to get behind. Nurturing a culture of sharing and innovation, make them own the mission, believe in the idea. They just tell the team to 'bring what you've got.’ Knowing when to let the line slack and when to rein in. Showing by example that risks can be taken, mistakes can be made, creativity will be appreciated. Proving leadership is not just about getting results and being successful but being successful as a team and getting results.
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