That is what leadership is all about: staking your ground ahead

The historian of presidents and the chronicler of statesmen, Doris Kearns Goodwin, once declared: “That is what leadership is all about: staking your ground ahead of where opinion is and convincing people, not simply following the popular opinion of the moment.” In these words she defines the essence of true guidance: not the echoing of the crowd, but the courage to stand before it, to see further than others see, and to summon them toward a greater horizon.

For leadership is not the art of pleasing, but of persuading. The one who follows only the shifting winds of opinion is no leader, but a mirror reflecting the desires of the crowd. The true leader stakes a ground—a vision, a principle, a truth—and then labors to bring hearts and minds toward it. This requires courage, for the crowd may resist, scoff, or even condemn. Yet history shows that progress is born not from those who followed opinion, but from those who dared to lead it.

Consider the example of Abraham Lincoln, whose presidency Goodwin herself illuminated in her writings. When he first spoke of emancipation, public opinion was not yet ready to accept the freedom of millions enslaved. Many counseled delay, compromise, or silence. But Lincoln, with patience and resolve, staked his ground ahead of the multitude. Through words, reason, and the moral force of his leadership, he moved the nation step by step until the Emancipation Proclamation became not only possible, but inevitable. He did not follow the crowd; he taught the crowd to follow justice.

History offers another mirror in Winston Churchill. In the years before the Second World War, when the opinion of Britain leaned toward appeasement, Churchill stood almost alone, warning of the storm gathering in Germany. He staked his ground early, mocked by some, ignored by many. Yet when the thunder broke and his warnings proved true, it was his vision that saved the nation. Here is Goodwin’s truth embodied: the leader stands where others dare not, and through conviction draws the people forward into the future they did not yet imagine.

The meaning is clear: true leadership is prophetic in nature. It does not merely reflect the world as it is but calls forth the world as it could be. It does not flatter the desires of the moment but refines them into higher purpose. To follow opinion is easy, to lead it is hard. But only the latter builds nations, heals divisions, and changes the course of human history.

The lesson for you, O seeker of wisdom, is this: do not wait for the approval of the multitude before you act upon what is right. If you know truth, stake your ground. If you see justice, proclaim it. Do not be swayed by the applause or scorn of the hour. Instead, cultivate the patience to convince, the humility to listen, and the courage to endure opposition. For leadership is not given by title, but proven by action.

Practical action is within reach: begin by leading in small ways. In your family, in your work, in your community, do not simply agree with the loudest voice—seek what is true and guide others toward it. Speak with calm strength, act with integrity, and hold fast to vision even when it is unpopular. In this way, you practice the very art Goodwin describes: standing ahead of opinion, not dragged behind it.

Thus let her words echo as a charge to all generations: “That is what leadership is all about.” To walk before the crowd, to hold a torch in the dark, to summon others not to where they are, but to where they ought to be—this is the calling of the leader. Many will fear it, some will resist it, but those who dare it will carve their names into the stones of history, remembered not as followers of opinion, but as shapers of destiny.