We love a good Villain

We love a good villain just as much as we love a super hero. Some how we love to be called scondrals and scallywags and to learn leardership from Attila the Hun. I am clearly part of this trend...or perhaps I am pirating the trend...of making the truly hard work of leardership sound more fun. And more of an adventure. And more powerful.

OK...there was a book about Pooh, but have you ever heard anyone cite it? Call themselves a leader like a "bear of small brain?" How many times do we use the image of the humble leader rather than the hero? Rarely. We want to be part of the reality TV trend and be considered brave and heroic for doing our jobs. We are the leaders who drive across ice road, ax tall trees, fish in deadly waters, and find secrets in the depth of a junk yard.

So why am I willing to continue with Pirates? Because I know that we need metaphors. Humans are mythic and methaphorical creatures. We create meaning in our world through stories. This is the reason that the great myths survive, and the reason that movies of mythic tales (think Star Wars, Harry Potter, or the Hunger Games) capture our imgaination. We want to be part of something bigger. We want to be seen as brave and fearless, and willing to buck the system. We want to be thought of as leaders who do not just "follow the rules."

Maybe we all want to be Mossad, Israeli secret service agents, or Marine pilots, one of the special few. We would rather have the Mossad motto (For by wise guidance you can wage your war) than one used by Rabbi Tarfon ( We are not obligated to finish the task, neither are we free to neglect it). We would rather see ourselves as mavricks, independent brilliant leaders who beat the system, than ones who know we are in service to others.

So where to Pirates come in? Pirates knew they could not sail the ship alone. They sailed at the edge of the fleet and bucked the societal rules, but for the good of all aboard. The battle captian was voted in...and could be voted out. The pilot had to be the best sailor or the crew would not agree to sail.

Yes, the pirate metaphor is another way of adding excitment to our self definition. Yes, we love the romantic version of scallywags and scondrals and pirates. And yes, humble quiet leaders are just as powerful and successful as loud mavricks. But we need to remember that integrity is still an element of good leadership. We need to learn the difference between the romance and the reality of our myths. We need to be aware of the part of the myth that we can live and should live, and the parts we need to leave behind. Or perhaps the elements we need to add.

Finally, we need to remember that the myth is internal, a way to build guidlines for actions. We are not really waging wars or battleing evil or using our skills with a sword. We are helping good sailors deal with uncertain seas, and that is often enough of a challenge even for pirates.