“He put his rough hewn finger in my face and he said, “Sonny, …I didn’t go through all that I went through so that you could be black. I went through all that I went through so that you could be free; free to go places I’ll never go, free to do things I’ll never do, but above all, free to speak your mind.”” Charlie Hanson was the grandfather of C L Bryant, an illiterate black man in rural Louisiana in the 1960’s. He was also a successful and respected business owner who hired blacks and whites, and one of the men who infused C L Bryant with the traits that has made him a leader locally and nationally.
C L has owned and run businesses, led large and small churches as a pastor, has a national radio show and produced a thoughtful and poignant documentary film. “I had parents, father and mother, who made me understand that I was just as valuable as anyone else.” His grandfather, his parents, and his spiritual mentor, Dr. E Edward Jones of the Galilee Baptist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana, helped him find his direction and his calling. This aligns with Mr. Bryant’s definition of leadership, “That’s a leader; a leader is confident of his call, his purpose, and his direction.”
That type of parenting is often missing in today’s society, and as a result, society struggles to find true leaders that people long for and need. C L spoke of the generation of parents and grandparents that reared him, “They wanted to make the world better for us in the sense that we could use the strength of our hands and the sweat of our brow to continue what they started… Grandpa never wanted to make it easy for me, but he wanted to make it available.” As mentors and leaders, it is critical that we remember this lesson.
The best advice C L ever received about leadership, from Dr. Jones, was, “You can’t lead anyone who is not following you.” It helped him understand that “a leader must be sure that he has conveyed the right message…and I must make sure that I haven’t lost any passengers along the way, along the track, on the train that we’re on.” Communicating the message so that everyone understands, is critical.
True leaders today, according to Mr. Bryant, “are longtime family men, dedicated teacher, and a dedicated pastor.” The key to building more leaders for tomorrow is not only by showing them what we have done, C L’s “method is to question them on what they want to do. So they can hear their own answers and determine within themselves if that’s the right answer.” He believes in asking questions and “leading them by helping them hear themselves and then teaching that method.” “And if you are going to be a good leader, you better be a good listener.”
If you would like to become a better leader or build better leaders in your company or community, please contact me through this blog or my web page at www.carlqualls.com/
To listen to C L Bryant’s show, go to www.theclbryantshow.com/
You can purchase his documentary, “Runaway Slave,” from him directly or online.