June 2014 Leadership Reflection

Slow but Steady Wins the Race

When I was in the third grade, my teacher, Miss Begeman, made reading Aesop’s Fables into a game. Each student would take turns reading a fable out loud from our Open Court reading textbook, and then the rest of the class would be asked to weigh in on what the moral of the story was. I was recently reminded of a famous fable by Aesop – “The Tortoise and the Hare” – when I received a thoughtful and clever gift: a stand magnifier, designed for use on a desktop, with the round magnifier being surrounded by the metallic body, limbs, and head of a skillfully crafted turtle. It occupies a place of honor on my desk at home. J

The fable about the persistent tortoise and the overconfident hare was of special relevance to my classmates at school because many of the students would try to complete their in-class assignments as quickly as possible so they could start working on their homework, play an edutaining game in the far corner of the classroom, or draw and color at their desks. I was tempted to go along with that hasty mindset for a while, but then my mother reminded me of her favorite fable from Aesop, which was also (by coincidence) “The Tortoise and the Hare.” From that fable, and Mother’s exposition of its meaning, I learned to take my time with preparing assignments and double-check my work before turning it in. Miss Begeman reinforced this message by reminding us several times a week that “There’s no prize for finishing first!”

Realizing that “slow but steady wins the race” is an important lesson for leaders to internalize. We may have many noble goals and worthy projects to shepherd through committees and hierarchies, but patient endurance and careful preparation are superior leadership strategies that usually win out in the end. “Slow but steady wins the race” is a lesson that I strive to impart to the ACES James Scholars whom I interact with on a daily basis, and I’m delighted to tell you that 45 seniors took that message to heart and graduated with James Scholar Distinction this May – among whom were ten Bronze Tablet Scholars! Yay! :)

Above: Bronze Tablet alumna Maria Pauls (right) receives her ACES James Scholar graduation certificate from me on May 15^th in the “Honors Corner” of 128 Mumford Hall. (Photo by Amanda Lehner, ACES James Scholar Class of 2014.)

Insights of this type can be traced back to the sages of ancient times, including Aesop himself, who learned from his own life experiences that “slow but steady wins the race.” Born a slave on the coast of Thrace (modern Bulgaria) around 620 BCE, Aesop patiently used his wits and wisdom to buy his freedom. He journeyed through mainland Greece, the Aegean islands, and the Greek cities in Ionia (western Turkey), sharing his insights with other people by telling his edutaining fables, which illustrated various aspects of human nature and the human condition while showing people how to live wisely on a day-to-day basis. Aesop supposedly died around 560 BCE at Delphi (a famous shrine in Greece) by jumping off a cliff – he was being pursued by an angry mob of Delphic citizens who had taken offense at some of his fables!

Despite the legendary character of many stories about his life, Aesop is regarded as the fountainhead of the fable tradition in the Western world. Over 600 fables attributed to him have been passed down through the centuries in Greek, Latin, and other European languages. Each new generation finds nuggets of insight in these timeless tales of animals and people who learn their lessons about life in the easy way or the hard way. And now, to conclude this article, here is the original fable of the tortoise and the hare, along with its moral, as told by Aesop, one of the Seven Sages of ancient Greece.

“The Tortoise and the Hare” by Aesop

Archived @ http://aesopfables.com

A Hare one day ridiculed the short feet and slow pace of the Tortoise, who replied, laughing: “Though you be swift as the wind, I will beat you in a race.” The Hare, believing her assertion to be simply impossible, assented to the proposal; and they agreed that the Fox should choose the course and fix the goal.

       On the day appointed for the race the two started together. The Tortoise never for a moment stopped, but went on with a slow but steady pace straight to the end of the course. The Hare, lying down by the wayside, fell fast asleep. At last waking up, and moving as fast as he could, he saw the Tortoise had reached the goal, and was comfortably dozing after her fatigue. 

       Slow but steady wins the race.