--- title: Slinging The Stone description: "Guest blogger Damon Leichty encourages readers to think less about being a leader, to put down the books, and to be a conqueror. #WhatsTheRisk" image: https://www.thegibsonedge.com/hubfs/blog-files/Damon_Leichty_Guest_Blog.jpg --- [**](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/blog/slinging-the-stone#tmpmodule_1568675152246189) - [Client Login](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/gibson-client-login) - [Contact Us](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/contact) **** [![Gibson Logo](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Gibson%20UNISON%20Co_Horiz_Logo_Gold_White-1.png?width=2518&height=1088&name=Gibson%20UNISON%20Co_Horiz_Logo_Gold_White-1.png) ![Gibson Logo](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Gibson%20UNISON%20Co_Horiz_Logo_Gold_White-1.png?width=2518&height=1088&name=Gibson%20UNISON%20Co_Horiz_Logo_Gold_White-1.png) ](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/) [**](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/blog/slinging-the-stone#tmpmodule_1568675152246189) - [Services](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/services) - [Employee Benefits](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/services/employee-benefits) - [Business Insurance](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/services/business-insurance) - [Private Client Group](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/services/private-client-group) - [Industries](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/industries) - [Insights & News](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/blog) - [Insights & News](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/blog) - [Webinars](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/webinars) - [Podcast](https://podcast.thegibsonedge.com) - [About Us](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/about-us) - [Become a Partner](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/become-a-partner) - [Leadership](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/leadership) - [Community Impact](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/impact) - [Sightline](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/sightline) - [About URA](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/ura) - [Offices](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/offices) - [Careers](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/careers) ** ###### 4 min read # [Slinging The Stone](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/blog/slinging-the-stone) Jul 15, 2016 6:30:00 AM *Today we’re sharing insight from guest blogger Damon Leichty, Partner at Barnes & Thornburg LLP. We hope you enjoy Damon’s wisdom and perspective.* ***![Damon_Leichty_Guest_Blog.jpg](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog-files/Damon_Leichty_Guest_Blog.jpg?width=250&height=167&name=Damon_Leichty_Guest_Blog.jpg)****“The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men gang aft agley.” *—Robert Burns (1785) Forgive me my friends, but I’m done with “leadership.” The term is passé. It’s overused. Defunct. Stale. The term has been glossed so many times it has lost real meaning. And the malaise that sometimes attends our view of “leaders” has become so pungent that we are no longer inspired.  Give me instead a conqueror.  Tell me stories of conquerors. Those are the stories I want to hear. Tell me of the person who is misunderstood. Who battles in the face of adversity. Creates when all plans have shattered. Lays bare a sacrifice. Marches despite unyielding tragedy. Wins perspective—perhaps only in a losing struggle. Who becomes more than just scars. The person who makes tears her sweat.  Not the person who is, but the person who rises. And thus inspires. The child who does not speak for three years only to become one of the world’s greatest minds. The student who earns a degree while both blind and deaf. The person with common means who trusts to give more than he has. The inventor who sheds 10,000 failures to find light for us in one. The underdog. Often the seemingly ordinary. The father who works three jobs to invest in his son’s education. The players who thrill us in brief victory but only because of the story told of their long struggle to become a team against circumstance. The nurse who finds peace for the dementia patient. The person who counters ignorance by becoming more forgiving, not less. The hard-working corporate mother who never misses her children’s ball games while she battles cancer with grace and a smile. No one insults the testament of their struggle by branding these individuals “leaders.” They are conquerors. The Rocky Balboas of their own script. We expect leaders to perform. And they should. They often have power, status, education, means, or the whole of preparation and support, and sometimes plain luck. Some 13,000 books on Amazon can instruct you on “leadership.” Good luck. These books can be the hobgoblin of little minds. Even the best laid plans can go awry. And then where are you? Books are for the conqueror’s idle times, if there be any.  For a conqueror's trial is individual. It is lived, not read. Conquerors (sometimes from the Greek νικάω or nikaó meaning to overcome) aren’t the battle hungry Custers of history. They haven’t invited the fight, or the glory. They have been forced to face the fight, often unexpectedly, against the odds or despite best laid plans. They harbor quiet resolve. Grace under pressure. Their test is of inward character, not outward “leadership.” They cannot read about their road because it is the road once traveled. It is their own road. Conquerors engender empathy when leaders sometimes do not—because they are among us, not above us. They inspire because they have done something extraordinary—not expected. And in doing so, they are ready to become more than who they are. They achieve something without talking. *Others* write stories about *them*. Don’t tell me how to be a leader. Share stories about our collective that show us all how to be more than who we are. Find wisdom in the story of the struggle. #### **What’s The Risk?** …Today think less about being a “leader.” Put down the books. Be a conqueror. We may not all become “leaders,” whatever that now means, but we will all have need to understand the beauty in the struggle, and then to overcome in our best way. I’m not sure what that is for you. Nor will I pretend to tell you how to do it. Perhaps you must let loose your habit. Smile against adversity. Release an old way of thinking. Listen. Be creative. Pray or reflect in your own manner. For today though, just tell me a story. And I’ll try to share one too. And, if you find your way, maybe you’ll become more than a conqueror. We will all be stronger for it. * * ***This content was written and shared by guest blogger, Damon Leichty.*** [![Damon_Leichty.jpg](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog-files/Damon_Leichty.jpg?width=175&name=Damon_Leichty.jpg "Damon_Leichty.jpg")Damon R. Leichty](http://www.btlaw.com/Damon-R-Leichty/) is a partner in the litigation department of Barnes & Thornburg LLP. He regularly counsels businesses on a host of commercial and product liability issues, as well as universities in matters of higher education. He served as law clerk to the Honorable Robert L. Miller, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. Damon received his J.D. from Indiana University Maurer School of Law, an M.Litt. from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, and his A.B. from Wabash College. He remains active in the community with local non-profits. He is a proud husband and father of two children. Connect with Damon on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/damonleichtyproductlawyer). Connect with Barnes & Thornburg via [Twitter](https://twitter.com/btlawnews), [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/barnes-%26-thornburg-llp), or their [website](http://www.btlaw.com/). ###### Topics: [Executive](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/blog/topic/executive) ![Gibson](https://via.placeholder.com/100x100.jpg/e0e7ee) #### Written by [Gibson](https://www.thegibsonedge.com/blog/author/gibson) Gibson is a team of risk management and employee benefits professionals with a passion for helping leaders look beyond what others see and get to the proactive side of insurance. Gibson is driven by close relationships with clients, employees, and the communities they serve. The first Gibson office opened in 1933 in northern Indiana, and as the company’s reach grew, so did their team. 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