LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM
THE LIFE OF JOAN OF ARC
women are bold and courageous women. Joan
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was brave and courageous. She led armies to war
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severally knowing that her life was on the line each
time and that she could be killed. She sent a defiant
letter to the enemy before invading the besieged city
of Orléans. It takes courage to do this.
Great women fight for a cause that is bigger than
themselves. Joan was not fighting for herself or
personal gain. She was fighting for king and country.
She was fighting for the people of France. This was
a cause greater than herself. Please understand
that although great women do not set out to get any
accolades eventually, they receive accolades. Joan
became popular before her death and more popular
afterward even though becoming popular had never
been the goal; it was merely the result of fighting
for a cause bigger than herself. It was the result of
selflessness.
Great women stand up for others. A great woman will
always rise to defend the helpless and the oppressed.
She will speak up and speak out in their behalf and
if need be, take up arms in their defense. Joan fought
to liberate her king who apparently could not free
himself. And she was captured while defending the
town of Compiégne and its people who could not
protect themselves. Great women rise to defend
others sometimes paying the ultimate price.
Great women are liberators; these women do not
sit around waiting for others to liberate them from
the shackles that bind them. They confront the
challenges or enemies that face them and free not only
themselves but others with them. Joan released her
king her country and herself from bondage to England.
Great women challenge the status quo; they never
accept it. Joan grew up in a country where the
monarchy had been ousted, and the people were in
captivity. This was the status quo. Others accepted
it, including the crown prince, Charles of Valois, who
was denied his rightful place as king. But Joan did
not receive this status quo. She challenged it and, in
challenging it, she changed it.
Great women are change agents. They bring change
to their families, communities, and nations. Joan
brought change to France and not only for that
season but centuries following. One woman rose up,
and change came to an entire country.
Great women are unafraid to go where no one
has been. If you are going to achieve anything
significant, then you must not be afraid to follow
the road less travelled or the road that has never
been travelled for that matter. Great women are
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pathfinders, trailblazers, and pacesetters. They are
leaders. Joan was not afraid to do things that no
woman in France before her had done. When she
should have married and embraced the regular life
that other women before her had embraced, Joan
took a different path, one that led her to achieve
beyond the average woman; one that wrote her
name in the sands of time.
8. Great women act. These women are decisive. Many
discuss what they want to do or like the crown prince,
Charles of Valois, they wait and hope that time will
bring about a change. But great women understand
that time by itself changes nothing. Instead, it is
the actions taken that over time produce change.
Therefore, great women act. Joan knew exactly what
God had asked her to do and she moved, and change
came to France. Do you want a change? Do you want
to achieve your dreams? Then by all means act. This is
what great women do.
9. Great women do not sit on their laurels. They
understand that to remain successful one must
keep doing the things that brought success, to begin
with. While others rejoiced in the victory at Orléans,
Joan realised what would happen if they did not
keep fighting. She wanted the army to press their
advantage and reclaim Paris but a king without
foresight hesitated and when he did decide to act it
was too late.
Great
women embrace their purpose. Joan knew at
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the age of 13 what she had been born for, and she
embraced it. Going to war and liberating her king
and country was her reason for being and she did
not shy away from it.
Great
women understand the place of sacrifice in the
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pursuit of purpose. Joan knew that to fulfil her purpose
she could not marry like other girls. A husband and
a marriage would have placed restrictions on her,
forbidden her from doing certain things. The only way
she could be truly free to lead armies into the battle, to
save her king and country, was to remain single. It was
a price she had to pay. She would not live like other
women; her assignment would not permit it, and she
was okay with this. To fulfil a destiny, we must all make
sacrifices. Greatness comes at a price. Recognising
the cost and paying the same, no matter how painful,
is essential to being all we were created to be. Great
women give up so they can go up.
12. Great women are an inspiration to other women.
Their story gives hope and sends across a simple
message, one that says, if I can so can you. Jeanne
d’Arc has inspired numerous works of art and
literature over the centuries.
DOZ Magazine | April 2019