Leadership knows no age,
nor is it limited by rank.

It is conspicuous...in its presence or absence...
from nations’ capitals to neighborhood playgrounds.

You can see it in a young athlete’s quick feet...
You can hear it in a grandfather’s slow story.

Leadership can be an hour of triumph...
Or a moment of prayer.

It is saying “yes” to the right kind of responsibility,
And saying “no” to the wrong kind of temptation.

Leadership does not gloat in victory,
Nor can it ever be vanquished.

For it is an elegance of conduct
Which transcends either.

Poem by Hal Crause