Because Leaders are Made

Writers: Chelle, Paula
Date Posted: 1st December 2015

Characters: R'gelen, G'nir
Description: G'nir teaches the weyrlings about diplomacy.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 3, day 6 of Turn 8
Notes: Mentioned: D'kere, E'naer

G'nir

At this part of the training, the class got divided into smaller
groups-either based on their dragon's color or qualities. This group
consisted of bronzeriders and brownriders who had shown leadership qualities
during the training.

"All settled in?" G'nir asked when he entered the classroom. "You're going
to learn about diplomacy and leadership during this class for next sevenday.
Normally, the Weyrlingmaster would be teaching you, but as you well know, we
don't have one. So, you're stuck with me," G'nir gave them a smile. He was
not supposed to give lessons for the weyrlings but they were badly
understaffed. D'kere and E'naer couldn't be in two places at once.

R'gelen's eyes got big and round when he saw the big Weyrleader in the
classroom. **Oh no, my wherry is cooked for sure** He tried his best to
blend in since he was so small but unfortunately there weren't that many in
the group. Still, he scooted towards the back. Grabbing his hide up, he made
it look like he was taking serious notes.

"As you know, diplomacy is very important skill when dealing with the
holders. Most important rule is to remain calm. In any circumstances, don't
lose the control," G'nir started his lecture from the diplomacy. He went on,
covering the basics. The good thing was that he could rely on his own
childhood training. "Politeness and good manners are equally important. They
affect what kind of image people form from you..."

"Why......would we have to be dealing with holders?" He didn't remember ever
really seeing any riders until the day came when he'd been taken to the
Weyr. R'gelen was thinking that diplomacy would be more needed in dealing
with other riders. After all, someday he might be a wingsecond or something
and that meant leadership and solving problems, right?

"Holders come to see Hatchings, you will be visiting Holds. And if you end
up as Wingleader, 'Second or even Weyrleader, you can not avoid meeting
holders. If your bronze happens one day in distant future sire a clutch, you
need to know how to deal with the parents. Diplomacy is skill that is never
wasted. You need it all the time when you deal with other people," G'nir
replied.

"Except when you're Weyrleader cause then everyone has to do what you say.
Just like everyone has to do what the Lord Holder says right?" R'gelen had
been raised in a culture where one obeyed their leaders, whether it be Lord
Holder or Hallmaster. He was used to saying yes sir.

"Obedience through fear is called tyranny. It might work in a hold but here,
dragonriders tend to be a more independent lot." He decided to use an
example. "Do you always do as E'naer tells you?"

"I try to unless I don't know what he's talking about." **Isn't that what
I'm supposed to do?** Suddenly he looked around the room and realized there
were a few others looking at him. And R'gelen felt foolish. **Have I done
the wrong thing?** "But...sorry Weyrleader sir. It's not that we fear the
Lord Holder...it's that we understand all we have depends on him. So...we
trust him with our lives and our futures. So when he tells us something, we
don't question it because it must be for our good. After all, if we don't
prosper, the Hold doesn't prosper-so he doesn't prosper either. And you're
the Weyrleader so we have to do what you say because the dragons choose and
we follow. Right?" He shook his head, trying to reason it out. It was
becoming more and more difficult, though, and things were getting jumbled in
his head. "Cause if we didn't, then the Weyrleader wouldn't have any
authority. And everything would just fall apart."

"Exactly. Do you respect E'naer and D'kere? They are your leaders. The same
applies to Weyr. You obey your Weyrleader or Wingleader because they know
what's best action to take. If not, they won't last long in their position,"
G'nir was impressed by the boy's reasoning. And bit concerned if he started
to question his superiors. Of course, E'naer might not have been best
example for leadership. The greenrider Wingthird was more of a care taker
and nurser than actual leader.

What R'gelen didn't understand was that sometimes there were bad
Weyrleaders. If he followed them blindly, he could very well be flying
straight to his death. The young bronze weyrling hadn't delved that much
into Weyr history to know that though. "So...say there was a rider who
disagreed with you....wouldn't you punish them?" He didn't know how to
handle that. After all, that could cause trouble for later.

"That would depend on why he's disagreeing and about what. That's when the
diplomacy comes in play. The diplomacy and leadership-skills go hand in
hand," G'nir replied.

This was turning out to be much harder than he thought. Quiet for the
moment, R'gelen waited for G'nir to give an example, eager to see how he
would do it himself.

"Let's take some examples. For instance, you want to introduce a new drill
to your wing. Most riders will accept it without problems, but there are
always some who protest and complain. Those people can be divided to two
groups: those who complain for the sake of complaining. They never happy and
they grumble about everything. You can just ignore them, unless they disobey
a direct order in which case you have to punish them. The second group are
ones who are afraid of change and hesitant to try out new things. They
generally accept if you explain to them the point of the new drill and why
you want them to try them. All drills have some point: their either for
building strenght, endurance or accuracy. Or for trying different wing
formations in different weather conditions," G'nir took a sip of water
before continuing.

"Another example: two wingriders are at odds with each other and arguing all
the time, disturbing rest of the Wing. You can tell them to stop it, and
they will, in public, but the problem would still be there, festering under
surface. Or you can pull them aside, one by one and ask why they are
arguing, trying to solve the problem with them. Are they lovers who had
falling out or don't they just like each other? If it can't be solved, then
they must be separated to different Wings."

The word lovers made R'gelen's stomach do a weird turn. He was too young for
that sort of thing. His mind couldn't really figure out why that might be a
problem. He tried to think about his parents and why they might get mad at
each other, but they had always ended their arguments and gone back to work.
"And do we have to work with other Weyrs too then right?"

"All the time. We have joint Threadfalls with River Bluff Weyr, for
instance. Thread doesn't care about borders. That means we also hold joint
drills, now and then. Not as often now, compared to the beginning of the
Pass," G'nir replied.

That immediately brought his Aunt to mind, but he didn't mention that. It
did cause him to be quiet and let the other riders in the group ask the
questions for a time. G'nir knew her then. He wondered how well. Perhaps now
that time had gone by and he felt he knew the Weyrleader a little bit, he
could ask. Well maybe.

G'nir was discovering that he actually enjoyed teaching these young ones.

Last updated on the December 10th 2015

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Because Leaders are Made