The law of healing

On April 08, 2010, in Leadership laws, by Neculai Fantanaru

In order to succeed in leadership, you must start by learning to heal the sufferings of people.

I don't regret being that day in the wrong place because, right there, I fortunately learned a valuable lesson. But am I doing the right thing by telling you what strange thing happened to me? I think so, because that particular episode is not one of those better to be leave unnoticed.

I was in a hospital with one of my best classmates from college. We were waiting for someone. I had the feeling I was going to spend my entire day there, in the waiting room. And, all of a sudden, while I was taking thought, I heard the scream of a man coming from the next room, the scream of an agonizing man, a despairing scream as though it was coming from the bottom of his soul: ”You would better let me die!”

I thought the patient was about to die, pushed by his own will. Suddenly, dozens of questions assaulted me, and I think my colleague and all the others there, as well. Dozens of questions crossed my mind, but I was unable to find any answer.

Then, a complete silence spread in the room, as if the patient had died, and his last words yelled on a tone which, I must admit, scared the hell out of me and sounded more like a warning: “Run for you lives”.

A half hour elapsed in waiting, a terrifying wait during which I could only imagine the worst scenarios, then the door opened. The doctor, seized by a state of inner peace, stepped out the room and looked with his eyes for a certain person.

In that very moment, a middle aged lady, too deeply inspired with the ardor of faith, but her heart beating ripping her chest, immediately got up. The state she was in was casting a gloom over me and everybody around.

- I prayed to God from the bottom of my heart for the last two hours. Please, tell me, how is my husband?

The doctor, noticing the tumult of the woman, feeling her blood frothing in her veins, hurried to answer her, in order not to overshadow even more the terror he felt deep inside her:

- You have nothing to worry about. Your husband is now out of danger. Tomorrow, he will be able to return home.

I honestly confess you I have never before seen a happier person. The waiting was the most dire for the lady's heart, and every second hit her like a plumb hammer. But when she got the news that her husband was fine, that he was completely cured, everything inside her came back to life.

The mission of a doctor isn't to comfort people, but to cure them

The most difficult thing for a doctor is to set the correct diagnosis of the patient and to define the illness he suffers of. And once this thing is done, it's essential to give the appropriate treatment. The doctor must consult the patient, find out the illnesses or sufferings of his organs and especially the particularities of the illness related to the patient, because there are no such things as illnesses, but only ill people.

On whom do all of the patient's hopes rely on? On whom does a sick person puts his hopes in? Obviously, on the doctor's efficiency. The role of the doctor, his most important and most difficult at once mission is to do his best in order to cure the patient and not comfort him with words. No man suffering from a very serious illness and seized by an atrocious pain gets to recover neither completely, nor partially only by being comforted by the thought he will grow better.

A patient is truly happy only when he gets to enjoy health again, not when the doctor inspirits him with positive thoughts. You're trying in vain to encourage a patient who suffers atrocious pain; he won't feel better thanks to your words full of optimism and hope. When a patient tells the doctor: “You would better let me die”, it's out of doubt that he suffers such tremendous pain that you either get him well or you don't. Encouraging the patient in his most critical moments doesn't impact a spectacular effect of complete recovery. However, we mustn't minimize the power of words which often have a complementary effect to therapy.

The best leaders have the ability to handle intangible things

The role of a leader, his most important and at the same time his most difficult mission is to also do his best in order to completely “cure” the living of people, and not to comfort them with confident and optimistic words, not only to grant them happiness instead of the despair, with which they are seized with. People follow the individual who has the ability to handle intangible things, the one capable of looking deep inside them, of feeling what they are feeling and the one who succeeds to give them back their happiness. Only the one able to cure people, both in body and mind, offering them moral and material support, can truly win their admiration, respect and trust. And as I already said scores of times, doctors are by far the only ones who have the biggest influence on people of all ages, all nations from everywhere.

If I had to imagine the ideal leader, he would doubtlessly be like a doctor; a doctor who can figure out what is the people's performance ability, their state of health and the factors which exert influence upon them; a doctor capable to keep people out of any kind of disease or affection: stress, fatigue, idleness, dissatisfaction, anxiety, nervousness, and so on, who can hallmark them every day and render their vitality. I also believe that the ideal leader must possess a remarkable analytical ability and dispose of the appropriate methods of “therapy”, including “verbal therapy” as a complementary means.

If you take a look on recent history, you will see people like Bill Gates, John D. Rockefeller, Thomas Edison and Michael Dell filling the top of the best “doctors”. They became financial giants, building fabulous empires, “healing” as far as possible the lives of people.

Madonna, the uncontested queen of pop music, is intensively involved in acts of charity oriented towards the poor areas of Africa. Thanks to her, many people are healthier and enjoy a better life. I don't think Madonna finished Med school, but she certainly has healing abilities, because, through her constant involvement in helping people, she saved many sick people from death and improved the life of many Africans.