Eagle-like Leadership

UV 1573/10000 Eagle-like Leadership
As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:

Deuteronomy 31 v 11


An eagle is one of the strongest as well as most regal of birds. Though it is known for its ruthlessness with its prey, it is extremely caring as a parent to its young. The eagle has a long life of almost human life span of seventy years. Its wings are long and powerful. It can instantly move up to great heights and remain afloat close to the clouds. It is tireless. It is focussed on its objectives whether to obtain a prey or to train its young to fly. The eagle’s eye as the expression goes implies nothing escapes the attention of the eagle even as it hovers high above. The eagle makes its nest on the mountain cliff. Once the young eaglets are ready for flight in the judgement of the mother eagle, the eagle stirs its nest or disturbs it so that the young ones are forced to learn to fly. The parent eagle hovers over and catches the young on its pinions should they fall perilously down the cliff. Initially, the young eaglets go hurtling down the cliff before they pick up strength and courage to flap their own wings and attempt to fly.


In life and leadership, the Lord God deals with mankind as the mother eagle deals with its young. Apparently, the eagle cares for the eaglets and does not want the young to stay longer than necessary in the comfort of the nest. The eagle nudges the eaglets to venture to the edge of the nest and stirs or disturbs the soft upper layers of the nest so that the thorns and thistles in the lower levels make the nest even less comfortable and inviting to stay. Eaglets are born to fly or the inherent capacity to fly high in the skies. Even so we are born to lead. God has intended that every child of His discovers and fulfils his or her full potential. He hovers over us as we learn to live and lead even as the mother eagle looks out for other predators and threats to the lives of the eaglets. Once the eaglets have learnt to fly and are confident, the mother eagle moves away so that they too can form their own nest and have their own young

At times in its life, the eagle stays on the cliff and shed all its feathers and begin to grow new ones. Similarly, we too should return to the Lord and renew our strength, renew our hope, faith and joy. The Lord will bear us on the wings of prayer and the Word. His very shadow or presence in our lives is like a mountain fastness. An eagle is most powerful not when it is resting on a branch of a tree but while it is flying. Similarly, we are most formidable while we are praying, meditating or studying the Word. The eagle’s pinions are the long feathers of its wings. The pinions of the Lord on which He catches us while we are falling from great heights and in mid-flight are His promises. The curved beak and the talons of the eagle are its defence against more powerful predators. These are the tough side of our personalities which is seen when we have to take hard or tough decisions at certain points in our lives. The eagle takes its strong foes off the ground –for instance, a serpent is carried into the air where it is helpless against the eagle’s tearing beak and claws. A strong leader should also know what his or her advantages are and what strategies to adopt against different adversaries. We are called to be strong as the eagle and gentle as the dove. We are to love our enemies but to stay away from their claws and clutches.

Prateep V Philip