Predestined to Glory: Ender's Shadow

In a prior post, we examined the qualities of leadership, and especially those found in a character contrived by Orson Scott Card named Ender. In this post we will further study and scrutinize greatness as it is found in another one of Card's books, Ender's Shadow. The story takes place in the same universe and at the same time and place, but instead of the story being about Ender, it is really about the Character Bean. 

Both Bean and Ender have genius in them, but genius is not restricted to one kind. While Ender is passionate, Bean is dispassionate. While Ender is the better leader, Bean is the better thinker. While Ender faces his challenges, Bean neutralizes his. Below are three quotations with accompanying analysis:

1. “The criminal misuse of time was pointing out the mistakes. Catching them―noticing them―that was essential. If you did not in your own mind distinguish between useful and erroneous information, then you were not learning at all, you were merely replacing ignorance with false belief, which was no improvement. The part of the man's statement that was true, however, was about the uselessness of speaking up. If I know that the teacher is wrong, and say nothing, then I remain the only one who knows, and that gives me an advantage over those who believe the teacher.” This secret monologue of Bean shows that he has a decreeing palate, wanting only the truth. This quote further shows that Bean is thinking in terms of survival, and he therefore wants to keep the truth to himself for his own personal tool or weapon. This kind of thinking is evidence for why he does not make a good leader because he sees his peers as rivals and not as companions or even subordinates.
2. “People above you, they never want to share power with you. Why you look to them? They give you nothing. People below you, you give them hope, you give them respect, they give you power, cause they don't think they have any, so they don't mind giving it up.” This quote proves Beans keen intellect, because Bean can clearly distinguish between his empirical sense and his logical mind: most people look to the powerful to find power because they can see the powerful in action while the meek don't seem to have any such kind. Bean overlooks appearances and uses logic over human nature to discover that what makes the powerful be placed above us, is the fact that we are bellow them. This quotation also shows that bean understands the anatomy of power, and can thereby acquire it. 
3. “No point in getting emotional about anything. Being emotional didn't help with survival. What mattered was to learn everything, analyze the situation, choose a course of action, and then move boldly. Know, think, choose, do. There was no place in that list for "feel." Not that Bean didn't have feelings. He simply refused to think about them or dwell on them or let them influence his decisions, when anything important was at stake.” This quotation is proof that Bean is a Stoic, meaning that he is dispassionate and completely analytical. While this is the better system for thinking clearer, not showing feel in makes him more of an automaton and less of a person. His leadership ability suffers for this because while Bean gets respect, and everyone agrees that what bean says is true, it's hard to motivate men on only facts and no spirit.

Please feel free to compare Bean's greatness level with that of Ender's, while both are creditable and powerful, they both have their pros and cons. It is important for us to be able to dissect the two styles in order to craft for ourselves our own style of greatness.