head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or, being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can possess these qualities, you can become a man. If you can remain level headed when others are not, then you can enter manhood. If you can wait patiently and not get too tired from waiting, then you can enter manhood. Clearly, the poem "If" is one of instruction. It shows good moral qualities that a leader needs:

“If” is a didactic poem, a work meant to give instruction. In this case, “If” serves as an instruction in several specific traits of a good leader.

Through specific illustrations, Kipling offers the instructions needed to have manly characteristics. By providing concrete illustrations, the reader understands what qualities exemplify leadership:

Kipling offers this instruction not through listing specific characteristics, but by providing concrete illustrations of the complex actions a man should or should not take which would reflect these characteristics.

Follow Kipling's instructions and "you'll be a Man my son!"

Rudyard Kipling's poem "If" lists qualities recognized as important for those assuming leadership roles and provides illustrations or examples of situations in which those qualities are needed.

Leaders need to be worthy of trust; they also need to be able to understand why others might be doubtful and be able to convince those doubters that they are someone who can be trusted.

Leaders tell the truth and don't worry about it if they are the subject of lies. Leaders don't return hatred when they are hated by others. Leaders are able to determine what they feel is the right way and commit to it, working to achieve the goal when others have given up, keeping at it despite difficulties and disappointments, without complaint or bitterness, and without making oneself into a martyr.

The first two stanzas of Rudyard Kipling's "If" discuss the personal struggle that goes on inside of oneself when dealing with moral questions and other people. Kipling teaches about patience and self-control even when others are not treating you respectfully. For example, he describes what patience and self-control would act like by saying, "If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,/ Or being lied about, don't deal in lies" (7-8). If a person can have these two qualities first, then the next few stanzas that describe leadership will come more easily. Leaders "meet with Triumph and Disaster". A true leader, as Kipling suggests, treats "those two imposters just the same". This means that a leader shouldn't become conceited when he succeeds or get down on himself when he fails; a leader should learn from both experiences in a humble way. Throughout the rest of the poem the advice given is basically that people are going to treat you horribly sometimes and a leader will realize that and still maintain his ethics and morals no matter what others do. The youtube link below takes you to a wonderful reading of the poem and the other link takes you to other themes that might help you answer this question further.