Since I often write about leadership in one form or another, I get much advice on that topic. In today’s profoundly divided political environment, I’m told that this or that person is a “real leader who will save America” or some other gargantuan claim that is also impossible. No one man or woman can “save” America. That’s left to the people who are enshrined in our Constitution as the sovereigns. That’s you and me, not some superannuated pol spouting wild claims that will be unfulfilled and vacuous. So, I can expect to hear, probably soon, how I just don’t “get it” about this leader or another and how that Mr./Ms. Marvelous is different and our only choice to “save” the country. Such thinking is bovine scatology.
Our founders warned us of such scallywags to whom others demand we owe fealty. Unfortunately, they ignore other advice from the founders who understood leadership. That’s because most Americans are not well-read when it comes to the most brilliant generation in American history. The wisdom of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe beats the silliness of Rachel Maddow, Tucker Carlson, Léone Alcindor, and Al Sharpton all day every day.
To be certain, there are people who support the faux leaders of our epoch but may not be particularly enamored by their personalities. They are likely to justify their support for their preferred charlatan by saying “Well he (or she) may be a (fill-in-the-blank), but he (or she) is MY (fill-in-the-blank)!” I guess possession translates to good judgment. They suppose that such an affirmative declaration absolves themselves of any imprudence in their support. It doesn’t. Like it or not, these apologists are voting for hoaxers, even if they manage to rationalize their choices as worthy, notwithstanding their candidate’s lack of character.
Why is this? How can people support others that they find lacking in character? Is it possible they wouldn’t know a good leader if they saw one? I think not. Most of these misguided souls know good leadership when they see it. Or are they so alarmed with the situation in the country that they would elect anyone whom they perceive will turn things in the direction they think best? Maybe. Or is it the case that people are so ideologically bound to one side or the other that they will support the person of their party even if that individual is a dolt, an egomaniac, cognitively deficient or a self-absorbed jackass? Sadly, the proclivities of this latter group may be in ascendancy even as our collective national values and ethics are in freefall.
So, for the sake of discussion here, let’s assume—probably wrongly—that people simply don’t know what characteristics should be present in an elected leader. Here are some attributes that I find acceptable.
- Good leaders listen. Silly as it may sound, there’s a reason you have two ears and one mouth. Listening is twice as important as running your mouth. Why? Frist, it’s hard to listen when you are busy talking. Second, good leaders know instinctively that they do not know everything and listening to someone else’s view might teach them something they did not know. That’s how good leaders become great leaders. They listen. Churchill did before WWII when it became clear to him that the British people had no interest in being subjugated by Nazi Germany, even as other leaders were ready to capitulate.
- Good leaders lead. I learned as a soldier “when in charge, be in charge.” Put another way, don’t shirk your duty, particularly those duties defined in the constitutions of our states and nation. That means make a decision and then act on it.
- Good leaders show respect. If you’ve ever worked for a brutish person, it’s likely he or she exhibited much self-centered behavior. Moreover, they demean others to make themselves appear better. They elevate themselves by standing on others. Good leaders uphold the dignity of others, even when they do not agree with opposing views or the performance of those that they find substandard. Good leaders don’t make it personal. They speak respectfully of others, including those they find substandard. They don’t treat others like refuse.
- Good leaders shift credit to others. The favorite word of a bad leader is “I.” The preferred word of a good leader is “we.” The best leaders I know are the ones whose credo is “there’s no limit to the good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit.”
- Good leaders admit their mistakes. There are few acts more noble than a leader admitting, “I was wrong.” Leaders who own the mistakes of their organizations actually inspire excellence in others. Why? Because the subordinates know their leader has broad shoulders.
So, when you vote, look for these traits in the candidates.
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