Leadership 101

My hope is that young and upcoming leaders are paying close attention to the current state of affairs because there is an amazing learning opportunity to be had.  A lack of leadership skills can lead to poor decisions, distract from important activities, and retard agendas that you wish to accomplish.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, superior leaders can pull groups together for amazing achievements.  Here are a few key points from recent events:

Empathy – It is absolutely essential to be able and, even more importantly, willing to put the shoe on the other foot, so to speak, to have a deep understanding of all sides of an issue and be able to speak to everyone involved.  You'll never reach everyone, but the more you can understand why people feel the way they do the easier it is to make a humane and just decision for the best overall good.  Just three of the recent examples of this administration’s ineptitude in this area with visible repercussions are the rolling back of transgender protections, the denouncement of recent anti-Semitic attacks, and the Dakota access pipeline.  It is disturbing to see our leaders ignore the human factor of their decisions and seemingly not understand why people are upset. 

As controversial as the transgender issue is, for some reason, the administration can make a case for it being a state’s rights issue.  It’s an obvious cop-out, especially given what they do want to control on a federal level, but I’m not going to get into that here.  What is perhaps more disheartening than the decision, though, is that the state vs. federal rights dispute and the implementation of the original protection is all they have focused on, while there have been no recent statements from the president about understanding why it’s an issue, words of support for transgendered individuals, or denouncing discrimination of this group.  Knowing the harassment, bullying, and personal affliction that many of these folks deal with, the president should realize that his voice could carry some weight to help alleviate at least some of that, even if he believes it necessary to remove the federal protections.

Secondly, as most know, there has been a large spike in anti-Semitic fervor in the U.S. since the administration has taken over.  I honestly don’t think that the president is anti-Semitic.  However, his handling of the situation has been appalling.  At first, he said it was an unfair question and bragged about his election victory when asked about it by a Jewish reporter.  As we waited a long time for him to say anything substantive, he proceeds to vociferously berate the press, federal judges, and anyone that disagrees with him.  Then, when he does say something, instead of using that kind of energy he speaks in platitudes as he reads an obviously prepared statement with little feeling.  Again, I'm not questioning that he’s against the violence but it’s another example of poor leadership.

Finally, on this point, is the Dakota access pipeline deal.  Yet again, there has been no statement from the president to the tribes in that area.  It’s all about the bottom line to this president, and if our longest-standing US citizens are negatively affected, oh well.  At the very least, explain why you are unsympathetic to the cries from the ground as you brag about the corporations that are going to build the pipeline.

Relating to the populous, not solely your base – This is somewhat related to empathy, but taken a step further.  To incite cheers and support among those already aligned with you is easy.  Being a true leader, on the other hand, is to reach out, listen, and coherently explain your views to constituents on all sides of an issue.  When the president offhandedly dismissed the massive dissention being shown at town halls, it demonstrated another level of delusion.  While democrats are the largest single group of opponents in terms of numbers, it is clear that the dissenters are from many other groups and very few of those showing up were actual ‘professional protestors’.  Instead of taking the opportunity to acknowledge the differences in opinions, tell the nation that he hears them, and demonstrate that he is working with all sides to do what is best, he simply dismissed it and berated those against his views.  This kind of act only fuels the divide.  And, yes, democrats have been known to do this this in the past as well, although not to such an extent.  This goes right along with politicians only voting along party lines, especially with obviously poor decisions.  Politicians are supposed to represent the people and not the leader or even the party.  They should act like it and be willing to explain the basis for their votes, especially with controversial issues or positions.

Facts not propaganda – To a large extent, your base will often fall in line with your propaganda regardless of what you say, at least for a short while, because they want to believe in you.  However, to reach the masses and stay relevant in the long run you must use real facts and not rely on misleading information, fear, or outright falsehoods.  It sounds obvious, but it’s an easy trap to fall into when you believe rhetoric that your followers say and listen largely to one-sided arguments.  

Taking responsibility – This one is a lot more important than most people realize.  Mistakes happen, sometimes your opinions are wrong, you may inadvertently utter words you didn’t mean, and you, as the leader, must shoulder some of the responsibility for those working with you.  By admitting mistakes, by taking responsibility in both your words and your actions, and by demonstrating how you will adjust to make things better is to show the world your strength and bring masses on board.  By pushing blame on and marginalizing others, be they federal judges, opponents on the other side of the isle, or protesters trying to be heard makes you look petty and potentially dangerous.  And, when it’s pointed out that your facts are wrong and you say ‘someone gave me those numbers’ and ‘I’ve heard that from others’ instead of taking ownership is quite revealing.  It's not easy, but the best leaders deflect credit for success onto others while shouldering more than their fair share of blame for shortcomings.

Showing respect – Last, but not least, is the ability to show respect when you disagree with someone or are at odds with a given group.  Sometimes, of course, acts are so egregious that you need to take a hard stance.  But, more often than not, you can get more accomplished by starting from a place of respect for your opponent or opposing viewpoint.  To watch the president disrespect others so often is discouraging because it again only translates well to his hard core base while appearing petty to the rest of the world.  As an example, seeing him lash out at Hillary again during the CPAC speech resulting in many in the crowd yelling ‘lock her up’ as they did during the campaign is depressing.  Then, to witness his reaction and failure to quell the chanting was disturbing.

We need true leaders who understand the full breadth of responsibility of their positions, not those who try to control the public’s narrative by attacking and shutting out the press and asking the agencies to knock down stories they don’t like.  We need true leaders who think in terms of what is the best combination for the economy, humanity, environment, and think globally, not those that believe that a selfish U.S.-only viewpoint will lead to long-term success.  If your viewpoints are already controversial, a lack of leadership skills can bring clashes and a deepening divide, which is, unfortunately, where we find ourselves.  We can hope that our future is in the hands of people who are engaged and learning from this turbulent time.