Leadership

The nature of leadership is being an example to others and helping others understand the direction of the group, organization, or nation and reasons for that direction. It is a setting of a pattern on the one hand, and then a reasoned process of education and nurture that helps adoption of the direction by others.

In a military setting leadership is by written or spoken order. Such an order is followed because of the discipline and process instilled in the assembled personnel under the direction of the commanding officers. Questioning the order is not normal, nor is it allowed in most cases. Over time a pattern that seems inappropriate can be properly questioned and differences resolved. Following World War II, German officers and soldiers were held accountable for the Holocaust eventually. They were judged to have been in a position to know that their actions were inhuman and illegal.

In a dictatorship the word of the leader is accepted. Not following the leader’s decree will most certainly lead to punishment. Prison, torture and death will follow depending on the nature of the afflicted nation.

A democracy, however, requires leaders to be elected, rise through ranks of elected positions, and then follow layers and layers of protocols and procedures to guarantee proper behavior in discharging the work and authority of the people. Some agencies are formed to supervise the functioning of the government. Oversight committees and positions and court systems regularly explore the efficacy and legality of actions of others within the bureaucracy. In America this is true in federal and state governments. It is also present in municipal and county governments throughout the land.

And watching over all of the above is the free press. And of course the electorate themselves. But then they rely on the free press to keep them informed.

A leader must take all of this into consideration if he or she hopes that others will follow his/her lead. In a nutshell that is the American system of governance. Leadership is not guaranteed. It is earned by careful preparation, education, study and persuasion. It is not automatic. Or by decree.

Thus we have elections at all levels of government ensuring that the people themselves have the final authority on who has the reins of our government institutions.

Russia thinks it has a democracy. It does not. Their elections are not open and free. They are constrained and managed by a narrow band of ideologues who have the power and authority to do so.

Isn’t it interesting that Russians are now demonstrating in the streets asking Putin to step down? Does anyone else see the awkwardness of what the Russian system has done to itself?

What might this portend for America? How awkward is our future to be? The current President is not a leader. He does not educate, persuade or nurture. He issues decrees and tweets them. He writes executive orders and signs them. Such is not the actions of government. Nor of governance.

Leadership is much more demanding than that. Time will tell if the American people will exercise those demands for better leadership. But first they need to understand and agree on what it is they want.

As I have said here many times before, outcomes matter. And we haven’t agreed on what those should be yet. No wonder we can’t decide on the leaders! Or how they should lead.

May 2, 2017