Jason Seiden always has insightful posts on leadership. His latest on A Fistful of Talent that good leaders must be amoral in order to be successful misses the mark for me, however.
While I wholly agree that leading and morality are largely independent, I bristle at the inference that leaders must be free from shackles of morality in order to be effective. Leaders of all kinds exist including those who are amoral or even immoral (i.e. Hitler, Charles Manson).
photo by kristalynn
But, I’d suggest that there is a connection when you speak of the world’s most effective and enduring leaders. Martin Luther King Jr., Ghandi and Nelson Mandela inspired millions into action, accomplished the seemingly impossible and have a spirit that moves others to this day. They did all this while following strict moral guidelines by which few others would have been able to abide. Hence, one reason why they remain such lasting and inspirational figures.
Indeed morality doesn’t define a leader, actions do. A leader is so deemed because they are uncompromising in aligning their actions to their beliefs. The power of their leadership is in their words and actions. The more true the former ring and the more consistent the latter, the stronger the leader.
Yes, anyone, regardless of moral standing, can be a leader. But by defining a leader as one who gets someone to do something they wouldn’t do otherwise distorts the definition for the sake of expediency. Going into battle is the fulfillment of an explicit contract not changing behaviors. If anything, a leader is one who gets someone to do what they didn’t think was possible.
Mistaking titles for leaders is also a straw man. Not all Presidents, Generals or CEOs could or should be classified as leaders. In both war and business there is an explicit agreement made in which I will get something in exchange for my services. My presence on either a battlefield or in a conference room means you’ve upheld your end of the obligation and I am now doing the same.
So please don’t think that your desire to be or status as a leader gives you a hall pass to act immorally. Nor should we strive any less to be moral in our leadership.
If you want to be a leader align your words and actions. If you want to be a great leader align your words and actions with your morals.
“This is our moment. This is our time. …To reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth that out of many we are one. While we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubt…we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of the people: Yes we can.”
-Barack Obama
We are at a crossroads in our country’s history. We have allowed divisive issues to define who we are and, in the name of freedom and false hope, have forsaken many of the pillars upon which our country was founded. But last night we took the first step down the very long road to reclaiming the soul of our country.
That journey won’t be easy and there will be missteps. But we will not be making it blindly. Or alone. We have walked this path before, we’ve merely forgotten.
And now we have somebody who can inspire us to lift our foot when we are tired. To overcome when we meet obstacles. And to help our neighbor when they cannot go on. For this is a collective race, not an individual one.
While we are mired in war, on the brink of environmental disaster and have a rapidly collapsing financial system we must still take the next step. We must come back together.
To solve these problems we must to collectively believe again. To work together again.
This election had nothing to do with experience. Or policy. It was about finding the right leader. Finding the person who could inspire a nation.
And last night was more than breaking racial barriers. It was more than engaging a generation just now coming of age.
It was about restoring America as a beacon of hope for people the world around. And particularly for everyone of us living under the fifty-starred flag charged with keeping the lamp lit.
For without hope, success means nothing. Without hope we are merely individuals. And without hope we leave our children and their children nothing.
Hope can unite us and can make us a collective once again. Today we take the first step away from being 300 million individuals fighting for our share and the first step toward being the united America that has overcome every challenge put in front of us.
On September 12th, 2001 we bonded. We vowed to remember that feeling. That sense of purpose. We were reminded of what mattered and the American Dream was reinvigorated. We realized the American Dream wasn’t about accumulating wealth or a house or a bigger SUV. Nor was it about living an easy, comfortable life.
In fact, the American Dream isn’t really a dream at all. It is a way of thinking.
The American Dream is about making ourselves better people. The better people we see in our dreams.
Rooted in that is the belief that merit triumphs. That you can’t keep a good man or woman or country down. And that standing on the shoulders of men does not make one a giant.
The American Dream is hope.
And yet, that feeling slipped from our grasp. That feeling and our bonds were rooted in the tenuous emotions of fear and uncertainty. Two emotions with which our country has little collective experience dealing. And it tore us apart.
The last decade has been difficult. The challenges we now face are enormous. But this election showed that millions of people are ready, willing and able to get behind something. To take a stand and believe in the American Dream and the country they love once again.
Today, November 5th, is a lot like September 12th. We again have a collective notion of what hope feels like. We have the clarity of vision that comes from focusing on what it takes to be the better people we see in our dreams.
Most importantly, we now have a leader who can remind us of this feeling, of the better us and who will enable us to begin to live again the American Dream.
This time that feeling and our bonds are rooted in hope and optimism. Two emotions that are inextricably woven into the our social fabric. This time we are focused on what is possible, not what is scary. This time, I hope, it is here to stay.
Remember this feeling. This moment. For this is the moment when we rediscovered who we are.
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Update: Consider subscribing to the Office of the new President’s blog.
Last week I made my second political donation ever and it immediately dawned on me what a dumb idea that was. Why should any of us fund a campaign?
How is a campaign funded by the people any different than one funded by lobbyists, big business and blue bloods? The candidate funded by the former may not be as beholden to contributors, but in either case, the election is still being purchased.
And what do we the people get for that money? Smear attacks, intentionally misleading information and/or outright lies about the opponent’s intentions and a distillation of talking points into a 30-second television spot rather than a discourse on real beliefs and ideas.
(To put it into perspective: spending for the 2008 presidential election alone is going to top 1/700th of what it apparently costs to bail out the financial industry or it could fund a war in Iraq for 3 days 2 hours and 24 minutes.)
If we ceased all advertising for political purposes (even and especially 527s) what would we be left with?
Put the politicians back on whistle-stop tours. But, not being a total Luddite, I would also like to still see them debate, blog, vlog and tweet (if they must). The difference is pulling versus pushing the message. In this new world, only the people who cared would get it.
And I cannot believe I am going to publicly admit this, but George Will and I share a belief. In a diatribe about early voting he says, ‘…surely the quality of the electoral turnout declines when the quantity is increased…’ That is true of everything, not just voting. As soon as you broaden the circle beyond experts you are going to dilute the quality of a decision.
Now, I will not advocate eliminating early voting, but I think limiting how the ‘presidential’ messages get out will effectively limit voting. After all, the politicians can no longer police themselves. We have officially arrived at the point where one of the parties believes that if they say something enough times it makes it true. And the rest of us do not care enough to actually learn the truth. Instead, we rely on biting sound clips, false Internet chain letters, 30-second lies and ranting radio talk-show host buffoons. Our reward? A collective dumbing down of the process, our leaders and our country.
I do not want to disenfranchise anyone. But there should be some litmus test. So long as they care enough to look behind the curtain they should vote. This is not a red/blue thing or a rich/poor thing. This is an American thing. This is about getting people more involved in the process.
A great country should be ruled by a set of ideals (which we used to have), not by the emotionally manipulative and misleading crap we see on television.
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Public Service: Check the facts about the claims you hear.
Rhetoric, mistruths and turning blind eyes to facts are all part of politics and rallying the base. But one line in particular during Gov. Palin’s speech last night really rattled me. It showed the true colors of the new Republican party and how far we’ve drifted from our once great principles.
“Al Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America … [Obama's] worried that someone won’t read them their rights?”
The fact that Gov. Palin and the subsequently hootin’ n’ hollerin’ conventioneers seemed to find this worthy of mockery is appalling.
Our country has historically attempted to take the higher road. We used to believe that ALL MAN, not just Americans, have been endowed with certain inalienable rights. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, in case you’ve forgotten over the last eight years.
As citizens we’ve held our government and ourselves to a higher standard and expected the same from other sovereign states. We cared about doing what is right, like believing in the presumption of innocence, rather than what is easy. We need a leader, for the first time in my lifetime, who can bring us back to these ideals.
A leader is principled and holds herself to a higher standard. A leader isn’t perfect, but she recognizes the power she holds and is careful not to abuse it. A leader respects the rules of the game and doesn’t try to change them mid-course out of convenience.
Gov. Palin is no leader. And neither are those within the new Republican party.
Oh, one final piece of advice to the leaders of this new Republican party:
If you’re going to respect a life before birth, respect it also during life.
A video was forwarded to me last night that compelled me to respond. I never reply to mass forwards within our family, but this one touched a nerve. It wasn’t that the message was attacking the Presidential candidate I’m backing, but rather how easily the content and tenor of the message lulled the readers into not thinking for themselves and truly considering just how they were being manipulated by the message. Let’s not give up on critical thinking and discourse. It’s vital.
The video that got me fired up.
The forward asked whether we were bothered by the video. My response:
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This video bothers me.
It bothers me that we allow ourselves to succumb to superficial claims that fear monger and play off our deepest seeded racist thoughts.
It bothers me that it’s been viewed 4.5 million times and otherwise smart people don’t think through just how this video manipulates our innermost fears and potentially secret thoughts.
I’d like to believe that we’re all smart enough to dig a little deeper and look beyond the color of ones skin, the origins of ones name or whether they are willing to wear a lapel pin. Frankly, my mom taught to do just that and I’d like to believe she’ll do the same.
I’d also like to believe that we don’t all get judged based on the words that come out of our acquaintances’ mouths. Who among us hasn’t been friends with someone who was a stark raving racist? Were you not embarrassed by what was said? I have been on both accounts, but I wouldn’t want to be painted with the same brush. Should I have stood up and renounced them as a friend right there? Maybe, but I didn’t. Does that make me evil? Does that make me any less fit to represent and lead a diverse group of people?
[note: Obama has renounced Rev. Wright's remarks repeatedly. Take your pick on which article you want to read. Kudos if you make it through all 464,000 mentions.]
Obama has symbolized a new type of politics. Whether you agree with his points of view or not, he has brought over 5 million new voters into the political process. He has mobilized a generation that has been dormant since 1968. For the first time in forty years we have a generation of people believing not just in our country, but in what our country stands for and what our country can achieve. They’re believing in the ideals that symbolize America. People are being reminded of what makes our country great. We are a country that judges people on merit, that gives everyone a fighting chance to make something great of themselves and that protects our right to hold differing points of view from the majority. We live by the golden rule. By taking ten-second sound bites of all the things we as well as our friends have ever said, could one make a video that shreds your true beliefs and ideals apart? Damn right they could.
Let’s start using our heads before we succumb to these trite, banal attacks. These attacks may work on elementary school playgrounds, but we should be above that. Let’s hold ourselves to a higher standard. Let’s hold ourselves to a standard that we’d like to see in our leaders.
As for your vote, that’s for you to decide. But, please, don’t throw it away by allowing yourself to be so blatantly manipulated. Use your head. Look at the issues, look at their platforms and make an informed decision based on the issues for which you care most deeply.
Yes, the video bothers me.
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