At the risk of being too abstract, we are compelled to remind our friends that they need to carefully consider their political options this year. We suggest that the criteria be strictly limited to a vote for persons who have true leadership qualities.
There are two ways to lead: by consent or by force. Our form of representative government forms its basic foundation on those who lead by consent. Any other option promises to unravel the threads of our national fabric, and it is our opinion that a rent already exists in that delicate fabric.
Without naming specific persons, we encourage every voter to seriously examine the leadership qualities of every person and vote accordingly. Likewise, it is important to examine those qualities in those who are already holding office.
We need qualified leaders and we need them now.
Much has been written about the qualifications of a true leader. In fact, we highly recommend reading George Washington on Leadership by Richard Brookhiser. We have advocated that every current or aspiring politician be required to read that work prior to getting the endorsement of his or her political party.
That being said, we have our own list of attributes we believe a leader, and therefore an elected official, should have.
First on our list is honesty. We caution that we must first be honest with ourselves when evaluating this all-important quality. Simply being mesmerized by a smooth sounding speech does not prove honesty in the person who gave the speech. Honesty is not making random promises with no intention of keeping them. Honesty is admitting mistakes and offering mitigation for those mistakes. Dishonesty is not expunged by insincere apologies.
Our second attribute is responsibility. Responsibility is self-defining, but seems to be too often overlooked. Selfishness is the perfect example of irresponsibility, as is the failure to accept consequences. Constantly blaming someone else for everything shows a definite lack of responsibility. In its simplest of terms, responsibility is saying, “I made the decision and I, alone, am responsible.” It is the very basic “the buck stops here” concept.
Next on our list is decisiveness. Success is based on what you do, not on what you know. One of our favorite mentors long ago said that being smart is not knowing all the answers, but rather knowing where to find the answers. We should not be consenting to the failed leadership of someone who cannot delegate tasks and refuses to listen to others. We should not tolerate the placement of a person in a leadership position if that person is incapable of making a decision. By the same token we should be wary of those who make decisions based on their self-righteous belief that they always know the best answer without the consultation of others.
Leaders must be controlled by action. Being articulate and expressing intentions has little to do with leading. Taking action is the sign of a good leader. Will those actions result in failures? Absolutely they will, but the good leader then learns by his failures and starts displaying those attributes of honesty and responsibility we mentioned above.
There are many more qualities that could be listed, not the least of which are loyalty and self-control. We need not define each and every one. Suffice it to say that, even if we voted for someone in the first go-around, we are not obligated to vote that way again. Certainly we should not vote that way again if we have determined that our representative is not a leader, and therefore, not a representative at all.
