As we begin a new year with the world and our country facing so many challenges and problems, we need true leaders who can motivate us to meet those challenges and solve those problems.
It is difficult to define leadership or a leader, but here are some definitions that I like. If we can find some leaders that meet these definitions, the world will be a much better place.
Here is quote from a website about Canada Small Business of all places:
A simple definition of leadership is that leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal.Here is Harry Truman's definition of a leader:
Put even more simply, the leader is the inspiration and director of the action. He or she is the person in the group that possesses the combination of personality and skills that makes others want to follow his or her direction.
My definition of a leader...is a man who can persuade people to do what they don't want to do, or do what they're too lazy to do, and like it.James MacGregor Burns, who besides being a presidential biographer and Pulitizer prize winning author was a political science professor at Williams College, my alma mater, has the following definition.
The ultimate test of practical leadership is the realization of intended, real change that meets people's enduring needs.Rosalyn Carter's description of a great leader is what we really need today.
A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go but ought to.There are a couple of concepts in these definitions that are critical. The first definition talked about achieving a common goal. Professor Burns' definition refers to "people's enduring needs" and Mrs. Carter's refers to what people ought to do. All of these references assume that there is at least a minimal sense of community, so that there would be some common understanding of a common goal, or our shared enduring needs or what we ought to do.
Unfortunately too often in today's world it seems as though there is no real sense of community whether it is in your neighborhood, state, region, country or world. The common good is too often thrown aside in favor of what I want or what I need. The enduring needs of the people are thrown aside for the instant gratification of individuals. As a result, it is even harder to be a great leader because a great leader must first motivate people to think about the common good instead of their own immediate self-interest.
Also unfortunately, too many of our would be leaders use fear as a way of gaining and motivating a following. They use fear of others who superficially are different - different color skin, different nationality, different religion, different sexual orientation. They use scapegoats who they blame for all the ills because that is easier and fits in a sound bite better than actually analyzing the problem. It is easy to lead this way, but it is not great leadership and certainly will not get the real issues and problems that we face resolved.
Very few people are born with the personality and skills to be great leaders. As you know, I was hopeful that President Obama was one of those people. He certainly has the speaking skills and intelligence to be a great leader. Those who said that he did not have the experience to be President may have been right, but he certainly was the best of the candidates. I am sure that he is learning on the job. I wish that I were more optimistic that he can adjust his personality and gain the skills to be a great leader because as far as I can tell in this country, he is our best hope.
His goal of bipartisanship is a lofty one because it requires a shared vision for the country and a sense of community that we are sorely lacking today. I am afraid that his approach to bipartisanship is wrong. When he directs his efforts at bipartisanship at the politicians both Republicans and Democrat, he misses the opportunity to engage the American people and ends up without really solving the problem. When he directs his efforts at the American people, he is able to create the environment for a national dialogue that in and of itself creates a better sense of community. It is hard work to engage the American people, as Harry Truman and Rosalyn Carter made clear in their definitions of leadership, but it is necessary and President Obama has the skills to do so.
It is my fervent hope for 2011 that President Obama becomes the great leader that he can be and that we need, that he engages the American people in a conversation about the common good and that through those efforts he brings to our country and our world a sense of real community through which we can address the problems that we face.
Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal
