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World leaders face challenges and difficult decisions many can’t even imagine. We depend on these people to exemplify our values and ideals as a country, but America’s “leadership” lately represents us as a country of people unable to take criticism, incapable of accepting responsibility for our actions, and as a country driven by personal preservation. Our country is in dire need of better leadership, and the actions taken during the current pandemic further prove it. By looking at the science of leadership and other current leaders of the world, we see what great leaders look like — and hopefully what our leadership could again look like.
“The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.” -Theodore M. Hesburgh
What makes a good leader?
People have analyzed the qualities of great leaders throughout history. At times, we respected leaders for their wartime abilities and found value in leaders like Genghis Khan and Alexander the Great. Other historical leaders were applauded for their ability to captivate and motivate a crowd. We’ve studied these historical figures and the social responses to quality leaders to reveal the qualities of a great leader.
- Great leaders communicate clearly: Winston Churchill was one of the world’s greatest leaders. His ability to articulate came from constant practice. Historical writer, Andrew Roberts, says Churchill would spend up to thirty hours practicing a speech. Words are powerful — they bring people together, inspire action, and play a vital role in any good leader’s playbook.
- Leaders focus on the needs of others: We depend on our leaders to provide us with resources. Leaders make sure their people receive accurate information, financial resources, and clear direction. Great leaders see things through the eyes of the people they lead instead of thinking of themselves.
- They build strong relationships: A leader’s ability to develop and maintain a reliable connection with people, working together for the greater good, can’t be understated. When a leader is incapable of working with others, they limit their potential and the potential of the people they lead. Great leaders show and earn respect by maintaining quality relationships.
- Great leaders lead by example: The heart of this quality lies in a leader’s ability to instill trust. According to Frances Frei, a Harvard Business professor, trust is necessary for everything we do. Great leadership is infectious. When we’re represented by someone who exudes quality morals and beliefs, we, as a people, follow suit.
While these values don’t cover every facet of a great leader, they embody many of the shortcomings America now faces. Our high-level leadership struggles to represent us, while leaders from around the world exude what it means to lead.
Mistakes will happen
Every leader fails. Period. What they do with that failure determines whether they deserve the status of great. For example, the commissioner of the European Union responded to their lack of quality response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Commissioner von der Leyen didn’t attempt to rationalize their error, she didn’t deflect or ignore it, she accepted responsibility and sincerely apologized. That’s leadership.
In America, we have a president who would rather pretend his comments about injecting detergent to cure the virus were a joke. He would rather preserve the persona of perfection instead of accepting guilt, presenting a solution, and moving forward. Instead of blaming others for the spread of disease, lack of equipment, and inadequate response, Americans deserve a leader who works diligently to provide solutions.
In Germany, we witnessed decisive action and informational transparency once the virus took root. The leadership response immediately enacted distancing measures, and within 24 hours began direct communication with its citizens describing their plan of action. The government proved to its citizens that it values trust and their citizens responded with overwhelming support. That’s leadership
American leadership, even after the virus details were understood, argued about how to react. They withheld information from Americans and effectively created a scenario putting us as the highest infected country in the world. Governors, like Brian Kemp, have called for reopening of businesses even though the threat of the virus remains high.
Our leaders have bullied, fired, and defamed those who have shown true leadership during the pandemic. Captain Brett Crozier was fired for trying to keep the people who depend on him safe. Experts in the field of virology and epidemiology are experiencing criticism and having their expertise questioned, leading to federal inaction as the pandemic rages. Governors, like DeWine, Cuomo, and Whitmer are battling public criticism and protests while prioritizing public safety. Consistently, our high-level leaders have attempted to quiet the individuals showing true leadership.
America deserves better
The American people are suffering under the leadership driving our country. We are depicted as dishonest, naive, selfish, and temperamental by the ineptitude of our governing body. We deserve better. Our leadership needs to step up or we need better leaders. They need to look to other world leaders and the great leaders of our past to make us proud and truly represent what we stand for. We were a country created on values of integrity, honesty, courage, and respect, and it’s high time our leadership returned to those values. Our leaders directly reflect our beliefs, will we continue following blindly or will we elect leaders we’re proud of? We hold the power.
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Previously published on medium.com and is republished here under permission.
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Photo credit: archies7 from Pixabay