Picking our Leaders is Both a Privilege and a Responsibility
Alex Pollock
October 12, 2015
I heard recently this statement associated with Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States. The relationship between a fine President and a fine man challenges me. What defines a great President? What in turn defines a great man? Can you fail at being the "finest man" and still be a great President...a great leader? What does it take to be great at both?
These are timely questions with the campaign to become the President of the United States underway. We rarely get a chance to pick our leaders (certainly rare in the workplace), but we each of us can influence the selection our 45th President. Let's set aside a few moments to define the attributes that are important to us individually and professionally.
Who is the candidate as a person? What are their values? What sign posts navigate them? What do they care deeply about? Are they honest, trustworthy, inspiring...or do they have the attributes of "big me" people?
What has the candidate for leadership actually accomplished? Do we like what they've done and how they did it? These characteristics likely will be repeated so we'd best be comfortable before we give support. Over the years I've found the writings of James Kouzes and Barry Posner most helpful and challenging. In their book "The Truth About Leadership" (2010) they share the "Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership":
- Model the Way
- Inspire a Shared Vision
- Challenge the Process
- Enable Others to Act
- Encourage the Heart
"My hope is that our leaders will capitalize on our country's most admirable qualities. When people in other nations face a challenge or a problem, it would be good to have them look to Washington for assistance or a sterling example."-- Jimmy Carter "A full Life" (2015)
Topics:
Leadership & Careers
Related
About the Author
Alex Pollock
Alex Pollock has been studying leadership effectiveness for more than 30 years. A former leader in environment, health and safety, and public affairs at The Dow Chemical Co., he learned that we all have leadership roles to play. He enjoys discussing new ideas and sharing practical ways we can all become better leaders.