Pop Quiz
What academic said: “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.”?
What author wrote: “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”?
What world leader said: “The nation will find it very hard to look up to the leaders who are keeping their ears to the ground.”?
What American President said” “Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.”?
What motivational speaker said: “Leaders think and talk about the solutions. Followers think and talk about the problems.”?
Answers at the end of the post.
Promises made, promises kept:
Our President promised that he would reduce civilian employment in the Federal government. To date he has removed about 200,000 civilian employees. Assuming an average $100,000 compensation and benefits package for each employee that means at least $2 Billion has been lopped off the Federal payroll. Their departure has not been evidenced by any diminution of meaningful work output.
The definition of leadership is a moving target in government and academic circles. It is impossible to establish a working definition based on the mediocrities that have surfaced as our political “leaders”. It is clearly an application of the cesspool theory…the big chunks float to the surface. The use of the words Kamala Harris and leader in the same paragraph is oxymoronic.
For our purposes a leader is a person who establishes the goals and objectives for a policy or program and identifies the necessary skills and behaviors that will be required to achieve those goals and objectives. The leader must align people in a collective direction, enable them to work together and accomplish the defined goals, and, most importantly help them adjust to changing environments. Jack Welch added this essential guidance: deal with the world as it is and not what you wish it was.
The Traits of a Leader
Physical
A strong leader must possess energy and stamina. In addition he or she must establish a presence meaning they must be accessible and available to provide guidance, positive feedback and direction. However, a good leader does not micromanage, encourages critical thinking and independence and embraces the observation of Barry Rand: “if you have a yes-man working for you, one of you is redundant.”.
How does Trump measure up? He is indefatigable and for him a long vacation is 18 holes of golf. In 2024 he held 96 rallies during the election cycle, most lasting over an hour with one abbreviated by an assassination attempt. It must be noted that he did take six days off after getting shot. In contradistinction to his brain dead predecessor he is accessible to the press whenever he appears in public. He is a physical presence making his Democrat and media critics look like residents of Lilliput.
Personality
A strong leader is self-confident, independent and enthusiastic. Honesty, integrity and credibility are very important.
How does Orange Man stack up? Self-confidence is mistaken in politics for egocentricity unless practiced by a strutting ego maniac like Obama in which case it is seen as grit and determination…talking truth to power. When manifested by Trump it is described as megalomania, self-aggrandizement.and an insatiable thirst for personal power. Trump’s credibility is under constant fire and in the end his “lies” amount to little more than puffery. Compare and contrast Trump with the barely animate Hilliary who will not be getting a house call from Diogenes..
Dealing With People
A strong leader should have good interpersonal skills and the ability to enlist cooperation. Tact and diplomacy are essential when a leader needs to achieve defined goals and objectives. The leader must be willing to set well defined goals and objectives and get buy-in from the team that will have the responsibility for achieving those goals and objectives. Building the right team and inspiring that team to work together are necessary skills of a real leader.
How does Darth Trump stack up? This is where there will be some serious debate. Trump can be abrasive and socially offensive but as Peter Dunne famously said: “Politics ain’t beanbag:” It is a rough and tumble sport and Trump has to deal with an intellectually corrupt opposition party, a downright hostile media, a social media that is awash with ignorance, historical and political, and up until Friday last the platitudinous Stephen Colbert. His pugnaciousness may be excused under the circumstances.
In his first term the President encountered an entrenched, determined and largely hidden opposition to the concept that America would be made great again. It culminated with the seditious events of January 6, 2021. Trump’s actions put the lie to his monarchial ambitions and accusations that he is a “would be dictator”…he vacated the Oval Office and allowed it to be converted to an adult day care facility.
The Skills of a Leader
Decision Making
A strong leader must be unafraid to make tough and potentially controversial decisions. The vagaries of Capitalism often make the results of business decisions uncertain. A good leader should have confidence in the team that is working on a project and confident that all decisions will be based on accurate and complete information. In the end a good leader will make the necessary decision on how to proceed and take the blame for failure and share the credit for success.
How does The Donald stack up? The President is unafraid to take on issues that may seem insoluble and carry high risk. He does not make decisions based on polls. The Clinton’s conducted polls on where to go on vacation such was their collective inability to make even simple decisions. Ukraine, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, immigration and climate change are among the alligators with which the President has chosen to wrestle.
He has been handicapped by the fact that the information upon which he acts is often classified and unavailable for public scrutiny. But he clearly has faith in his advisors and has the good sense only to blame Democrats for anything that is even slightly askew. The media is constantly seeking out anonymous sources in order to put a negative spin on each and every Presidential initiative. The thought of Trump winning a Nobel Peace Prize has 85% of the news media dealing with night jitters.
Process
A strong leader places a high value on critical thinking…a lost art since the creation of the Department of Education. The steps in the critical thinking process are:
- Clearly and completely identify the issue to be addressed;
- Define the objective;
- Collect and evaluate the information necessary to find a viable solution;
- Identify multiple options based on the assembled information;
- Analyze the viability of the various options;
- Define potential unintended consequences; and,
- Identify the best option following an open discussion of the various options proposed.
The leader then makes the final decision as to the option that will be implemented and communicates his decision to the team. That decision will not rely on a consensus and the leader assumes the ultimate responsibility for the outcome.
How does the future Nobel Laureate I stack up?
Iran has for 47 years been the world’s largest exporter of terrorism. It is a repressive sectarian state. An Iranian woman has the status and voting rights of a good camel. The entire calculus of the Near East changed when George Reynolds found oil under the desert sands of Arabia in 1908. Iran became in the 20th Century the most disruptive nation on the the planet…a fanatical nation with nuclear ambitions.
Trump has made clear that the biggest threat to world peace would be Iran with nuclear weapons. He made clear that the objective was to eliminate the ability of the mullahs to enrich Uranium. The President has access to information that is highly classified from worldwide sources. He has assembled a team of US and international experts to analyze this information and answer the following questions: What is the enrichment capability of Iran? Where is the enrichment taking place? How much Uranium do they have in their possession? How long will it take Iran to enrich enough Uranium to build nuclear weapons? Does Iran have the capability to deliver nuclear weapons against The Great Satan and The Little Satan?
Based on this extensive analysis Team Trump sought guidance from international allies, the Department of War and the State Department. The culmination these efforts was Operation Midnight Hammer which crippled the enrichment capabilities of Iran. The message was delivered clearly and with proper emphasis. Iran is in desperate economic straits (including Hormuz) and, despite an outpouring of media hysteria, there are no US boots on the ground.
Trump has delivered a primer in strong leadership. And he had the good sense not to bring AOC into the information loop so the plan was not leaked to CNN and the Ayatollah.
There is a real possibility that there will soon be a peaceful ending to the Iranian kerfuffle. Why then does the media continue to undermine his efforts? Perhaps because the Left has an aversion to people who have actually accomplished things outside the political world. Trump built hotels and arenas and that made him suspect in the parasitical minds of the Left…in the immoral words of Obama in 2012: “Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that.”
Today the Left sees strong leadership as “toxic masculinity” and their idea of masculinity is Dylan Mulvaney.
Answers to the pop quiz:
What academic said: “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.”? Warren Bennis
What author wrote: “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”? John Maxwell
What world leader said: “The nation will find it very hard to look up to the leaders who are keeping their ears to the ground.”? Winston Churchill
What American President said” “Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.”? Harry S. Truman
What motivational speaker said: “Leaders think and talk about the solutions. Followers think and talk about the problems.”? Brian Tracy