Leadership
Like all Americans I have been watching and listening to the political banter over the debt ceiling. I am frustrated with the whole process. Amidst all the maneuvering I keep hearing people talk about leadership. I’ve heard them say so and so needs to step up and show some leadership. What they are really saying is that someone needs to come up with a plan.
Is that what defines leadership? Someone’s ability to come up with a plan? Is leadership about who can scream the loudest or talk the longest?
Isn’t a leader defined by whether or not anyone is following them? If you think you are leading but you look behind you and no one is following you, that is not leadership.
It is not just an issue in Washington. It is true for all of us. Parents, if your children are not following you then you’re not really leading. If people at work aren’t following you then there’s a problem with your leadership. In some cases it is a problem with those who are supposed to be following but more often it is a failure to really lead.
Real leadership in Washington would be about getting people who are far apart in their thinking to sit down and work together to come up with a plan that is good for our nation. Not a plan that is good for their polictial future. Real leadershp is sacrificial. Real leadership puts the interest of the whole ahead of any individual. Real leadership sees the big picture.
I think the guys in Washington need to look around and see if anyone is really following. I need to look around in the arenas where I lead and honestly ask, “Is anyone following me?”
Just some thoughts,
Jeff.
