Leadership

This is the first time I have written a blog entry in over six months. I've been busy, but I have also been collecting my thoughts.

As I watch our presidential candidates parade themselves all over the country and try to convince us why we should elect them as our next president, one important attribute comes to mind - something that we have had precious little of in our government in quite a long time.

Leadership.

Leadership is so powerful that a charismatic leader can get others to believe, and do, just about anything. History is full of examples of people who have transformed whole nations - for good or for bad - and who have convinced others to do things that they never dreamed they would (or could). People like Martin Luther King have changed the course of our country's history by having the courage to put their lives on the line to lead others toward change and progress. Think about presidents like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan, who have carried the country on their shoulders during difficult times. We trusted them, and they delivered on their promises.

This is what we need now.

Our country is in trouble because of lack of leadership. Whatever else you might say about George W. Bush, most of us can agree that he is not a leader. Leaders work to unify their followers, to inspire them, and to make clear what the goals are and how we are to achieve them. Has Bush done any of this - at least after the unprecedented wave of patriotism that gripped the nation following September 11th? And what must be done to create the type of leadership that we need to get ourselves out of this mess?

There are many people who believe that it is not in their best interests to protect the environment, or to accept and value others who are different from them, or to follow the Golden Rule. This is because they see the world only in terms of what they want and need, and not in terms of what is good for the country - or for the human race - as a whole. Indeed, in the United States today, a culture has been created that values short-term financial gain over long-term survival, that values political connections over genuine qualifications, and where an "every person for themselves" mindset has prevailed.

We need good leaders to provide the vision to change all of this.

So what are the characteristics of a good leader?

First, a good leader leads by example. If you want others to do something, do it yourself, and offer to show others how to do what you are doing. Most people are smart enough to be able to tell genuine leadership from empty words. If you aren't walking the walk, no one cares if you talk the talk. Martin Luther King didn't just preach tolerance - he lived it. And 40 years after his death, people still follow his lead.

Second, a good leader is open and transparent. If I am an effective leader, you don't have to guess what my motives are. I will simply tell you. Good leaders don't keep secrets from others. They make clear why they are doing what they're doing, and what they hope to gain from it. They have a passion that is contagious, and that doesn't have to be explained. The spiritual masters whose wisdom and teachings are at the heart of the world's major religions - Jesus, Buddha, Moses, Krishna, Lao Tzu, Confucius, Muhammad - didn't have to persuade others to follow them. Others flocked and begged to be in their presence. Their sense of purpose was undeniable, and no one had to ask them what they were doing, or why they were doing it. And hundreds or thousands of years after these masters left the earth, they are still revered, and their teachings are still followed.

Third, a good leader is available. If someone needs wisdom or guidance from you, you should make time to share it with them - no matter how busy you are. Make the time. In my academic career, not once have I have ever turned away a student who wanted to meet with me. Indeed, it is an honor to be called upon to share wisdom, and everyone else's time is just as valuable as yours. If someone else is taking the time to come to you, then you need to reciprocate. Indeed, wisdom, knowledge, and experience are useless unless they are shared with others in times of need.

Fourth, a good leader does not worry about whether she or he is being followed. For those who lead effectively, their behavior would be the same if no one were watching as it would if a million people were following. The actions are taken out of an intrinsic desire to actualize oneself, and others take notice. Indeed, if you are doing something primarily because you want to get noticed, chances are it won't work. My undergraduate mentor, Dick Dunham, told me nearly 15 years ago that the best runners don't worry about their competition - they just run. When you act in accordance with your true self, others will take notice and will want to be in your presence. Why? Because the true self comes from God, and most people want to be around someone who is genuinely connected to God.

Finally, a good leader is unshakable. No matter what happens, a good leader never veers off course - at least not for long. The sense of purpose comes from within - so external events don't change the leader's determination to reach her or his goal. Do you think Martin Luther King changed his message - or shied away from spreading it - because people were trying to kill him? Indeed, he knew he was going to be killed, and yet he focused intensely on sharing his wisdom. Can you imagine the kind of inspiration that this kind of leader creates in others?

There is one important caveat here - and one that may have occurred to you already. The characteristics I listed above can be used to describe leaders like Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, and John Kennedy - but also leaders like Osama bin Laden and Adolf Hitler. Therefore, it is important to attend not only to the characteristics of the leader, but also to the message that she or he is spreading. Phil Zimbardo, an eminent scholar in social psychology and the lead investigator of the famous Stanford prison experiments back in the 1970s, has a book out called The Lucifer Effect, and I encourage everyone to read it. A charismatic leader can easily galvanize his followers to hate and kill others - witness bin Laden, Hitler, Fidel Castro, Saddam Hussein, Slobodan Milosevic, and many others. Indeed, many of these men believed that they were doing God's work - and so did their followers. They led by example, they were open and transparent, they were available (at least for those who wanted to follow them), and they were unshakable. And people flocked to be in their presence - and followed their lead, often to the end. So the magnetic power of leadership does not carry with it the assumption that the leader is spreading a "good" message. One of the things that Zimbardo notes in his book is that we need to think critically about whom we choose to follow. Blind obedience - which has been all too common in our collective history - has led to some of the most egregious human rights violations.

For me, the difference between "positive" and "negative" leaders is that "positive" leaders encourage you to question them. Think carefully about what I am saying, and if you think I am wrong, then follow your own heart. Most "negative" leaders do not do this - they seek to exterminate those who do not agree with them. This is the difference we need to look out for.

So what we need now, in this major crossroads for our nation and for our world, is leadership - the kind that will lead others back to themselves. The time for secrets, cronyism, and incompetence is over. We need people who are called to leadership, and who decide to take on the mantle. Let us celebrate these people - and let's follow their lead, as long as our hearts tell us that it is right.