Mac-Coleman

15 August 2014 –

Leadership 101! 

The fall general elections are fast approaching.  I appreciate General William Tecumseh Sherman’s blunt opinion of the political process when his name was considered as the Republican candidate for the presidency in 1884: “I will not accept if nominated and will not serve if elected."   But, Grouch Marx’s humor may be more to the point:  “I would never be a member of a club that would have me as a member.”  Somebody’s gotta take the challenge to clean up the politicians’ club.  There have to be people out there who are smart, tough, and honest enough to serve society in local, state, and federal government.             

As an Air Force officer, I saw the necessity of these attributes as I worked my way through a bureaucracy that sometimes was asked to focus on the wrong thing at the wrong time for the wrong reason.  Those four words: smart, tough, honest, and serve, are the distillation of the requirements for good government leaders.     

First:  Government leaders don’t have to be constitutional experts to fulfill their elected or appointed positions.  However, they must be smart enough to know the legal limits of their positions and the moral requirements of their oath of office.  These legal and moral limits are the essence of what makes our constitutional system exceptional:  the rule of law.  Smart leaders recognize that constitutional rules must always supersede political agenda.  Otherwise, the system gives way to tyranny.  Smart leaders trust the Founders’ tragic brilliance and the people’s sovereignty.  

Second: Government leaders must be tough enough to act according to their oath of office.  Binding one’s self to the limits of our constitutional system shows a leader’s toughness far more than does pursuing a political agenda that promises audacious personal hope for “change.”  The Constitution’s rules for limited governance and separation of powers are not hard to understand, but those who are weak of character may find them difficult to honor.  When elected or appointed officials bend or ignore constitutional rules, they are weak and corrupt.  It’s that simple. 

Third:  Leaders know that once they take the oath of office, they honestly assume all responsibility for the new job.  Society should expect that of its new leaders; after all, they wanted the job, didn’t they?  Specifically, that means that every issue within their job description from that moment on is their personal responsibility, not their predecessors’, not somebody else’s, theirs.  Real leaders know this and quickly respond with honest effort, admit mistakes quickly, and go on. 

As well, honest leaders don’t whine about unwinnable situations they may have inherited from their predecessors; they knew what was going on when they ran for the office.  Whining about the evil state of the world is simply dishonest, bad form.  It is just as dishonest when leaders claim success for operations or programs that were started by their predecessors.  Honest leaders are modest and generous in praising all those responsible for success.  This creates trust and cohesion in society’s body politic—something sorely missing in today’s political environment where a niggardly approach to bipartisan praise is the norm. 

Fourth: Real leaders accept that serving in the public sector requires self-sacrifice for the benefit of the American people.  In the military, the harsh requirement of unlimited liability goes with the oath of office.  Real leaders of all ranks are required to spend years away from home and family, doing difficult or dangerous things, for policy objectives they may not agree with.  And, they are often ordered to take the hill or to die trying.  So how do most respond?  Real leaders already accept that if it ain’t illegal or immoral, they salute smartly and take the hill, or die trying.  After all, they swore an oath.  That’s what being in the service is all about. 

The American people will respond to being led in such a manner.  But, I see no political “band of brothers” that attaches to their oath of office the liability of smart, tough, honest, self-sacrifice—sacrifice of political agenda, of personal wealth, of political advancement—in order to lead our society to peace and prosperity.  Instead, I see today’s America as a Russian officer described the British army in the Crimean War of the 19850s: “Lions commanded by asses!” 

Since braying is mostly what I hear coming from our centers of government, and from vacation homes in Martha’s Vineyard, what else am I supposed to think?