Leadership

 

 

 

 

"You can't be all things to all people..."

Many times when growing up I heard sage advice from my folks - "Stop trying to be all things to all people - just be yourself". It was good counsel back then and remains so today. In the last election cycle, we witnessed candidates trying to be all things to all people. This led to mass confusion. What are the core values of this candidate? Why the vacillation? Why the change? It caused me to think back on some of the leadership training I had in the Navy. Leaders lead by example and values. They don't lead from behind, or opinion, they lead by character.

By the same token, for an office like president, you need to be the president of the entire country, the entire population. Some of the past presidents never got off the campaign trail. They governed in a similar fashion to the way they campaigned. Good guys and bad guys. Red or blue. Rich or poor. People who have worked hard and made good money have been vilified for no good reason what so ever. Even though the richest people pay the majority of taxes, they are accused of stinginess. True leadership understands that people who have made money have just as many rights as those who have not.

Leadership is not agenda driven. For example, our energy policy is a mess, and has been for years now. The agenda of changing our energy profile over from fossil fuels to renewables is not working. Leadership will strike the proper balance between the vast untapped supplies we have as well as developing renewable sources. It is allowing our neighbor to the north the ability to ship product through an pipeline to be built through the center of our country.

Leadership is getting our house in order prior to jetting all over the world on non critical issues. The most important issue we have in our country right now is the impending "fiscal cliff". This should be an "all hands on deck effort" with the president leading the charge. However, there is already a trip planned to visit a small country half way around the world. This is not leadership. Failure to address our "fiscal cliff" with acumen, compromise and speed will result in a fiscal mess which will plague us for years to come.

In a time of leaders which are nothing more than caricatures made up by teleprompters, ads and a fawning press, the country craves true leadership. True leadership that will be the lesson plan of future history books. Now is your time Mr. President. You have been given a second time to be a true leader. You can't be all things to all people, nor can you just belong to selected constituencies. Now is the time for true leadership - please avail yourself to it.