At Emergent we define leadership as “inspiring and influencing purposeful action.” However, I believe this definition raises a crucial question: toward what end? Implied but not explicit is the point that leadership is about serving and meeting the needs of all stakeholder groups. As a process, leadership is a set of skills aimed at getting people moving. As a purpose, leadership is the dedication of oneself and one’s energy to growing and strengthening communities.
If this were the true focus of most leaders, we would have significantly less polarization in our country. But there are those who choose to use their leadership abilities for private gain rather than the common good.
As products of American culture, we have come to accept some basic truisms about leadership. We tend to believe, for example, in the inviolability of the Presidency (as Nixon put it, “When the President does it, that means that it is not illegal.”) Many Americans also believe in meritocracy, i.e., if somebody has power and influence, they must have earned it. And just about every American thinks a leader should be a fighter, and, ultimately, a winner. We remember dominant assertions of power better than mutually-beneficial compromises.
It got me thinking of what an unbiased look at our country and its leadership might yield. So I ran a thought experiment: how would an alien from another planet, one who has never before been exposed to American culture or norms, react after a few days in the current political maelstrom? I think they might ask questions like these:
Why are these people wasting so much energy fighting against each other?
Where is their compassion for their fellow Americans, regardless of their beliefs?
Why do so few people have so much, and so many people have so little?
Why is the current leader so angry, when he has so much money and power?
Why are so many people settling for injustice?
When did expressing your opinion become an act of disloyalty?
Why are so many people ill informed?
Everyone is a leader, regardless of title or place in the world. And the only relevant question for each of us to wrestle with is how well are we leading. By which I mean, are we using our influence to strengthen and expand our communities, or using it to divide and diminish those we disagree with? We need the courage, compassion, and wisdom to say and do what we think is right, as often as we can. This may be difficult or unpopular at times and may even cause some problems for us. We must transcend fear and find the courage to act in service of everyone we meet.
Remember your essential values and rediscover your voice. Send me an email at [email protected] for help on this journey.
Comments (1)
Thank you for this post. It helps bring some perspective to the madness of our current political environment and reminds me to fight the good fight regardless of my disappointment with US leadership. Your message is refreshing.