A Lesson in Leadership

Good leaders lead from the front, they charge ahead and yell "follow me." Bad leaders, or at least failed leaders, sit back and tell others what to do and how to do it. Their followers might carry out those tasks, at least for a little while, but eventually they realize, "hey, if this guy's not going to do it, why should I?"  That's where the American people are today, they followed their leaders down this path, backing them up along the way, but now times have changed. They want to know why they are being forced to accept socialized health care, why their lives must "change" while these same "leaders" sit back and enjoy the same benefits they have always had. The American people aren't stupid, eventually they are going to stop and ask "hey wait a minute, we have to take this health care plan, but you don't because your an elected official?" If those officials don't change their tune quick, they will fail not only as leaders, but they will fail the people who put them in office in the first place.

Leadership is also about trust. People won't follow you as a leader if they don't have faith in your judgment to do the right thing. Trust is not a right that comes with your title or position, it is something you earn. Over the weekend, Peggy Noonan addressed this in her article:

The past 10 months, the president has lessened and not increased the trust of the big center. He did a number of things wrong, but one has not been noticed much, or noted. He moved too quickly, before he'd earned the right to change a big chunk of American life. You earn that right by establishing trust. Absent crisis, leaders have to show, over a certain amount of time and through a series of actions, that they're sober, sound, farsighted, looking out for the middle.

Ms. Noonan is right, it takes time to earn peoples trust, they have to feel comfortable with your actions and decisions before they are willing to trust you; it doesn't happen over night, nor should it.

In tonight's speech to congress, the President is expected to push for a government-run insurance option in the proposed overhaul of the health care system. This is not surprising to me, nor do I believe to many. However, I don't think many will be listening, which this early in his presidency is really quite surprising. The average American person worries more about their job, will it be there tomorrow, will I be able to pay the bills, than universal health care. They also worry more about the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, whether their loved ones will come home alive, or will they have to deploy for another tour, more than health care.  If people weren't losing jobs left and right and we weren't fighting a war, then maybe people would be more receptive to the health care debate.

Now is not the time or place to have this debate, maybe our elected leaders should step back and take a moment to listen to the people, what they are concerned with and what they want done.  Anybody can make a speech, it's a skill that can be taught and learned and one that many leaders possess, however the ability to listen is what makes a leader great. Maybe the President, Ms. Pelosi, and Mr. Reid should step back and try it, at least once.