We need proven leadership at all levels. But how can you tell who is, and who isn’t, a proven, effective leader?
Here’s the first thing you want to look for: Proven leaders have a documented history of authoring and ensuring positive change. Not just talking about positive change, but a trail littered with positive results. ‘Positive’ is the first key word because history and our current society are full of leadership examples that have led to negative results. ‘Results’ is the second key word because promises and happy-talk are only words. Leadership is action, not position, preaching, or puffery. Leadership is achievement, not glad-handing and photo ops.
What makes this discernment of positive results difficult is that much of the media has its biases and doesn’t clearly articulate the positive from the negative and the results from the promises. We’re left with an incomplete or inaccurate picture of a leader’s effectiveness.
So, aside from positive results, what should you look for or how should you differentiate the effective leaders from the ineffective ones?
Look for people who stepped forward where decisions needed to be made; where goals needed to be decided; where an organization needed to be held on course or vitalized; where a team was sputtering or stalled; where a setback had occurred; where there was an opportunity to pursue; where a just cause was languishing. Then look for the results, the deliverables! John McCain and Sarah Palin pass that test! John Sununu passes that test! Joe Kenney passes that test!
In addition, look for these behaviors: There’s an unmistakable boldness. There’s a high level of self-awareness—they know who and what they are, and they are accepting of those facts. They are demanding—but fair at the same time. They have high expectations. They exhibit strong principles and faith—an abundance of moral fortitude. They say tough things that we may not want to hear, but say them in a way we can understand and accept. They define reality, the future, and their plans in terms we can understand, very often with stories. They are dependable. They are not self-absorbed. They are not about to be easily buffaloed by anyone—especially so-called elites. And they respect us, the voters. Again, John McCain and Sarah Palin pass that test! John Sununu passes that test! Joe Kenney passes that test!
I admire people like John McCain, Sarah Palin, John Sununu, and Joe Kenney who exhibit universally admired leadership behaviors and who can point to a trail of positive results. In today’s dangerous and complex world the implications of not having proven leadership in place is frightening and unacceptable.
John Cebrowski is a member of the Bedford Republican Committee and was recently elected to the House of Representatives for the 2009-2010 session.