Leadingtoday

Many years ago when I lived in North Carolina I remember a saying from my old friend Billy Winstead. Every time an election would come around he would utter in his native Carolina twang… “wood ticks, dear ticks and politics… they’s all parasites!”

Here we are in another American election season. All the candidates tell us that they have the leadership qualities needed to move the United States in a better direction. But when all is said and done, much more will be said and promised than is ever done. Here are some things to remember as you listen to the Presidential candidates.

1.  Presidents don’t make laws… congress does. Be careful of all the things any candidate tells you he or she will do. Without the consent of Congress it is all empty and wishful thinking. Don’t give any president more credit (or criticism) than they deserve. As an executive… the President has limited powers. The strength of the office is in having a “bully pulpit” that can go directly to the American people to pressure Congress to act.

2. Political parties don’t provide leadership, people do. Great Presidents have never been afraid to ignore their party affiliation or platform if it is in contradiction with the best interests of the American people. We need free-thinkers who have a solid core of values, not more lemmings who are beholden to their political parties.

3. If we want the “brightest and the best” to be our political leaders, we will need to change the corrupt dysfunctional system that has evolved. Right now the “brightest and the best” will not submit themselves or their families to the existing political hazing process. Instead they start businesses or serve their communities in other ways. Today our candidates… from every party… are not the brightest and the best America has to offer, but the “related” to someone and the rest. Cronyism and nepotism are cancers that will eventually destroy any organization.

For the next two months we will hear promises, and more promises. It is all hype and only intended to tell us what they think we want to hear. I suggest you choose your candidate by observing their degree of character and integrity. The weLEAD “leadership tip” Behaviors and Traits may give you something to think about. It mentions the kind of person we should all desire as President of the United States.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 5th, 2008 at 7:39 pm and is filed under New Leadership Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.