Chapter 3 - Leaders' Principles 1-19

Chapter 3
Leaders' Principles 1 - 19

LP - 1.
A good leader is fair and impartial. Equally important, they maintain a public image of being fair and impartial even in times of failure. Trust is an important part of leadership and trust can only be maintained if the supporters believe that they are getting fair and equal treatment.

LP - 2.
A good leader motivates other people to work with him/her toward the attainment of mutual agreed upon goals. One person alone can achieve very few worthwhile goals. Teamwork is essential, but it may be difficult to obtain with controversial issues. Often the success of leaders is directly dependent upon their ability to empower people in the group. This empowerment provides the "fuel" for leaders.

LP - 3.
A good leader utilizes other people's talents to achieve the desired goals. Often this occurs through the delegation of tasks and authority to talented supporters. This requires that a leader be perceptive in recognizing his/her own talents and limitations and those of his/her supporters. It also requires trust by all parties. Honesty and candor are essential elements in developing trust. Conversely, too much candor may discourage or turn away people, especially if it is negative.

LP - 4.
Respect is an essential part of leadership. A leader must respect his/her supporters as well as their having respect for the leader. Respect is earned by success over time. It is based upon trust. It is recognized and honored by the leader.

LP - 5.
A good leader can disagree without being disagreeable. A good leader must be able to critique without criticizing. This is a very difficult task because most people take such comments personally. Some people attempt to avoid disagreements by not pointing out any mistakes though they may be obvious and important. Such behavior will usually result in leadership failure.

LP - 6.
No person is a leader all of the time! Everyone is a leader at some time! Anyone may be a leader at any time. Too often, people who are in leadership positions assume that they are leaders everywhere. They become pompous and arrogant and lose their effectiveness as leaders in any position.

LP - 7.
Good leaders have a keen sense of the art of the possible. They know when to push and when to back off. "Tilting at windmills" will not lead to effective leadership. A good leader can chose which issues and battles are worth fighting. A person can quickly develop the reputation, as a loser if they pick very many battles that cannot be won.

LP - 8.
There is often more than one leader on each side of an issue. Sometimes these dual (or more) leaders cooperate and at times they are in competition or conflict. The success of an issue (or a leader) may often depend upon the leader's ability to form effective coalitions.

LP - 9.
Good leaders take responsibility for their actions. Blame for failure or inaction is not shifted to supporters. However, credit and praise is given freely to supporters. This praise is an important glue for cementing relations between leaders and supporters. And the willingness to admit mistakes will also improve relationships with supporters, but too many admitted mistakes will produce the image of the leader as a loser.

LP - 10.
Leaders serve as role models for their supporters. They should serve as examples. If a leader is not willing to perform the action requested of the followers, the followers are likely to lose faith rapidly in the leader. If you are the president of the organization, do not hesitate to help set up before or cleanup after a meeting.

LP - 11.
The most effective leaders have a delicate balance of consistency on issues and a willingness to change their positions. President Clinton has been criticized because of his frequent changes of position on issues and by some for his willingness to compromise on issues.

Compromise is essential in leadership. The delicate question is how much to compromise and when to take a stand on principle. There is no single answer to that question. Each situation must be carefully evaluated for the benefits and costs of compromise versus being unbending. A caution is that I have seen many people say they were taking a stand on issue. Often, my judgment was that they were so ego- involved with the issue that it was their ego that was making the decision rather than their rational judgment. If they compromised, they were fearful that others might see them as "weak."

LP - 12.
Many people including many professionals are unwilling to become public leaders because of the controversy that comes with such activities. For example, a businessperson might find their business effected by reactions to their leadership role. Or a school administrator might be reluctant to become a visible public leader in another area because it might hurt his/her actions as a school administrator.

In addition to the effect on the profession or business, many people do not to expose themselves or their families to the criticism and scrutiny by opponents and the media that often comes with leadership.

LP - 13.
Most public and many private leaders are given "political capital" when they assume a leadership position. This "bank account" of goodwill and influence may be used quickly or spread over time. Controversial actions will quickly draw down this capital. The accumulation of additional political capital is more difficult than the initial "gift" of capital. Political leaders are often described as having a "honeymoon" period in which they can take action. However, many people remember and are unwilling to forgive or forget past mistakes or actions.

Additional political capital can be slowly accumulated by popular successes as a leader. This capital can be "spent" on other leadership activities. Most people do "favors" for other people with the thought that sometime in the future that "favor" will be returned. These "favors" may take the form of political influence. Politicians do this all the time as constituent service. If they do "favors" for people in their district, the people may return the "favor" by voting for them.

LP - 14.
Some leaders are fearful of spending their political capital. In national politics, the popular approval rating is a good indicator of the amount of political capital national leaders such as the president has. The capital can change relatively rapidly. The spending of political capital becomes very difficult or dangerous at times because good leaders on occasion have to go against the majority or a substantial proportion of the public or group in order to achieve a necessary goal. Most national politicians are very reluctant to reduce social security spending even though good evidence exists for that need.

LP - 15.
Many leaders are also supporters at the same time and in the same organization or situation. In many situations, there are layers of leaders and sub leaders (and even sub-sub-leaders). Any national issue has many layers of leaders. Some are leaders at the national, some at the state, and some at the local levels.

LP - 16.
All leaders fail at one time or another in their attempts to influence other peoples' behavior. Every person attempts to be a leader at some time and fails. A mixture of success and failure is a normal part of leadership. Leaders learn from their failures and try again. Overcoming fear of failure is often one of the highest hurdles in becoming a leader. At times, I have thought my greatest challenge, as a professor teaching about leadership was to prepare future leaders with how to handle failures - not success. Failure should not be regarded as merely failures, but as opportunities for learning.

LP - 17.
Leadership often involves a personality who wants public recognition of their accomplishments. Leadership is often ego-based behavior. President Clinton (and probably most presidents) is an example of a person who gets personal gratification from leadership activities. The amount of work and the difficulties are so great in becoming president that it takes a person who has very strong motivation. This is true to lessor extent for state and local elected offices. Recognition and prestige are rewards if the leader keeps a proper perspective on his/her role.

LP - 18.
A unique mix of personality characteristics that we call charisma may attract people to listen, to believe, to follow an individual. Charisma is a combination of several personality characteristics including excellent communication skills, a compelling vision, a belief in oneself, etc. If a person with an attractive personality has influence we say that person has charisma. If that person does not have influence, we say he/she has charm. A person who has charm can easily become a leader.

Charisma almost always exudes as confidence from the leader; confidence in his/her abilities, beliefs, etc. Followers are attracted to some people for reasons other than charisma. For example, many rock stars, movie stars, basketball stars, football stars and other outstanding athletes often have many followers although their personality is very unattractive. Are people such as Michael Jordan leaders? Probably, at least in some ways.

Strong public charisma is relatively rare today. Most Americans are skeptical of such people and will not follow them. Ross Perot is an example of a national leader with at least some charisma. Ronald Reagan and John Kennedy are examples of presidents who had considerable charisma. In the last presidential election, Bill Clinton was perceived to have charisma at least to some people while Bob Dole was seen as having much less charisma.

LP - 19.
Charisma does not necessarily produce leadership. An attractive combination of personality traits will facilitate leadership, but it does not necessarily make a leader. One person may be attracted by an individual's charisma while another person may be repelled by the same personality. Some people like Bill Clinton, but he turns others off. Religious cult leaders and a few politicians are examples of leaders with charisma. Some rock and movie stars are examples of people with a large amount of charm and some may also be or become leaders often only to a small group - hence, the word: "groupies."

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