We are certainly in trying times. It feels like a period where our country is crying out for leadership. And, sadly, leadership seems to have taken a vacation. Instead of working together to solve difficult and complex problems, our leaders are splitting apart and struggling to manage the status quo. For the first time in my adult life, I’m worried about my country. I don’t say these words lightly. I am a proud American and consider myself a patriotic citizen. Regardless of party affiliation, I have strived to overlook ideological differences and choose the best candidate for the job. I’ve read numerous biographies and looked up to leaders from both sides of the political aisle. We are fortunate to have had many excellent leaders in our past. Currently, we feel adrift without a guide. Never in my life have I seen such widespread leadership incompetence, and I don’t say that lightly.
We are currently experiencing the Anti-Leader era, where our leaders have abandoned everything we have come to know and expect. Such behavior is unacceptable. I’ve decided to call it like I see it and draw a contrast between leadership and anti-leadership.
- A leader raises the bar for personal behavior. An anti-leader lowers it.
- A leader unifies people who have different opinions. An anti-leader “divides and conquers” to suit their purpose.
- A leader always prioritizes the well-being of the organization over their needs. An anti-leader, on the other hand, puts their own needs above those of the organization.
- A leader strives to provide clarity. An anti-leader instead offers message confusion and disarray in communication.
- A leader is open and transparent. An anti-leader releases information selectively and distorts the truth, often without regard for context.
- A leader’s words are straightforward and consistent with their actions. An anti-leader often speaks out of both sides of their mouth, and their actions are frequently unpredictable.
- A leader is positive and proactive. An anti-leader is negative and reactive.
- A leader does their best to confront the brutal facts of reality and strives to act accordingly. An anti-leader regularly avoids complex challenges until it’s too late and then casts blame on others.
- A leader inspires and rewards high performance. An anti-leader rewards loyalty over all else.
- A leader builds bridges and alliances with other key individuals who are essential to their leadership agenda. An anti-leader destroys relationships and leaves behind a long list of adversaries.
- A leader leans on and leverages subject matter experts, especially on important matters. An anti-leader surrounds himself or herself with “yes” men or women who toe the line above all else.
- A leader is well-read and informed and prides themselves on their level of preparation. An anti-leader often wings it and, as a result, has strong, ill-informed opinions.
- A leader is curious and constantly learning. An anti-leader is incurious and has difficulty embracing new ideas or thoughts.
- A leader, whenever possible, strives to find common ground. An anti-leader approaches life with a win-or-lose mindset only. They feel that compromise is for losers.
- A leader leads by example. An anti-leader practices “do what I say, not what I do.”
- A leader inspires and empowers others. An anti-leader denigrates, manipulates, and hinders them.
- A leader shares the credit and shoulders the blame. An anti-leader takes credit unfairly and casts blame equally unfairly.
- A leader makes people feel safe. An anti-leader instills fear in people and then exploits their concerns.
- A leader is empathetic to the plight of other people. An anti-leader cares about others only when it suits their agenda and has difficulty offering even basic levels of emotional support.
- A leader admits when they’ve made a mistake and strives to learn from it. An anti-leader never admits mistakes (even when they are glaringly obvious) and often repeats them.
- A leader strives to assemble a talented, stable, and consistent team around them. An anti-leader has more of a revolving leadership team door and quickly repels talent.
- A leader embraces constructive conflict when it benefits the organization and keeps it issue-focused. An anti-leader creates conflict for the sake of conflict and often makes it personal.
- A leader de-escalates unhealthy tension and anger. An anti-leader exploits it and uses it to their advantage.
- A leader is thick-skinned and doesn’t get easily triggered emotionally. An anti-leader is thin-skinned and sees every criticism as a personal affront.
- A leader has strong values, principles, and convictions. An anti-leader is morally agnostic and ethically challenged and does whatever is necessary to advance their agenda.
- A leader is someone we’d like our children to look up to. An anti-leader is someone whose bad behavior we must constantly explain to our kids.
I could author a book on this topic, but I will stop here. Feel free to add any comparisons you may have. I ask you to look inside yourself and make an assessment based on these traits and characteristics of who the best people are to lead our nation at all levels of government. I used to be proud during our election cycles. I knew the rest of the world used our nation as the standard for how a democracy should operate and transfer power. Even when my candidate didn’t win, I recovered quickly and trusted that the position and responsibility would bring out the best in the winner. I’m not sure that is the case anymore.
Ultimately, our government is just a reflection of us. Do you like what you see?
Related articles:
- The Anti-Leader: How Bad Leaders Get Everything Wrong (psychologytoday.com)
- Leadership and Anti-Leadership (alby59@wordpress.com)