Blog: Lost in Leadership

I have yet to decide whether it’s intrigue or amusement.  Probably a bit of both.  I’m somehow drawn to wanting to hear more from him about his peculiar sense of leadership.  Yet when I hear him use the word or talk about it, his ideas about leadership invariably amuse me.  In a wry sort of way.

For my many years both in my career and watching self-styled political leaders, I’ve noticed a few things.  First I’ve noticed leaders, most especially the self-proclaimed type, use the word “leader” to mask their incompetence.  Unable to rally or persuade a following, they pronounce they are providing leadership.  I look and listen.  And wonder.  Are they trying to convince us they are leaders or are they repeating it out loud so as to convince themselves?  Or both?

For me, it’s an interesting question and it goes right along with another observation.  Leaders I’ve known and followed don’t have to tell me or themselves that they are leaders.  They simply go out and walk the walk.

Too often, leadership is a word self-styled leaders attribute to themselves in public displays of self-styled leadership such as yard signs, pronouncements from dais, and public forums.  By the way, I saw a dog the other day urinating on the stake of a yard sign that talked about leadership and I thought to myself, “That dog has formulated a rather astute political opinion.  I hope the people of Oceanside will follow his lead.”

Anyway, what I’ve noticed is that leadership is a big word (three syllables!) for some folk.  And it’s a word that is handy and useful when you need to fill a void.  When a public figure doesn’t have a program to sell or ideals to attract a following, s/he can always self-promote by self-identifying as a leader.  Having leadership.  To fill the void of thoughtlessness.

So, for example, if you don’t have the smarts to resolve a budgetary squeeze, you give up and give away.  Sometimes called outsourcing.  But you can’t admit that you’re giving up or giving away, so you fill the thoughtlessness (also three syllables) by telling yourself and the public that you are acting as a leader.  Using all your leadership to lead the masses away from peril.  Oh, and in this particular example, not only are you providing leadership, you are being accountable.  How’s THAT for logic?  By giving up and giving away, you can live out the ideal of being accountable.  Gee, I wish I’d known that when I was raising my kids.  Think of the logic and values I could have passed on to them.  "Learn some accountability, my children!  Quit, give up, give away!"

Am I correct in thinking that when leaders lead, they ought to follow the more sacred dictums of convention and history?  And am I correct in thinking that in our country, protection of property rights is one of the most sacred of those dictums?  It doesn’t happen often, but I’m pretty confident I’m right twice there.  So what claim to leadership does a public figure manifest when s/he champions a public policy that guts a homeowner’s equity? 

I’ll cut to the chase here and attempt three corrects in a row.  I think the people of Oceanside are looking for a leader who doesn’t trumpet the word to fill a void but a person who actually walks the walk.  A person who puts people ahead of self-proclaimed leadership and has enough inventiveness, conviction, and vision to keep the city’s services as city services.  A person willing and committed to find ways to preserve our emergency services.  A person unwilling to sell the safety of our drinking water to trash investors.  A person who kept our libraries rather than give them away to profiteers and protected the property rights of homeowners.  A man who walks the walk.  I’m voting for Mayor Wood.