I want to start with a disclaimer, I am writing this to specifically take a poke at voters, and who we decide is best equipped to lead. I don’t want to start too negatively, but what are we doing? Seriously, at what point do we say, “enough is enough”? Our elected officials must do better. What is your vision? What is your plan? Where are you taking us? These aren’t unreasonable questions to ask, so why does no one have the answer or attempt to answer the question? Is anyone asking the questions? I can give you real answers to all of these questions, versus what we are told, and I’m sure that the answers won’t surprise you.
What is your vision? This is a very broad question and one that every leader will attempt to answer and show us what that leader’s priorities are. Do they begin with education, infrastructure, defense, energy, or are they parroting talking points from a cable news channel. Do they have unique and original insight into current issues that need to be addressed or is it Einstein’s definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. If we give most of the politicians in America truth serum, the answer to the stated question would be “to get re-elected, the next election is only 4 years away, I need to get started!” That answer usually begins subtly on the campaign trail with a five-year plan during a four-year term, issues are too big to fix in one term you know.
The harsh reality we face is that the people we elect don’t have vision at all; that they don’t care about you and the concerns that you deal with daily, really, they care about getting re-elected. This is supremely evident in every political commercial that we see or hear. I rarely hear anyone say why they would be good for the position, but why the other person would be bad for that position. This political tactic won’t change until the voters demand a different approach from those running the campaign. Why do we vote for someone without a vision? Would you hire an architect without a vision for your building, or hire a chef without a concept for your menu? Then why do we elect officials with a “status quo” approach? Currently we have so many politicians with no plan as their plan, that the American public can scarcely discern that the walls are crumbling on top of them.
The problems in front of us are real, and we are relegated to electing politicians that are rarely equipped to lead us towards a collective vision. A politician can’t seem to articulate any vision because they are too busy walking the tightrope for re-election. We need leaders and managers, but we are stuck with a room full of politicians. Aren’t they all the same thing, leaders, managers, and politicians? Leaders and managers have distinct roles and responsibilities, and politicians can incorporate the qualities of either or even both. To say that politicians fall short is a gross understatement, they are a breath away from abject failure because they lack the character or fortitude to maintain or raise a standard.
First, let’s unpack some differences between leaders, managers, and politicians. Leaders have a critical role in our process, they need to develop a vision to propel a group or organization into the future, and to clearly communicate that vision to others. Simon Sinek said, “There are only two ways to influence human behavior: you can manipulate it, or you can inspire it.” I cannot remember the last time I felt that inspired by one of our politicians, but there is plenty of evidence that they attempt to manipulate citizens with half-truths and misinformation. Managers are then put in place to achieve a well communicated vision. Managers work cooperatively with leaders, and both roles are vital to success. Once managers are in place, they will coordinate the details to accomplish the vision. Leaders communicate and inspire the need for change, managers work towards the vision, so what do politicians do?
Simply put, politicians compromise the integrity of any vision, they cannot help it, it’s like second nature to them. This seems harsh, but that is also the reality of things. I know what you’re thinking, “A politician needs to compromise sometimes to get anything done.” That’s a fair point, but over the years our politicians have made compromise after compromise on decisions from education to defense, to our detriment but not theirs. A politician’s vision is consistent, raise taxes to pay for programs or whatever they need to get re-elected. Compromise isn’t bad right; it’s how things get done. Let’s do a small exercise to illustrate this.
Stand up and put both arms out straight in front of you. Now, bend your knees slightly and hold. Continue to incrementally lower yourself about a quarter of an inch at a time, make sure to stop after each quarter of an inch. Continue to lower yourself into a chair position and hold that position maintaining your arms straight out in front of you. Next, lower yourself incrementally until your backside is on the floor with your arms straight out in front of you and your feet flat on the floor in front of you. Take a second to rest, then, with your arms straight out and your feet flat, stand up. Don’t push yourself off the floor, don’t let someone help you, but stand up using your own power and grounded feet. At any point before you hit the ground, you had an opportunity to notice that you felt that you were headed in the wrong direction and change course. With minimal effort at the beginning, we could have straightened our legs and stand up tall… and proud. One compromise after another, our nation finds itself on its backside, and it will take a tremendous amount of effort to stand tall again. This will be difficult, but must be done now, before we become comfortable with being on our backside and that becomes the new standard. My fear is that once you compromise a standard, well, we’ve set a new standard. Politicians have made so many compromises over the years that it’s difficult to remember what the standard was.
If there are any politicians reading this, I implore you, become a leader. Above all else, stop being a politician. A leader will not bend to the whim of a fickle mob and a manager will find a way to accomplish the leader’s vision. A politician will attempt to make everyone happy, accomplish nothing, and will only succeed in making everyone angry in the process. The questions we should ask candidates, “what is your vision if elected” and incumbents should be asked, “what did you accomplish from your vision since you were elected?” If their answers aren’t truthful, you know you would be voting for another politician, and that’s exactly what some people want but is that what any of us need?
Until next time, stay strong my friends.--Aaron from Georgia.