Leadership

Much has been said and written about the lack of leadership in our culture, particularly with respect to the Republican Party, the conservative movement, and the economy. The recent presidential election did not have a conservative candidate. While McCain is far more conservative than Obama, he is at best a liberal republican. No conservative could muster the support to energize the party to support them for the nomination.

Leadership is an elusive quality. While management skills can be learned and applied, leadership is a whole other entity. A manager can assemble people, create a common goal and develop a plan for success. A good manager can execute the plan and achieve great things. That doesn't make them a leader.

A leader is more than a manager with vision. A leader is committed, passionate, and filled with a desire to make dramatic changes to their world. They can see the world as it should be and there is a deep burning desire within to re-make the world their way. The very soul of a leader is committed to their cause.

So what are the characteristics of a leader? I believe there are four characteristics of all good leaders: Character, Conviction, Compassion, and Composure.

Character is more than just the ability to get people to like you. Character is all of the intangibles like ethics, morals, justness, etc. But, it is so much more than just that. Can an amoral person be a good leader? Of course, but their leadership will be temporary. Eventually their character will be revealed and people will eventually stop following them. Generally, people want to follow leaders we trust to lead us to a better way of living. When we understand the character, or lack there of, we begin to question motivations and then we question the way.

Conviction is the strong belief in the better way being offered. Obama had that conviction. A moderate like McCain lacked that conviction and his leadership faltered as a result. People follow passion and without conviction, there will be no passion. You cannot be passionate about compromise or equivocation. The abortion issue is a great example. People are passionate about women's rights on one side and about anti-abortion on the other. But, no one is passionate about compromising to allow abortions in some cases, but not others. There is no compromise in either side.

Compassion is required for a leader because not everyone shares their vision and commitment, but leaders realize the need for others to follow in order to change the world to reach their goals. A good leader understands the needs and desires of his followers. He also understands the needs and desires of those most affected by the change.

Composure may be the most important characteristic of a leader. Change is stress to people and a leader will encounter resistance. People want to trust that when all around is falling apart, their leader is standing strong. When Ronald Regan was shot, he calmed the world with one statement. He said, "Tell Nancy, I'm alright." With that statement, the world exhaled. Regan was a leader.

So where are the leaders in the conservative movement? Where is the passion? Have circumstances not deteriorated enough to arouse the passion for change? Leaders needed. Apply within.