Leadership matters, particularly during hard times, which unfortunately America faces today

 

Where have all our leaders gone?

BY MARC POLYMEROPOULOS

Great leaders are made, not born.

I learned that at the CIA, where I found myself an adequate leader on most days, a very good leader on a select few days, and a far more capable leader toward the end of my career. But that improvement only came after much adversity and failure taught me very hard lessons on how to lead.

Upon retirement, I wrote a book on leadership so as to help others during crisis situations. Leadership matters, particularly during hard times, which unfortunately America faces today. But here's the problem: If we tolerate mediocrity among our leaders, you know what we will get? Mediocre leaders.

We can and must be better.

After the last several years of partisan turmoil, an apparent abandonment of democracy by some of our political elite, and a pandemic that has killed 800,000 of our fellow citizens, I at times worry about our current state of leadership. Do we have it in us to do better? Have we lost that sense of community from which leaders rise? Where are those who step up, sometimes against the grain, when it’s hard to be moral and just, and grab the reins and lead?

I fear that the concepts of selflessness over selfishness and of doing the right thing (ethics and morals first), hallmarks of history’s great leaders, often seem to be missing today.

Yet, upon reflection, all is not lost. I'd offer four cases where I find hope that despite much gloom and doom, there is room for optimism that we do have pockets of leadership excellence.

I recently gave a leadership speech to a group of students at one of our U.S. service academies. Contrary to my belief that I would be in front of some tired and stressed students, the crowd was smart, polite, attentive, engaged, and curious, and some stayed after to talk. One young man, whose father had been killed in action, expressed his keen interest in public service. It was his unconditional desire to serve his country, to help protect his fellow countrymen — and even more so after a terrible tragedy that affected him deeply. I was deeply moved by him. This aspiring military officer is a leader already, though he may not even know it.

I think of my good friend, legendary high school baseball coach Mark "Pudge" Gjormand. He has won over 400 games, three state titles, and was recently inducted into the National High School Baseball Hall of Fame, the only coach from Virginia to receive such an honor. These are very impressive accomplishments indeed. But his real legacy will be the leadership he has provided to hundreds of boys, turning them into men. Pudge preaches ethics and values that put team above self. Everything you do, you do for the team. Discipline, honor, respect, and community are sacred tenets of Pudge’s baseball program. So Pudge gets it. Pudge is a leader.

I look back to Jan. 6, not just with deserved horror but also to highlight those at the Capitol that day who did lead. The brave field grade officers of the Capitol Police who put their lives on the line. They were leaders. So too was Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA officer who thankfully had the training to deal with high-threat situations. Spanberger reportedly assisted her fellow representatives from both sides of the aisle in taking shelter during the assault on the Capitol. Her bravery and selflessness is a model for those who serve in Congress. Abigail is a leader.

I traveled to Philadelphia several months ago to teach a leadership seminar to the Philadelphia Police Department. There, I met a young captain of the 18th District, Matthew Gillespie. He is smart and articulate and cares deeply for a community that is wracked by gun violence. Matt is part of a profession under siege, caught between the need for police reform yet battling a huge uptick in violence nationwide. Nevertheless, Matt shows up for work every day. Matt is a leader .

These are compelling snapshots of leadership that we can point to. And that gives me hope.

But where do we go from here? How do we not just highlight a select few leaders but ensure that we are teaching and passing the torch of leadership to a wider swath of society?

Well, there are four fundamentals of great leadership. It is these principles that we must reinforce. Fortunately, this is not hard. It is basic. Understand it, practice it, and preach it.

• First up, great leadership is necessarily righteous. One must lead ethically, legally, and morally. One of my heroes at the CIA once told me, "Do the right thing, every time." That’s it.
• Great leadership is also difficult. Leaders must embrace the tenet of "send me." Run to the fire, not away from it. When times are tough, step up. Remember, an airplane takes off against the wind.
• Great leaders are also selfless. Never ask others to do what you would not do yourself. Always put the group in front of yourself. Everything you do is for the benefit of those around you. Talent wins games — teamwork wins championships.
• Finally, leaders must be communicable. Leadership must be infectious. Never assume others understand what you want from them. Communicate. Be accessible. There is no closed-door policy in leadership.

I often look to the world of sports to find inspiration. Tim Corbin, the head baseball coach at Vanderbilt University, hits it out of the ballpark (no pun intended) when speaking about leadership. He focuses on team culture, stating, "I think rules are for people who can’t follow directions. I think standards are for people who aspire to do special things." High standards. That is what we must demand of our leaders today.

Is it too much to ask?

Marc Polymeropoulos is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. A former CIA senior operations officer, he retired in 2019 after a 26-year career serving in the Near East and South Asia. His book Clarity in Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the CIA was published in June 2021 by Harper Collins.

Read here . Source: www.washingtonexaminer.com