leadingtoday.org
Leadership Tip of
the Month
October 2005
Copyright 2005 ã weLEAD, Inc.
The Present
Sad State of Leadership
Recently,
U.S News & World Report Magazine
dedicated virtually its entire October 31st, 2005 issue to the topic
of leadership with the cover proclaiming “America’s Best Leaders”. This
excellent issue chronicles 25 modern leaders who are making a difference in the
world today. Some individuals are well known including Colin Powell, Bill and
Melinda Gates, and Steve Jobs. Others are unknown by most people including Paul
Farmer, Jim Young Kim, and Geoffrey Canada. This is an issue of U.S News & World Report Magazine that
is certainly worth reading.
However, the news regarding modern leadership in America is
not encouraging. It is reported in a recent survey within this issue of the
magazine! The results of this national survey on the state of U.S. leadership
was commissioned by U.S News and Harvard University’s Center for Public
Leadership. In a nutshell, Americans are highly critical of the
state of leadership. It is published on page 80 of the magazine and is easy to
overlook, but what it tells us is sobering. Here are some highlights…
A representative sample of 1,374 adults were asked their views on
a range of leadership questions.
When the question was posed, “In
your view, do each of the following phrases describe or not describe most
leaders in this country today?” (Respondents could answer more than one
question).
“Are out of touch with the average person” - 73% of survey respondents agreed.
“Have been corrupted by being in power” - 64% of survey respondents agreed.
“Are mostly out to enrich themselves monetarily” - 62% of survey respondents agreed.
“Have high ethical standards” – 39% of survey respondents agreed.
“Are the best we can do” – 28% of survey respondents agreed.
“Are the best and the brightest” – 27% of survey respondents agreed.
Another question asked was “Compared
to 20 years ago, do you think we have better leaders today or worse leaders
today?”
“Better” - 29% of
survey respondents agreed.
“Worse” – 55% of
survey respondents agreed.
Another question asked was “Unless
we get better leaders, the United States will decline as a nation.”
“Strongly agree” – 34% of
survey respondents agreed.
“Agree” – 38% of
survey respondents agreed. A total of 72% agreed the US will decline
without better leaders!
The survey methodology and full results are available at www.usnews.com/leaders
Additional survey results revealed that military and medical
leaders had the highest confidence of the public while the Executive Branch,
Congress and the press had the lowest confidence level. Older Americans are
most critical of the nations leaders and 64%
of Americans believe that the country would be better off if there were more
women in leadership positions!
weLEAD was
founded almost 5 years ago to help fill the need to develop a new generation of
leaders. Our mission statement boldly proclaims, we are “committed to the ideal
that great leaders are forged by knowledge, opportunity, experience and
self-sacrifice. We also affirm that leadership qualities are potentially
available to everyone, and we seek to promote positive leadership development
in organizations, communities and individuals.”
Here is our “leadership tip of the month” for October, 2005. Be
determined to “stand in the gap” and make a difference in the world! Our
present society has a major deficit
of caring and effective leaders. What is truly needed is a rebirth of ethical leaders who want to leave a legacy of positive
change. This will not be achieved as a mass movement, but with one individual at
a time. You can make a difference at your place of work, your community,
your family, or your place of worship. It all begins with a desire to serve
others combined with clear goals and a motivating vision of what you want to
achieve. So get involved and engaged
within your own personal sphere of influence. Teach, mentor and model servant
leadership to everyone you meet.
Respected leadership consultant Warren Bennis has written about a
national dilemma that exists today. He has pondered how in the 1770’s a nation
of fewer than 3 million people could produce a half-dozen political giants,
while in a nation of nearly 300 million today, we are struggling to find just
one. It is the fervent mission of weLEAD
Incorporated to help develop the
leadership needed to make constructive change possible in our world. We plan on
doing this one person at a time. We encourage you to keep reading and
growing through the efforts of this organization. The world needs you, and is
counting on you!
For weLEAD, this is Greg
Thomas reminding you that Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Each man is a
hero and an oracle to somebody”.
On
the weLEAD Website you will
find over 70 other free helpful leadership tips. They are all available in a
text version or as an MP3 audio!