The Failure of Leadership
Having lauded leadership characteristics like humility, transparency, relationship-building as essential to leading effective schools, I’ve watched with dismay the leader of the United States exhibit none of these values over the past four years. Not being a school leader for the past few years, I’ve often wondered how I would encourage and support students’ leadership journeys in light of the inability of elected leaders, especially the former President, to provide examples worth modeling.
Human-centered characteristics are supported by successful leaders across various industries but seldom seen in the political world.
The January 6, 2021 insurrectionist assault on the nation’s Capitol and democratic institutions is a result of the failure of leadership. The previous President has loudly and repeatedly refused to accept his election defeat. Local, state, and national leaders who abetted him have misled and (in some instances) lied to their constituents. It is a complete fabrication that the presidential election was rigged or stolen. It is commonly referred to as “The Big Lie.” Nonetheless, this has enraged a segment of the population and a mob invaded the Capitol as an unsurprising result.
Take Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) as another example of failed leadership. His pedigree includes Stanford, Yale, and a stint as a law clerk in the US Supreme Court. Clearly, a book smart guy but demonstrates little awareness of real leadership. In his own defense of bringing formal objections to the Electoral College results, he claims to be speaking on behalf of his constituents.
No. When your constituents have been misinformed and emotionally parrot falsehoods, you have a different obligation as a leader. It is a challenging but critical responsibility not to simply repeat prevarications. In education, we call situations similar to these — teachable moments, where we educate, inspire, and lead our community to an uncomfortable reality.
Washington Post columnist, Greg Sargeant, agrees in this January 23, 2021 opinion piece. “If Hawley’s constituents did believe the outcome wasn’t fair, they were wrong, and Hawley should have told them so.”
Contrast Hawley with Mitt Romney (R-UT), who spoke to his Senate colleagues on the night of the insurrection, “The best way we can show respect for the voters who are upset is by telling them the truth.”
Again, as educators, we usually ask ourselves in times of difficulty, “What can we learn from this experience?” You can start with transparency and then follow Romney’s advice: Tell the truth. Sadly, we rarely hear those words from political leaders. Many millions of Americans remain convinced the election results are bogus. I have little hope that politicians will do the right thing in educating them. Without this effort, the worst is not yet upon us.
As school leaders, we must be the positive, communicative, transparent, and TRUTHFUL leadership model needed by all community members. Words matter and we must speak them.