The Warpfish Chronicles

"28 years on the planet, and I still haven't figured out what's going on."

The Art of Leadership -- August 20th, 2002

Of course, the knives are coming out. Very recently Chretien supporters have been producing 'petitions' from current MPs and Senators who support the PM, while Paul Martin supporters (arguably the front-runner in the 'replace the leader' contest) are producing polls that indicate a strong majority of Liberal party members and of Canadians in general want Chretien to step down.

It's an ugly situation -- my personal feelings lean toward Martin, simply because I think Chretien has done enough. It's pretty obvious that he's hanging on just to deny Martin the satisfaction or privlege or power of leading the Liberal Party. Martin himself isn't very young either, and it fit's Chretien's "always hold a grudge" philosophy.

It's rather sad, actually, because none of the current parties really have any leadership. Joe Clark is the best of the current leaders, because he recognizes his limitations in helping to rebuild the Federal PC party, destroyed by Brian Mulroney and his folks. (Thus his pending resignation, assuming Chretien doesn't call a snap election like he did after Stockwell Day took over the Alliance, creating his own leadership fiasco.) The NDP have been floundering for a while, looking for a new cause and leader to rally around (as Alexa McDonough is resigning) while the Alliance are still looking for respectability under Stephen Harper. And the Bloc is a regional party at the Federal level, and will never have the moral authority to lead the country, if, by some miracle, they do end up in a governing coaltion.

The problem is that, somehow, society stopped rewarding leadership with success, and started rewarding ambition, ruthlessness, and greed instead. When Bill Gates is being labeled as a philanthropist by the mainstream media, you can see how far down the ladder we've fallen.

What defines a good leader? There have been countless different things written about what makes a good leader, and everybody has their own opinion, including me. This is what I think. Leadership should be about caring about the people you lead, and not about how the people you lead care about you. It's not something that can really be taught -- it's a life choice you make. That's what makes it so hard. And probably why we don't reward it, because there are so few, and it's so hard to measure, and we have become cynical about the whole affair -- we think it's public relations, or the spin of the press, as opposed to any inherent quality of the man or woman at the helm.

I also believe a leader requires courage. Not the 'standard' courage of leaping off into battle against your enemies, foreign or corporate, (though that's useful too) but the courage of doing things that aren't in your best interest.

The courage to say "We're not going to do this because, even though it makes money, it's morally wrong." The courage to actually be present when people are being laid-off, to take their hate and scorn, to be a focus for it and, in the process, becoming an example to the people remaining. The courage to build instead of destroy, to save and invest in the future even though you personally will never see the benefits. The courage to admit that, for everybody, there comes a time when you just can't do your job any more, and it's time to let somebody else with fresh ideas takeover.

The courage to take responsibility for your own actions, good or bad.

You can add whatever other virtues you want -- charisma, intelligence, dedication, even a dash of ruthlessness (because sometimes there are hard choices to be made.) But, I think with care, and with courage, a person can do a good job. If rank hath its privleges, it also has its responsibilities -- and leaders must remember that.

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