[March 15, 2018] If you plan to be an effective and respected leader then there is one skill that is a must for you. Great leaders are those who back-up what they say with action! This goes beyond telling the truth – obviously a crucial trait – but a leader must also demonstrate that their talk is more than just words. What a leader says is action oriented.
Politicians are a helpful tool in reinforcing this point. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is a contender to run for the U.S. presidency in 2020, has said that she is of American Indian descent. Her heritage, she claims, is established folklore in her family. Being fair-skinned, blond, and blue-eyed, does not disprove her claim but it is suspicious. Because she used the Indian heritage to gain a foothold in academics and politics, some want her to prove it.
When politicians, military leaders, company CEOs, and other senior leaders are able to establish themselves as genuine and credible, it is necessary to back their claims up with proof (or at least eliminate much of the doubt). I had a friend of mine from past Army associations who claimed he was from the Cherokee Tribe. He was not, as I later discovered; he wanted to be seen as someone from an aggrieved minority … someone who could demand respect simply for his family’s background.
“The greatest legacy one can pass on to one’s children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one’s life, but rather a legacy of character and faith.” – Reverend “Billy” Graham, American evangelist
Like my friend from the Army, Senator Warren should stop claiming she is of Indian decent. She used it as an inroad to jumpstart her career and that was wrong of her and now people are demanding she take a DNA test to prove it.1 Leaders should steer clear of using their race, religion, age, gender, heritage, wealth, etc. from being used as a crutch to help enhance their status because character is not based on those things.
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I don’t usually make comments on an older post but this one is spot on. Just today Democrat Joe Biden said publically that if he had known Donald Trump as in High School, he would have “beat the hell out of him.” I doubt that but it goes to show how much hot air our current crop of politicians have. Here is the full quote:
“A guy who ended up becoming our national leader said, ‘I can grab a woman anywhere and she likes it,’” Biden said during a speech at the University of Miami on Tuesday, according to ABC News. “They asked me if I’d like to debate this gentleman, and I said ‘no.’ I said, ‘If we were in high school, I’d take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him.’”
Long time reader, new commenter. A consistent theme here in Satterfield’s blog is that leadership is not easy but to do it right you must do certain things consistently. One is to always back up what you say with action. Too many leaders are all talk (e.g., Hillary Clinton) and no action (e.g., Hillary Clinton). Only the propagandist understand this better.
Common leader failures can be found here. That’s what I like about this blog and others like it. Best to learn from other leader screw-ups than your own.
Hey folks, that’s why I’m always writing about stupidity and how politicians are right up their with other dumbasses that sort themselves out through the Darwin awards.
Hi Sadako Red. I always look forward to your weekend posts.
You’ve identified one of the biggest problems of leadership, at least in my opinion anyway. Leaders shoot off their big mouths and when it comes to walking the talk, nothing happens. Talk is cheap. Action is hard. Smart action is even harder. Sometimes I think politicians are placed here just to irritate us to vote and take action. Of course, that is not true but I think that sometimes.
My neighbor had a son who was elected to the local school board. His son Jason, also a US Navy veteran, complained to his dad (my neighbor) that all the board members did was spend time trying to talk their way out of not having to do anything. This is why people don’t trust the “government.”
How appropriate. Good leaders are not fakes. Fake leaders are those who aremore concerned about thesleves than about their people. I could name a politician a day and never run out of names.
Being a leader is tough. But failing to tell the truth & backing up what you say (with the truth) makes it just a little easier. Senator Warren is a classic progressive where the ends justify the means. That means lying is okay as long as her goals are accomplished.
All good points. I find that reading these posts daily (or pretty much every day) gives me a better sense of leadership than reading a “self help” book on it. Very much appreciate the comments in here also. There are some smart folk who make contributions to this blog.
Spot on, Mr. Satterfield.
Hi Joey: “Mr. Satterfield” is a retired U.S. Army Brigadier General. Best if you use BG Satterfield as his salutation instead of Mr. I know that sounds a little odd but that’s how we do it in the military. He wouldn’t mind either way however. Thanks.
Army Captain
Yes, the poor choices made by leaders who tell a “little white lie” (that benefits them) with the expectation that they will never be held accountable is outright surprising to me. Good leadership means telling the truth, period. No ifs ands or butts. Either you are honest and truthful or you are not. Elizabeth Warren is not an honest person and untrustworthy politician. Those who vote for her should consider their own personal values when they support dishonesty.
Action. That’s the U.S. Army way. I’m not surprised to find that good leaders are those prone to action regardless of their words. Good post today.