[March 18, 2018] Last year I began a new blog thread to give a brief summary of leadership topics I like but could not get into sufficient detail. The clearing the spindle post today focuses leader morality.
Settling scores: a lesson in revenge. When I was a kid, if another boy tripped me on purpose, I was likely to return the favor by doing something worse. Revenge is an emotion of the weak minded and is often called “settling scores” (a perverse way of getting even). Like the #MeToo movement that is revenge in a political correct dress, we see a new settling of scores in Hollywood where it means getting one’s way whether deserved rightly or not. In Hollywood, it’s mob rule at its finest. Ultimately, like when I was a little boy, it’s really about power over others and the desire to punish those we believe treated us unfairly. https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/terry-gilliam-says-supernumbermetoo-movement-has-transformed-into-‘mob-rule’/ar-BBKjcTX?ocid=spartanntp
Guilt by association (or maybe real guilt?). A recent interview with Steve Bannon, a well-known conservative strategist, noted that he was fascinated by Mussolini and fascism. The interest is not in a love for the ideology of fascism but for learning about the methods employed to weaponize an ideology and make it usable to gain political power and repress the population while they love it. Women loved Mussolini and were some of the biggest converts to this national populist movement. Bannon’s search for lessons should not exclude the forbearance that people will call him a fascist for studying Mussolini. https://www.spectator.co.uk/2018/03/steve-bannon-interview-im-fascinated-by-mussolini/
Corruption in government is like death and taxes; they will always be with us. New York State Governor Andre Cuomo, like so many other politicians, has been long accused of looking the other way when close associates of his are involved in corrupt activities. Residents of New York have known of his propensity to corruption and his lack of an ability to do the right thing. Leader morality is not easy to hold onto but if you want to do well, it takes more than money and power; it also takes good moral character. www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2018/03/andrew-cuomos-corruption-circus-rolls-on.php
Enthusiasm has both a positive and negative side to it. Many of us from the Baby Boomer generation will vividly remember the rise and fall of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, a husband-and-wife televangelist team that was brought down by scandal, trickery, and bankruptcy. Some say that televangelism (a phenomenon unlike any other religious awakening) unfolded as a fad that arrived suddenly and disappeared just as quickly. The rise brought with it the proverbial corrupting influences to folks who did not have the resilience to resist. Leader morality matters. http://www.weeklystandard.com/jim-and-tammy-faye-bakker-a-scandal-of-the-self/article/2011793
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- Clearing the Spindle: the Leaders – https://www.theleadermaker.com/clearing-spindle-leaders/
- Clearing the Spindle: Politics – https://www.theleadermaker.com/clearing-spindle-politics/
- Clearing the Spindle: Morality – https://www.theleadermaker.com/clearing-spindle-morality/
Nice series on things you’re thinking about. To be a good leader, sometimes it means trying to understand why people do or say certain things.
Good list of leader moral depravity.
I’m a new reader of your leadership blog. Thank you. Lots of good information.
Please allow me to add a few things to your “leader morality” spindle:
1. Using children to protest against guns (when the real problem is lack of discipline).
2. Managers allowing employees to steal money and property, not work and get paid, driving customers away with poor service, etc.
3. City government that allows violent protesters to have “space” to riot, set fires, vandalize cars, break into stores and steal property, throw deadly objects at the police, and blame the “system” for their plight. Baltimore City, I’m talking about you.
4. Politicians who hire their relatives and friends for “no work” jobs.
Of course, I could also have listed many more. Thanks!
Thanks Yusaf … how about our political leaders allowing the opiate crises get out of hand? Or, cracking down on the US Constitution instead of addressing the real problem. Or, rewarding schools for not reporting criminal behavior of their students (leading to out-of-control schools).