Thursday, August 04, 2011
Obama's Failure of Leadership
Posting a comment at Althouse about Obama being over his head regarding the economy, a little extra insight about leadership struck me. Most of us have heard the line about a leader works to insure every one's success. Nothing really new there. But, the reality of the principle struck me a little deeper than usual.
On a sports team, if a coach works to ensure all the players are as successful as they can be or want to be, you're going to have a pretty good, even great, team. If the coach convinces all the players to work hard and help each other succeed on and off the field of play, the team is better.
As a parent, I've considered helping my kids be successful as my greatest labor of love. Not a duty, not an obligation (although it is), but a labor of love. If you love your kids, you help them succeed. This doesn't mean do it for them, but to do your best to help them attain the skills and attitudes it takes to succeed.
Surprisingly, over the years, I've seen more failure to do this than to do it. I've met men who married a trim, beautiful woman and then were happy when their wife became fat because no one else would want her then. Seems a rather perverted love and certainly not one of helping his wife have the most successful life possible.
I've seen parents who seemed threatened by or jealous of their children's successes. They would react in critical, uncooperative ways that hindered their child's success.
Companies that don't invest time and energy in helping their employees reach their personal goals fail or flounder in mediocrity.
Obama's style of leadership fails to help everyone succeed. Instead, he pits the rich against the poor. He pits races against each other when it suits his political needs. He'll promise success to one group at the cost of another group. He perpetrated the idea that you can have a successful life without effort but, rather, at the expense of others who are somehow holding you back. He creates a house divided against itself.
These may be ways to win enough votes to be elected, but, ultimately, these are the paths to failure, or, at best, mediocrity.
On a sports team, if a coach works to ensure all the players are as successful as they can be or want to be, you're going to have a pretty good, even great, team. If the coach convinces all the players to work hard and help each other succeed on and off the field of play, the team is better.
As a parent, I've considered helping my kids be successful as my greatest labor of love. Not a duty, not an obligation (although it is), but a labor of love. If you love your kids, you help them succeed. This doesn't mean do it for them, but to do your best to help them attain the skills and attitudes it takes to succeed.
Surprisingly, over the years, I've seen more failure to do this than to do it. I've met men who married a trim, beautiful woman and then were happy when their wife became fat because no one else would want her then. Seems a rather perverted love and certainly not one of helping his wife have the most successful life possible.
I've seen parents who seemed threatened by or jealous of their children's successes. They would react in critical, uncooperative ways that hindered their child's success.
Companies that don't invest time and energy in helping their employees reach their personal goals fail or flounder in mediocrity.
Obama's style of leadership fails to help everyone succeed. Instead, he pits the rich against the poor. He pits races against each other when it suits his political needs. He'll promise success to one group at the cost of another group. He perpetrated the idea that you can have a successful life without effort but, rather, at the expense of others who are somehow holding you back. He creates a house divided against itself.
These may be ways to win enough votes to be elected, but, ultimately, these are the paths to failure, or, at best, mediocrity.
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