Presidents’ Day

As we celebrate Presidents’ Day, I find myself thinking about the role of the President as a leader. The President of the United States is not only the official head of our nation and commander-in-chief of our military, but is also often called the leader of the free world. These titles carry immense responsibility and power, but a title alone does not make someone a great leader.

True leadership is not merely about holding an esteemed position or title. It is about vision, integrity, and the ability to inspire, influence and guide others. History has shown us that while some presidents, regardless of political affiliation, have exemplified remarkable leadership, others have struggled to move beyond their title. Leadership is not defined by status but by action, character, and the impact one has on others.

Remember that great leaders exist both within and beyond positions of power. Leadership is not about the title. It’s about the ability to lead with wisdom, purpose and clarity.

Happy Presidents’ Day!

Four years ago today…

 

In my mind, today is the four-year anniversary of the start of the pandemic in the United States. On this day in 2020, both the Houston Rodeo and the NBA shut down entirely. Not long after that the entire country was pretty much in a lock down. For some of us it was a few weeks, for others it was much longer. Every single person, business, organization, and activity in our world was impacted. Many are still feeling that impact. Our world is not the same four years later.

 

What have we learned? I will stay away from medical, political, or socio-economic lessons. What have you learned as an individual? I have shared these questions before. They are worth considering again. Actually, they are worth considering frequently, not just in the wake of a pandemic.

 

·         Are you going to have better family relationships?

·         Have you learned a new craft or skill?

·         Are you growing in your faith?

·         Have you discovered new ways to give back in your community?

·         Will you be more serious about saving 2-3 months of living expenses?

·         Has your perspective about work/life balance changed?

·         Do you have new goals and objectives for the balance of the year?

·         Will you bring a new level of commitment and energy to your job or your business?

·         Have you read a business or self-help book you have been putting off?

Presidents’ Day

 

As we celebrate Presidents’ Day, I find myself thinking about the role of the President as a leader. The President of the United States is the official leader of our country and the ultimate leader of our military. He is also referred to as the leader of the free world.  Those roles are true and fitting. Responsibilities and power come with his elected position. He is a leader by title. However, holding a position in title does not make one a great leader of people.  Regardless of your political affiliation, I think that most will agree that we have had presidents from both parties who were in fact great leaders.  Furthermore, we have had even more who were leaders in title and never mastered the art of truly leading people. Never confuse a title with true quality leadership. Many title holders are great leaders, some are not. On the other hand, many great leaders have no title at all.

 

Happy Presidents’ Day!

Presidents' Day

 

As we celebrate Presidents’ Day, I found myself thinking about the role of the President as a leader.  The President of the United States is the official leader of our country and the ultimate leader of our military.  He is also referred to as the leader of the free world.  Those roles are true and fitting.  By his elected position, responsibilities and power that come with the position, he is a leader by title.  However, holding a position in title does not make one a great leader of people.  Regardless of your political affiliation, I think that most will agree that we have had presidents from both parties who were in fact great leaders.  Furthermore, we have had even more who were leaders in title and never mastered the art of truly leading people. 

 

Happy Presidents’ Day. Enjoy the quote below…

  

“Associate yourself with men of good quality, if you esteem your own reputation; for ‘tis better to be alone than in bad company.”

-       George Washington

A Time to Lead

What happened last week at the capital of the United States of America was appalling and disheartening.   The violent and lawless acts that took place there do not represent the values on which this country was built.  I felt like I was watching news coverage of a foreign country, much like I felt during the violent riots last summer.  We are all are entitled to our own opinion about the causes and political aspects of this incident.  We are also entitled to voice those opinions and peacefully demonstrate in support of them. 

As leaders, how do we respond to this?  It is critical that we lead against the divisions that are being perpetrated in this country. The national media feeds upon us being a divided people. It makes great news to depict drastically different viewpoints, develop momentum behind both sides, and exaggerate our divisions.  It is too easy to get caught up in the spin!  This just results in people jumping on one side of a polarizing topic and spewing hatred and accusations.  It is so easy to hide behind the keyboard and ride a wave created by media.  Social media content that serves no purpose other than expanding the divide is all too common.  We can control the breadth and depth of our divisions. 

As a people we are reluctant to take the time necessary to learn all sides of an issue, much less the facts.  I know that facts can be hard to find and I am not suggesting that we all sing Kumbaya together anytime soon.  I am merely suggesting that we need to be careful of letting the media drive the narrative. It is possible to maintain your own viewpoint while still respecting another’s opinion.  It is also possible to formulate an opinion without referring to, or posting on, social media.  Disagreement does not have to lead to expansive divides, accusations, or hateful behavior. As leaders we must encourage education, objectivity, and the understanding of all sides of issues.

I have a great friend whose beliefs about national politics vary greatly from my own. We respect each other’s opinions, listen to one another’s thoughts, and take the time to learn why we feel differently about political topics.  Our first response is not hatred. It is not a verbal attack via social media, and it is not a line in the sand that defines our relationship.  Our friendship has grown because of our ability to respectfully discuss our viewpoints without divisiveness, even though neither of us has changed our position. Differing opinions do not have to lead to hatred.  Listening to others’ beliefs does not have to result in name calling, accusations, and ridicule.

Leaders are purveyors of hope. I have said it before, a responsibility of leaders is to provide hope. That could not be truer than it is today.  Those we work with, those we lead and those we love, all need to be hopeful.  There are plenty of reasons for hope, but that hope must look past our media driven divisions.  That hope requires objectivity and open mindedness.  It needs great leaders.  America is still the greatest country in the world.

Wherever you are today and wherever you lead tomorrow, lead with hope, lead with objectivity, lead against divisiveness, and lead with love.

Attitude

I have written before, as many have, about the importance of attitude.  Most such writings focus on the power of a positive mental attitude.  Much credit is given to the strength of a proper attitude.  The power of positive thinking is a popular concept and a valid one.  What about the power of a bad attitude?  What about the impact of a negative attitude?  What is the cost of having the wrong mental attitude?  Consider the thoughts of the third President of the United States.

“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude
from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the
man with the wrong mental attitude.”

-Thomas Jefferson

Labor Day 2020

Much like Memorial Day and July 4^th before it, this Labor Day holiday feels very different.  There is not the same excitement about the start of football season, or the fun associated with back to school.  Whatever BBQ gatherings do take place this weekend will likely be far fewer people. The activities we had hoped would return to normal by now have not.  The wet blanket of COVID-19 continues to be a constant in our lives.  But the reason for the holiday remains the same.  This great country was built on the backs of laborers, hardworking laborers.

From Wikipedia:  Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United States.  It is the Monday of the long weekend known as Labor Day Weekend.

A lot of hard work went into the comforts that we will all likely enjoy this weekend.  Enjoy your holiday!