Vetting Leadership
I ran into an old friend recently and we began to discuss different things that he and I consistently talk about. After catching up on each other’s personal lives we delved into a passionate discussion on local politics. The night before, I had attended EngageNola’s “Meet the Candidate” Series with State Senator Ed Murray, who is currenlty running for Mayor. I expressed my opinions on the event and the candidate with my friend and, as our conversation progressed, I revealed that I am strongly leaning towards a particular candidate that he is not impressed with. He then told me of his favorable opinion of two other candidates, neither of which I find appealing.
The conversation got intense. Before we knew it, you could have sworn that both of us worked for opposing campaigns. We discredited opposing candidates’ achievements and played up their weaknesses. We attacked each other for our views on the matter, and he even accused me of “drinking the kool-aid.” Fortunately this was nothing new between the two of us. It did not get out of hand because we are used to disagreeing with each other.
Although my friend and I have known each other for years and have similar world-views, we have never had a serious discussion about our values regarding civic and political leadership. I now feel that our argument would have been less passionate had we each had an understanding of the other’s perspectives on the quailities of leadership. Unfortunately, I fear that we do not ask ourselves the very question: What do we, as individuals, expect from political leaders? This is not a call for a resume. It is an important question to ask, especially in this time when we have been failed by the current administration’s weak leadership and their refusal to lay a foundation for future progress.
As I reflected on the heated conversation with my friend, I could not stop thinking about the tenure of Ernest “Dutch” Morial, who served as mayor from 1978 - 1986. A man who had a life-long dedication to public service as a lawyer, activist, and politician, Morial is often regarded as one of the best mayors in the city’s history. He was consumed with leaving the city in better shape than he found it and as mayor, he demanded the best from those who worked for him and, moreso, he inspired them to do their best. A stern man, Morial was able to deal with several crises in his eight years in office including a strike by the NOPD which led to the cancellation of the 1979 Mardi Gras parade season. He was a reformer who made city government more efficient and his administration is remembered for not having any major scandals. A proven leader, Morial brought together a racially diverse coalition of supporters in one of the most racially polarized cities in the country.
Though often abrasive, Dutch Morial was successful because he saw change as necessary. But for a people to visualize change, leaders have to be effective communicators. Dutch Morial displayed this throughout his term in office. Like Morial, we need leaders today who understand our challenges and our necessities. Years of working in government or a resume of successful business ventures does not necessarily provide you with this kind of understanding. Yet, these attributes do not preclude you from understanding people’s challenges either. It is not enough, however, to ask our leaders to understand us. We must also realize that as individuals, we need to have a solid understanding of the qualities we value in leadership. However, this self-understanding is in vain if, as a community, we are not engaging (instead of criticizing) others and their values.
How about you? How do you vet leadership?
December 16th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
Thanks for this reflection on leadership. I would also that leadership begins with us. We are responsible for our action or lack of action. It’s easy to blame a weak leader who is in the public realm. It’s less easier to look at ourselves and determine how we function as leaders in our lives, in our families, and in our communities. Additionally, selecting a mayor isn’t about choosing a person and then forgetting about it. How do we not only vet leadership, but how do we engage with leadership as it moves forwards? How do we look for the chance to learn from or educate leaders? Do we care enough? What might make the next mayor have a progressive mayoral term may not necessarily depend by some large degree on any of the present candidates’ abilities to be effective leaders. It may be that it will take more than any present candidate can do, and the difference will depend on us. Will we engage to make the next four years better? Or we allow to let it pass? It’s up to us.