Leading Towards Hope

By James Gilbert Pynn

It was Thomas Sowell who said, "The first lesson of economics is: there is never enough of anything to satisfy everyone who wants it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics." The aim of any good leader, therefore, is to instill hope. We can qualify "good" and perhaps we should. Indeed, there is not enough of everything to satisfy everyone, but we are creatures of hope. We are tied to aspiration and wired for problem solving. We need to feel as if we can accomplish anything. We need to feel as if we can get anything. The operative word: feel.

Good leaders are seldom born. They are made, shaped, refined. To be sure, natural charisma can be a tremendous advantage, but leadership is a learned skill and any skill can be mastered. The question is how far are you willing to go? At what point will you say enough? For most, that point is too soon, hence the dearth of qualified leaders.

It was Burt Bacharach who wrote: what the world needs now is love, sweet love. We need love and leadership. With the gathering gloom of the current economic climate, it behooves us all to find a voice and clean out our ears. What used to work will not work anymore. Leadership requires an understanding of yourself and an understanding of your audience, of those you purpose to lead. Where are they willing to go? What are they willing to listen to? How far will they follow and at what point do you stop?

To date, the best leadership program in the country divides its curriculum into four spheres of study: politics, science, art and economics. What must fuel your studies is an underlying dedication to leading your fellow man and woman towards a greater ideal, a more prosperous place, and more plentiful feast. This takes more than mere academics and practiced speeches. This takes more than polish and a steady voice.

True leadership, the kind that can effect the course of human history, knows no gender, no sexual preference, no race, color or creed. Leaders must lead people. This means standing firm in the face of those who would revel at the chance to bring you down. You must convince, not cajole. Often the road to success is littered with the remains of those who would merely placate the public. True leaders must be true to themselves. They must know their topics, their purposes, and do their best to transcend their words to become beacons of hope.

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