Leadership

Leadership

There are certain key skills which define a leader. Following is not necessarily a complete list of these skills, but I consider them to be essential.

It usually takes a lot of practice for anyone to develop the characteristics of a leader. For most, it's a lifetime effort. And also, for most, they never quite obtain an acceptable level of skill in all these characteristics. It's rare to find individuals who achieve a high level of skill in all of them.
You may differ with me as to the completeness of this dissertation or with the points made, or the points not made, but I believe this is complete enough that once understood, one can apply its principles to make judgments concerning the validity of the title of leader in today's political environment.

Ability to Communicate

A person with a high degree of communication skill is both a good listener, as well as a good speaker. Such leaders listen closely to their followers, asking questions to ensure they have the best possible understanding of what is being said. Without a high degree of competence in communication skills, no leader can initially motivate or keep their “flock” motivated. When a great leader communicates with a follower, the follower has the sense that the leader has “eyes” for no one but the follower, the focus is so clear. Thus, it may be seen, communication skills are absolutely vital to a true leader. No one can be a leader without these skills being highly developed.

Applying these points, my observation is that Sarah Palin is the premiere communicator in the political arena today and that Barack Obama is among the worst. His very arrogance prevents him from listening to others, while videos of Sarah meeting and greeting people shows she genuinely cares for the people and grants them a lot of importance. This trait of Sarah Palin opens the door for anyone to communicate genuinely with her and her with them.

Palin - 1
Obama - 0

Interpersonal Skills

Without the respect and trust of ones followers, there is no leadership. Respect and trust are earned. Relationships are founded on respect and trust and it works both ways. Really accomplished leaders are able to obtain the trust and respect of those who follow them and the leader, in turn, conveys respect and trust in equal measure to their followers and the followers know it. Mutual respect and trust is vital among all the members of the group and an excellent leader ensures that happens, handling any misunderstandings as they arise.

Sarah Palin shows genuine trust of and respect for others in her interpersonal actions. Us common folk feel empowered by her and feel that closeness which comes from acknowledging, “she's one of us”. Sarah is quick both to praise and defend her followers as well as people who espouse the principles she believes in. Barack Obama, on the other hand, has frequently shown disdain for the common folks and displays a haughtiness of demeanor that alienates the average person. He puts on an elitist attitude which repels. He is not a “warm” person, whereas Sarah Palin is very “warm” and inviting in her demeanor toward people she meets.

We the People have more trust in Sarah than in any other politician in America today, largely because she's quite unlike the usual politician – she has a genuine servant's heart.

Palin - 2
Obama - 0

Self-confidence

Group cohesion is directly proportional to the self-confidence of the leadership, of the followers in the leadership and of the leadership in the followers. In other words, everybody in the group has to have confidence in themselves and the other group members in order to maximize the achievement of the group's goals. Again, without confidence in oneself and the other members of the group, there is no leadership. Groups fall apart when leaders do not display confidence in what they and the group are doing. Anyone who cannot take responsibility for the results obtained within a group, good and bad, is no leader at all. A leader must be able to learn from mistakes of their own as well as those of others. And in emergencies, the confident demeanor of a true leader can permeate the group and pull it through to satisfactory conclusions.

Barack Obama doesn't generate confidence in himself or anyone else and especially not in his policies, which have proven to be Marxist in intent and highly destructive of the American Way. This is a major failure of his. Sarah Palin creates a n abundance of confidence with her common-sense approach to solving the problems facing our world and her sunny disposition in the face of difficulty. Sarah believes wholeheartedly in America, in family and her Faith, and is consistent and unwavering in her desire to restore America to the Rule of Law, the Constitution and the exceptionalism which has made America the greatest nation on earth. As a result, she generates enormous confidence among her followers.

Palin - 3
Obama - 0

Organizational Skills

True leaders have well honed organizational skills. They thoroughly understand what the group's goals are and how to organize the group to achieve its goals. They are capable of creating structures within the group which synergisticly interact to help their groups get the job done, and in like manner, are able to successfully dismantle barriers to getting the job done.

Disparate individuals and groups make up the Tea Party Movement, but no one else commands their cheers and attendance at rallies more than Sarah Palin. She amalgams these different entities into a degree of cohesion of action and platform as no other. Others claim to, but they are only claims, they are not facts. Obama displays no organizational skills whatever.

Palin - 4
Obama - 0

Adaptability

Vital to successful leadership is the ability to be flexible when the situation changes, requiring a fresh approach to any problems at hand. They may need to alter the group's focus to meet the demands of new factors in the environment. True leaders are able to re-assess and move the group forward by applying different solutions, as appropriate, to the new circumstances.

Barack Obama has demonstrated a severe lack of adaptability. His policies have virtually all failed and yet his response to this failure is to press for more of the same. Sarah Palin, on the other hand, has adapted readily to changing conditions and in the instance of the frivolous ethics complaints which virtually shut down her administration as Governor of Alaska, took a step which very few, if any other, politicians would have taken – she removed the reason for these complaints to continue to be leveled – she resigned. Since then, the Alaska Governor's Office has resumed its duties effectively. This is clear evidence that the false complaints were only intended to bankrupt the Palin family and render the Governor's Office powerless. Further evidence of Sarah's adaptability has been how she, in the face of the most vicious and vile treatment by the Leftist media of herself and her family, has been able to “turn the tables” on the media, forcing them to “dance on her string” during her One Nation Bus Tour and causing the media to whine about how mean she was to them.

Palin - 5
Obama - 0

Common-sense Orientation

Successful leaders are able to develop simple solutions to problems which appear complex to others. Complexity is derived of a lack of understanding. Understanding breeds simplicity. Successful leaders are able to, through adequate study and development of their own understanding, put forth simple solutions to what appear to be complex problems to others. These simple solutions are then perceived as “common sense” and “simple” by those who grasp them. Such understanding within the group engenders an extremely strong sense of confidence and well-being within the group that they know well how to resolve the situations confronting the group and how to achieve the group's goals.

Sarah is famous for her ability to analyze and understand issues which are professed by others to be complex and render them simple I remember when Joe Biden tried to suggest that Sarah did not know how complex the country's energy problems were and her response was with a simple, common-sense solution which made Joe look like an idiot (my opinion). Sarah's Facebook Notes are famous for their simple, common-sense solutions to the nation's problems. And they are seemingly ignored by Barack Obama, who offers no solutions to any of the nation's problems. Obama has only a rigid set of repetitive “solutions”, none of which demonstrate any common-sense whatever and which actually exacerbate the negative situations we face.

Palin - 6
Obama - 0

Obtaining Results

Leading by example alone isn't good enough. Really successful leaders don't hesitate to “get their fingers dirty” by taking an active part in the activities of the group. They constantly work to keep the group's activities humming. Leadership's goal is to produce results, for without results, there is little reason for the group or its “leaders”. At the same time, the group's leader must be able to “step away” and view the overall picture of the group's condition and assess accordingly to keep the group moving forward toward the achievement of its goals.

A key element to leadership is knowing every aspect of what the group is trying to accomplish and being thoroughly in agreement with its accomplishment. It is the basis on which the group can be motivated and directed. If the leadership is weak in its belief in the “rightness” of its goals and purposes, it is unlikely the group will achieve much of anything.

In virtually every instance which called for leadership by President Obama, he has not only remained aloof, he has sequestered himself away from the active fray. He doesn't just not take part, he hides. Barack Obama steadfastly refuses to take responsibility for anything. Sarah, in contrast, moves directly at any seeming danger that exists, confronting it head-on and taking an active part in leading her team to handle it. Perhaps in no other respect do their leadership styles differ as markedly as in the area of taking responsibility for the results. Sarah takes full responsibility and Barack takes none.

Palin - 7
Obama - 0

Ethics, Morals and Mores

Truly successful leaders operate within a high level of ethics and morals, becoming an example for others to follow.

This last point is an extremely important one that often differentiates true leaders from the rest of the pack. Leadership is not just gaining a position of power and control with the opportunity to order people around. There is no true leadership in a tyranny; there is only suppression. True leaders are willing to not just “talk the talk”, but are eagerly willing to “walk the walk” alongside their followers.

True leaders have a highly developed skill to empower their followers such that their followers are more able to work as a cohesive unit, with common objectives and common mores appropriate to the achievement of the group's goals.

The greatest leaders, who are endowed with the greatest degree of devotion by their followers, are those perceived by the group members as “one of us”.

Leadership skills are acquired, folks are not born with them and great leaders can make mistakes. No one is infallible. Yet, one should not, for one mistake, condemn a plethora of achievement.

On the positive side, great leaders learn from their mistakes.

If Barack Obama has any sense of ethics, I don't recognize it. He consistently and continuously lies. Again, in contrast, Sarah Palin is scrupulously honest in every respect and her word is always kept, even if it appears to be not the best choice. For example, she felt she owed a debt of gratitude to John McCain for having chosen her as his running mate and she, in spite of numerous calls from her supporters not to, she backed McCain in the November, 2010 election. While some might say Sarah is loyal to a fault, I disagree. She has repaid her debt and is beholden to no one. This clearly sets her apart from virtually all other politicians active today. As a result, Sarah has earned her followers deep respect and as well, they know she will always have their backs. Loyalty is contagious and it's rife within the ranks of Sarah's supporters who are intensely loyal to her. As for Barack Obama, his loyalty to anyone or anything outside himself is non-existent. His actions have betrayed many of the groups which supported him in 2008 and many of these groups are beginning to denounce his breaking of the promises he made to them in exchange for their votes, for the first time actively criticizing Obama.

Palin - 8
Obama - 0

Look for these characteristics in all the actual or potential Presidential candidates who claim the mantle of “Leader” and satisfy yourself that they are worthy of wearing it. Their professing to or acting as if they are worthy is not good enough. They must earn it in your eyes for you to accept them as your leader. It is the “leader” in you which has the right to make that judgment.