Why Public Leaders Must Earn Our RESPECT?

Far too often, we observe individuals, who are public officials, who appear, to believe, they deserve respect and admiration, solely because of the position, they hold. However, we live in a democracy and republic, not a totalitarian nation, and, thus, our elected officials, should, and must, earn our RESPECT, not by their empty promises, rhetoric, vitriol, etc, but, rather by their actions, and intentions (both actual, and perceived). With that in mind, this article will attempt to briefly examine, why this matters, and what it means, using the mnemonic approach.

1. Relevant; responsive; responsible; realistic: We seem to be living in a somewhat, surreal time, when our President, seems to believe, he is, either above the law, or doesn't need to serve and represent all the people! Many, including me, refer to this, as "Trump World," because it often, seems, Donald Trump, pays little heed, to telling the truth, if it doesn't support his personal/ political agenda, and/ or self - interest. Calling the media, Fake News, and the Enemy of the People, appears to be counter, to the basic, American principle, of Freedom of the Press. His Make America Great Again, seems to focus on the past, rather than pursuing, relevant, responsive, responsible, realistic, and/ or sustainable solutions, and he focuses, on his core supporters, rather than the common good!

2. Empathy; emphasis: Even his greatest supporters, would probably not proclaim, President Trump, possesses, or proceeds with genuine empathy! To earn the respect of most, one should focus on the common good, and needs, rather than placing his emphasis, solely on the perceptions of his core!

3. System; service; sustainable solutions: How can anyone earn respect, unless he clearly articulates, a well - considered, system, and focuses on service, to nation, and all its citizens? There can be no place, for band - aid approaches, but, we need, leaders who consider, and introduce, the finest, sustainable solutions!

4. Priorities; planning: Closely examine, a leader's priorities, and focus! Does he, merely use empty rhetoric, and make promises, or does he commit to the utmost level, of quality planning?

5. Efforts; energize: How one focuses his efforts, goes a long way, towards whether it energizes the nation, in a positive manner?

6. Character; creative: We need public leaders, who exhibit the finest character, focused on service, and the public good! Rather than merely looking at the same - old, same - old, we need individuals, who proceed, in a creative, fully considered, focused way!

7. Timely: There is no place for procrastination, but a public official, must seek to provide, well - considered, timely ideas, strategies, and action plans!

Don't go back, to the past, but demand, officials, focus on relevant, sustainable ideas, and solutions! Wake up, America, and demand, those seeking office, go beyond empty promises, but seek quality solutions!

Why Do Core Supporters Look Away? : 5 Possibilities

Have you ever wondered, why so many people, continue to support, and trust, any particular, public official, even when he clearly demonstrates, the rhetoric, and promises, he made, as a candidate, were merely, empty, and focused on getting elected, rather than serving the common good, etc? Is it because of the significant degree of voter apathy, where less than half, of eligible voters, actually, take advantage of this important right, and assume the responsibility, or, because, few are willing to pay, keen attention, to what's going on? How does, the way, individuals receive their news, factor, into, their perceptions, and what, they believe, to be, the truth? With that in mind, this article will attempt to briefly examine, consider, review, and discuss, 5 possibilities, why, so many, core supporters, seem to look away, rather than focus on what's actually, going on.

1. Celebrity: If voters would pay more attention, to who, might be the best qualified, rather than personalities, and/ or, celebrity status, those assuming positions of significance, would, probably be, better equipped, to make the most important decisions, etc. When Americans elected Donald Trump, to the highest office in the land, in 2016, no doubt, many did so, because of their perceptions, and his perceived, celebrity!

2. Agree with an agenda: While we might hope, more would seek leadership, which emphasized the common good, and respect all the rights, liberties, and freedoms, this nation has stood for, the reality, is, many cast their votes, based on their own biases and prejudices, and whether they believe, a specific candidate, shares these, somewhat, tainted views!

3. Scape - goats: Many prefer to blame others, and complain, rather than assume any personal responsibility, and provide ideas, and viable solutions, to make changes, for the better! President Trump appears, to be, particularly adept, at making others, scape - goats, as a political, rhetorical, way, to inspire his core supporters!

4. Priorities and perceptions: While some may attempt to see, what happens, and events, objectively, the reality is, we all have personal perceptions, which impact our ability, to do so! Because many feel, so strongly, about certain of their personal priorities, they continue to overlook, other flaws, lies, etc, made by political leaders, even if they, fail to serve the common good, and, in some instances, even their actual best interests!

5. Believe the excuses/ explanations: Many are blinded by what they wish, might be, so, they, continue to believe the excuses, and explanations, even when the evidence, clearly, demonstrates, a particular leader, is lying, or only considering his self - interest!

Voter apathy, and lack of patience, to objectively consider, all the events, and eventualities, are the enemy of quality, representative government! We need to elect leaders, who focus on the common good, and respecting all the rights and freedoms, rather than selectively doing so!

Setting Priorities For An Organization

Leaders of organizations are constantly facing the challenge of juggling priorities. Since most organizations do not train their leaders via a professionally designed and presented training program, many leaders are ill-prepared to use the concept of prioritization in conducting their leadership responsibilities.

The first thing that organizations need to do on a fairly regular basis is examine and reexamine their missions and Mission Statements, to assure that these missions are still relevant to the organization as it has evolved. After doing that analysis, and weighing all the ramifications of either keeping the Mission Statement static or altering it to adapt to changing times, leaders must set forth a set of priorities top adhere to during their tenure in office. These priorities should include short-term,intermediate-term, and long-term programs, objectives and goals, and a financial and time analysis of each of these. Once this analysis has been performed, leaders need to rate each program, project and event, in terms of both importance, perspective and relevance.

In my three decades of working with not-for-profits and other organizations, I have unfortunately observed that prioritizing tends to be one of the most overlooked items of leadership. The vast majority of untrained leaders tend to lead either based on some emotional attachment to an idea, a poorly conceived or understood notion, or as crisis managers. While every organization faces a "crunch time" which may or may not be perceived as a crisis, well trained leaders pre-plan for contingencies, and tend to be better able to cope when some difficult event occurs. However, when leaders do not properly use priority leadership as a core concept, very often ill-prepared leaders then spend too much time on non-priority items, and inadequate time on important ones. Using priority management techniques, leaders are far more capable of avoiding getting bogged down in minutia, and continue to see and understand the big picture.