Good Leaders

President standing behind a podium.

Teaching literature for almost 25 years has allowed me the privilege of sharing some incredible stories with young people, stories that have inspired them, offered them hope, and most of all, made them thoughtfully consider themselves and their places in the world. 

One basic lesson familiar to most English teachers is posing the question: “What makes a good leader?” which we often do before reading works of Shakespeare or even Greek mythology, but it’s a relevant question for so many characters and the plot lines of many great books.

Though I’m retired now, I’m still dabbling in teaching, so this question comes up occasionally with my students. Lately, however, I’ve been struggling with how to address the answer. Usually, when students compile a list of leadership traits, they provide the following:  intelligence, fairness, responsibility, courage, strength, empathy, integrity, accountability, and even the ability to collaborate, make tough decisions, and compromise.  

For those students watching our current leader in real time, though, many of those traits are non-existent. In fact, Trump turns so hard in the opposite direction, I can literally see the cognitive dissonance on the students’ faces.

“Fairness?” Why, not really. Trump goes after his perceived enemies with the vengeance of a pit viper. 

“Responsibility?” Nope. Trump makes reckless, damning statements that cause chaos and trauma across the country, especially in the lives of helpless children, vulnerable homeless folks, and even military veterans. He often speaks without thinking, and the American people pay the price. He’s also willing to let many people either lose their healthcare or face such exorbitant rates, that they face bankruptcy and financial ruin. 

“Courage?” Hell, no! Donald Trump’s father made sure he never went into the service by falsifying records about his so-called “bone spurs.”

“Compromise?” Do the words "government shutdown” ring a bell? Trump is so unwilling to even consider keeping folks on Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act that he is actually pulling a despicable statement straight from the abusers’ handbook. He’s blaming Democrats for the shutdown simply because they won’t sign anything that takes away Americans' access to healthcare.

I could go on, but Trump’s lack of empathy and integrity seal the deal for me. He cares about himself, his image, his money, his rich “friends,” and the power he’s working towards: supreme leader of a one party, totalitarian regime. 

When you cease to exhibit the traits of an effective leader it’s because you no longer care about the people you are leading. In literary terms, we call that a tragic fall, and sadly, many leaders from Oedipus to King Lear have fallen for less.