Eight Rules of Leadership from George Washington
Written by Al at 7P
![[Washington triumphantly crossing the Delaware.]](http://7pproductions.com/img/r-z/washington_crossing_300x200.jpg)
Dear Senator McCain and Senator Obama:
You are running for a position that we lost faith in. According to a recent poll, President Bush’s approval ratings were at 23%, breaking records for the worst ever. President Clinton got himself impeached before leaving office as well. Prior to that, President George H. W. Bush’s approval ratings were at 37% on the eve of the 1992 election day.
One of you will be the 44th US President. For the winner, remember this… be the great leader that is needed. Earn our support. Get back to first principles. You only need to look to the first President as a model for being a great leader.
- Be a visionary. In today’s information-rich world, people will not follow arbitrary directions given by authority. We will instead follow a cause, a dream, a vision that is compelling. Don’t just give us direction, give us inspiration, and we will be your agents of change. That was how Washington was able to lead his troops when Congress did not have money to pay them. His troops weren’t soldiers for hire, but rather they were revolutionaries for a better tomorrow.
- Do what you say and say what you mean. “I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an Honest Man.” Washington was held in the highest regards by his fellow politicians and was the only President to ever be elected unanimously. He was among many great politicians during that time, but Washington stood out from the rest because of his integrity.
- Don’t make decisions based on popularity; base them on principles. According to Mark McNeilly, author of George Washington and the Art of Business, Washington “always put the country first. People could trust him to stand above the politics, stand above the fray, and keep the interests of the country in mind.” Make sure your decisions stand the test of time.
- Be a keen observer. Washington first made his mark in the world by being a geographer. His curiosity with the uncharted regions in Virginia led to his first missions in the military, and eventually gave him tactical advantage as an officer. Good leaders must be aware of the environment in order to to adjust strategies accordingly.
- Be balanced. At that time, you had to choose sides. Either you were a Federalist - one who agreed with Alexander Hamilton and believed in a strong central government, or you were a Jeffersonian - one who agreed with Thomas Jefferson and believed in a smaller central government. Although he had his opinions, Washington did not choose sides and decided to have both Hamilton and Jefferson as part of his government. To be a good leader, you must understand the merits of both sides.
- Foster relationships. I get by with a little help from my friends. The Beatles may have sung these words about 200 years later, but Washington probably said this as well when talking about France. Without the help of the French Navy, the British would have likely won the war. Great leaders know how their party affects the others, and such leaders constantly reach beyond their specific areas of influence.
- Learn from your defeats. General Washington only won three of his nine battles. He was persistent and continued battling and learned from his mistakes, which prepared him for the third and most important victory, the Battle of Yorktown. It was the last major battle before the end of the war, thus illustrating that defeat is merely a set-up for the more important victories in the future.
- Be humble. You are not greater than the cause that you represent. Washington was elected for two straight terms and would have easily won his third, but he felt that too much power would have been rested on him. He walked away from power for the good of the country. If you want to be a true leader, know the difference between benefiting yourself versus benefiting the greater good.
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Al,
I really enjoyed your post. I like this statement, “Do what you say and say what you mean.” In todays politics, this is hard to find.
Shilpan
Hi Shilpan,
It’s unfortunate - I agree that it’s hard to find in today’s politics as well. It’s gotten to be so bad that I cringe whenever I hear the word “flip-flop,” and lately I’ve been cringing a lot.
Hi Al, an insightful post, and at the right time as well.
Happy Independence Day to you!
Robert
Hi Robert,
Thank you. I was thinking about decorating my blog theme today by having a lot of red, white, and blue color scheme decoration and maybe even change the logo to have a patriotic look to it (kinda like Google). I just settled instead with a themed blog post
.
A well timed post. Thanks. Personally, I am looking for the next Jefferson who is willing to risk it all to step up and lead our country out of the morass we find ourselves in today. Unfortunately, I feel it is too late for this cycle, and we will have to endure much hardship for the next few years until the fires of adversity forge the resolve of that next Jefferson to step forward to lead a great nation out of the downward spiral it finds itself in.
Happy Independence Day and let’s never forget those brave souls who boldly signed their own death warrants in order to live free!
Unca Jake
Unca Jake,
Thanks for the comment and hope you’re having a great Independence Day!
You know as I wrote the article, I wondered if the founding forefathers such as Washington and Jefferson would have succeeded in today’s world. With the ever-scrutinizing media and a society that seems to only regard sound bites rather than the depth of complex issues, it’s not clear whether the principles that they stood for would have risen above the irrelevant noise.
The optimist in me won my internal argument and I concluded that they would still do well today. I do believe the sensationalized one-liner headlines will unfairly dog them, but ultimately, those with the best principles, who can convey them effectively and be persistent and true to their message, will rise. The democratizing nature of the Information Age would ensure it.
Hi Al,
Very good post and inspiring. I love all the wisdom from this post. Certainly a sign of a good leader.. that is YOU.
Blessings
Gamy
Hi Gamy, - awww, you’re a sweetheart! Thank you for those kind words.
I’m not sure why, but I’ve been much more engrossed with politics than ever before. I feel like there’s so much at stake these days. We have no shortage of things to worry about, with the economy, energy crisis, and war and all.
It’s going to take more than just our political leaders - it’s going to take all of us to be leaders.
LOL… thank you Al, so nice to be called a sweetheart
You’ve just made my day!
Gamy
Minor detail: Clinton was never really impeached.
umm, yeah, Clinton was impeached. The article is correct.
The full article above has a link to a nice article that describes what it means to be impeached and what the steps of the process are.
There is also not a bad writeup on wikipedia about it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_of_Bill_Clinton
He was acquitted in the senate but he was impeached. We can argue if it was the right or wrong decision. We can discuss how it was politically motivated but you can’t deny that it happened….
@ Jeff NH - thanks for helping to clarify what Rick probably misunderstood. Indeed Clinton was impeached but wasn’t removed from office, since he wasn’t convicted.
Clinton was also disbarred as well. These were more symbolic acts than anything, but nonetheless they were low points for Clinton.
@ Rick - I think you meant to say Clinton wasn’t removed from office, unlike Nixon. Common confusion was that Nixon was impeached, but in reality, he removed himself from office before the process could happen.
Point #2 is not easy. Many of us love to preach on what to do, but for various reasons, we may end up not taking our own advice. For instance, it is easy to tell our kids not to eat sugary stuff, but do we, as adults, give up on the chocolate and ice cream ourselves?
Hi Evelyn,
Agreed - point #2 (do what you say, say what you mean) is not easy a lot of times. I think the “say what you mean” should be doable, but the “do what you say” is the harder part.
When I was younger, I tend to be pretty extreme, an all-or-none kind of guy. When I couldn’t back up my own talk, it taught me to be less forceful and less dogmatic with my language.
I think a lot of young people make such mistakes, but maturity requires being aware of such things. I think the analogy of personal maturity can also be applied to maturity as a leader. It’s hard for me to follow a leader if I feel that person is a hypocrite. I see sincerity as a pretty important trait of a leader.
Nice to read about George Washington. I like your ending, and agree. To me, that is one of the true marks of a great leader.
Hi Bamboo - thanks for the feedback. It’s natural to let success get into one’s head, but especially for politicians, they can’t forget who gave them the success.
Hi Al,
Finally my schedule calmed down enough that I could come and visit you.
I love how you ended this with “know the difference between benefiting yourself versus benefiting the greater good.” Too often politicians don’t consider the people who they are representing and only concentrate on their own hidden agenda.
How about sending this post to the Obama and McCain camps?
Hi Barbara - thanks for coming by! I’d email it to them, but I’m afraid they would then use FISA to investigate me
.
I’m just hoping that whoever the next president is, that the person at some point will remember that he is a public servant.
Hi Al
Very good post buddy, and i highly agree with you on above points these are the characteristic of great leader but fortunately for us (the whole world) none of our politician have it now days
it some times disturb me how our National Father Mahatma Gandhi would have feel about the current state of his beloved country for which he spend half of his life in English prison and finally sacrificed his life for freedom of place you guys know as India
Hi Sunil - it seems like the forefathers of our countries got the principles right, but over time, those principles and values got lost. Sometimes it takes enough people who wants change to gather together and bring it about from the grass roots.
Enough so that these leaders realize that they don’t own the power, but rather it was granted to them by the people. Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better, but I do have faith that the leaders will realize who the true bosses are.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
[…] “Dear Senator McCain and Senator Obama: You are running for a position that we lost faith in.” Al looks at what makes a great leader in his article, Eight Rules of Leadership from George Washington. […]
[…] “Dear Senator McCain and Senator Obama: You are running for a position that we lost faith in.” Al looks at what makes a great leader in his article, Eight Rules of Leadership from George Washington. […]
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Thank you. I was thinking about decorating my blog theme today by having a lot of red, white, and blue color scheme decoration and maybe even change the logo to have a patriotic look to it
Be a visionary is by far my favorite one. It seems like presidents speak like visionaries but sure don’t execute like them. I sure would like someone to get something done.
Isn’t it amazing that Barack Obama does not appear to have any of these traits?
The winner represents the unique spirit of America. E pluribus unum.
And In God We Trust!
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