Hold Your Leaders, and Yourself, Accountable
I’ve noticed something over the years about how we select our political leaders. It’s that we seldom seem to select our leaders based on the sum of their various traits.
For example, we can judge a potential leader based on their personal commitments to integrity, accountability, and transparency. And we can look at a potential leader’s ability to reason critically, communicate clearly, and make difficult decisions in a consistent manner. Likewise, we can judge them based on the degree to which we think they’ll command respect on the national and global stages, cause our opponents and competitors to think twice before provoking us, and stand up for our own interests, values and, beliefs.
But, sadly, it’s not commonplace for people to consider all – or even a wide range – of these factors at the same time when establishing preferences or making choices. We are well known for our ability to simplify things, often to a fault.
So, when it comes to selecting our representatives and leaders, we might look only at how they make us feel while they are campaigning for our support. Or we might simply prefer a candidate because they come from a particular political party, even if we haven’t really stopped to think for a good long while about what that party stands for. Worse, we may prefer a candidate simply because they are a man or a woman, or if we think they “look the part”.
As a scholar of judgment and decision-making, I wish we didn’t do this. In my humble opinion, there are few things more important than the decisions we make about who we choose to represent and speak for us nationally and internationally. I think we should take these choices very, very seriously. Alas, when it comes to politics, we don’t always get what we want.
That being said, if you’re among the small number people to take a few minutes to visit this website now and again, please allow me to try and convince you that all is not lost, even after an election has come and gone.
Start by asking yourself if the people who represent you understand and are responding to what concerns you. Serving you is why they were supposed to run for office in the first place. If they’re not doing it, you should be asking why.
Then ask if they are working within the constraints and norms that govern their position. And if they’re pushing against those constraints and norms, have they made a clear case for why they are doing it? In this neck of the woods, our leaders are supposed to be representatives, not monarchs.
Next, are the people who represent you able to articulate a clear set of goals and objectives that underpin their actions, complete with sensible performance indicators for them? Objectives and performance indicators are like a compass. Without them, there’s no way to know where we are going, why, and if we got there. Simply put, leadership shouldn’t meander or feel random.
Related, a leader’s objectives should inform their proposed policies and actions. Whether they are planning to build something, change something, or cut something, their proposed actions should match neatly with their stated objectives. If they don’t, there’s a good chance that whatever they are doing is in response to something they (a) haven’t thought enough about, or (b) are hiding from you.
Finally, are the people who represent you making tradeoffs in manner that seems justifiable? Tradeoffs take many forms. They could be about which problems to prioritize and which ones to put off until later. Or they could be about which objectives are going to guide their actions, even if that means they won’t be able to address other objectives that also deserve attention. For me, the ability to make and explain difficult tradeoffs is perhaps the most important trait of an effective leader.
If you find yourself answering ‘no’ to some, or worse, all of these questions, you can do something about it.
Start by talking and listening to your neighbors to reality check what you’re observing. And really talk and listen; don’t just type into your phone. Also be brave by not just talking and listening to people who think like you, or who believe what you believe. You’re not doing yourself any favors if all you do is yell into the echo chamber that is social media.
Then, get in touch with your elected representatives. Even if you didn’t vote for them, they are obliged to hear you out. And, unlike most of us, they can directly influence the political process in the here and now. You can find out how to contact your member of the House of Representatives here. And you can find out how to contact your U.S. Senator here.
Finally, the next time an election rolls around, be ready and willing to look to someone else for leadership. A preference for a particular leader at a given point in time isn’t a contract for life. You’re free to change your mind. Indeed, it’s this ability to learn and grow and change is what defines us as human.
You owe it to yourself to never forget that.
Don’t let our elected leaders forget it either.
