What kind of leaders do we want and what kind of leaders do we want to be?
No matter our status, we are both leader and led.
And how we do that matters a lot with respect to the future of our lives and the lives of others.
Currently in American society we have a political candidate who is leading with hate, negativity, and disrespect. This brings us back to times of great despair and violence in our world. How can our country, a country built on "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," entertain an individual who demeans women and people of particular cultures and religion. This goes against everything we stand for as a nation, and it's surprising that people tolerate this in the media, on stage, and elsewhere. We drop to our lowest selves when we condone rhetoric such as this. Further, what message does this send to our youngest citizens?
We can all err when it comes to the need to be positive. It can be difficult to be positive amidst hardship, terror, and despair, but it's imperative that we reach for positivity whenever we can.
It is not so hard to be truthful, and it's our duty to lead with transparency and truth as well as to choose truthful, transparent leaders.
The holidays give all of us a time to lead as we choose gifts, words, events, allegiance, and activity. We lead best by our actions and second best by our words. We can seek ways to promote positive leadership in our lives, homes, community, organizations, states, and country.
Beginning now I will lead in this direction in the following ways. I will speak out against leaders who continue to lead in exclusive, demeaning ways. I will support leaders who lead with positivity, inclusion, truth, creativity, and peace.
In my own life, I'll look for ways to be a positive leader to those I love and those I serve and partner with at my place of work and in the organizations and communities I belong to.
Positivity and truth are gifts we can give to one another as we lead each other forward into 2016. I continue to believe that our world holds tremendous potential for good, and if all of us act and speak up for truth in positive, forward moving ways, our goal of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" will be well served.
