When thinking about electing a President, what comes to mind are two very important things to know and understand in the personality and ability of the nominee(s). These are:
What kind of ego do they have?
And what type of communicator are they?
It seems like the answers to these two questions would be big determining factors regarding leadership comprehension of the candidate(s). While leadership takes on many roles, and has many dimensions, certainly these two questions, and their answers, play a big part in the role of leadership.
Ego, according to Websters Dictionary, is “a person’s sense of self-esteem, and self-importance.” It goes on to list “conceit, self-image”, and “the part of the mind that mediates between the conscious and the unconscious and is responsible for reality testing and a sense of personal identity.”
Some say ego can be based out of fear, or ‘ego’s responses come out of fear’, and insecurities can affect or influence ego. To quote Rob White, in a 2012 article entitled “The Ego is Made of Fear”: “he / she who acts fearlessly, is acting from authenticity (which is different from the ego).” (Keyword connections: fearlessly and authenticity).
I often think the word vulnerable should come up in any discussion of ego, as I think sometimes people with big ego’s, or high self-importance, don’t necessarily like to be known as vulnerable, in any sense of the word.
So if you have a big ego, are you the type of person who shuns vulnerability, and at any cost, or not?
Regarding the second question of how good is the candidate’s ability to communicate: isn’t being a great communicator important for any world leader?
Not just being a good negotiator, which comes to mind as a very good leadership trait, but being a great communicator, certainly tops the list.
We have had past Presidents who have been called “The Great Communicator” or “The Great Orator”.
But by the word ‘communicator’, I don’t just mean to articulate well, or converse, or express, but to be able to relate to people, and, let’s face it, there is no great communicator who cannot be a great listener as well, and all great communicators must know how to relate to others.
And, relating to others, in the most visceral and second-nature way, takes someone who not only can listen well, understand the detail, and know how to speak in accord with others, but also have an instinctive ability to understand emotions and feelings, as well as intellect, all in addition to knowing vocabulary, terminology and language.
With this in mind, shouldn’t we examine both the ego and the communication skills of each candidate closely, or as closely as we can, as we near the elections, in order to pick our next ‘Leader of the Free World’?