Blake Shuart: Let’s define expectations of our leaders

Now, more than ever, it is incumbent upon all of us to pause for a moment and reassess the way we’re consuming leadership in this country. We’ve been cheated, lied to, embarrassed, let down and tossed aside by our elected officials – year after year, cycle after cycle. We stomp our feet and curse the system whenever it happens, but when the next election rolls around, we fall back into the same old bad habits.

We participate in the political system, but we fail to define our expectations. We’re so sure we’re about to lose that we lose sight of what a win should look like. With no established goals or markers for success in place, we again fall victim to agenda-driven leadership. When the smoke clears, agendas will be the end of us.

Businesses who manufacture products in this country are killing themselves to outdo each other in the free marketplace, because we are outstanding product consumers. We are careful stewards of the dollar, and when initiate a transaction, our expectations for the product are well-defined. Imagine if this were not the case, and we instead purchased products without a marker for quality. The agenda of the business – making money – would still be clear. But without a marker, the business would be free to pursue its agenda vigorously and without fear of recourse by the consumer. The consumers would lose every transaction, and the money hungry businesses would keep churning out lackluster products.

Politicians have one clear agenda: winning elections and staying in office. Running parallel to this agenda is a desire to serve the special interests that make victory possible. Sure, it’s a bonus if they can help make our lives better along the way, and some of our elected officials even take this secondary goal seriously. But their primary agenda is getting elected and staying elected by supporting the powerful donors who finance the bulk of their campaigns.

But these politicians ultimately need our votes. It’s time we consumers set some quality markers. It’s time we define our expectations. We have seen plenty of losses, but it’s time we visualize some wins.

There are three key traits that we should demand in every officeholder: competence, charisma and honesty. What good is an enticing platform without these three traits? Anyone can print a list of goals on a campaign ad, but without the honest intent to follow through, the competence to do so, and the charisma to make others believe, these goals are meaningless. How many of our current officeholders possess all three of these traits?

We debate policy ad nauseum in America. We are also bitterly partisan and unflinching in our core values and beliefs, but we’re willing to take a flyer on just about anyone who can talk the talk. The result is a country filled with sedentary, docile politicians, where we stare at the television and mutter to ourselves, “Maybe Oprah should run.”

If we want to win as consumers of leadership, we must define our expectations ahead of time and select candidates with the qualities needed to deliver. We’ve lost for long enough.

This story was originally published January 15, 2018 at 4:52 AM with the headline "Blake Shuart: Let’s define expectations of our leaders."