Character Legitimizes leaders

It is character that gives people a legitimate right to lead others. Leaders without character are “illegal, because they are asking people to place their faith in an untrustworthy source. No one has a right to lead if he cannot be trusted, and it would be inappropriate for him to ask people to follow him. If he does, it’s as if he is running a scam, because con men are individuals who ask people to trust them, even though they will never deliver what people promise, but will, instead, steal something from them. There are many people throughout our world today who are powerful conmen- but they call themselves “leaders”. Is that statement too harsh? I don’t think so, because leaders without character who violate people’s faith inevitable take away some quantity of their valuable personal assets- things like trust, security, peace of mind, and hope. This is why, when people become disappointed over the poor ethical conduct of a leader they have followed, many of them become angry. They take it personally, because they have committed much of themselves to the leader and his vision. The leader’s conduct and its aftereffect constitute a major abuse of the great gifts the people have invested – their time, energy, talents, resources, and commitment – which they have poured out based on their trust. As we have seen, many people today respond to leaders based on what they promise more than on what they value. We need to shift the condition of our support from promises to proven character. The condition should be: “Don’t just tell me what you can do for me – show me who you really are. If you clearly demonstrate that you have character, I will give you my trust.” How about you? When people place their faith I you as a leader, are they relying on a trustworthy source- or an untrustworthy one?