Leadership Void

Why there is so much lack of leadership? With 76 million baby boomers it seems that we should have plenty of leaders for getting out of the mess our country is in. The problem is that since the boomer generation there has been very little hardship for Americans. Leadership is a choice and it is developed, forged in the battles of life for life. Our military men know this well. Kudos goes to them for helping to protect our freedoms. The lack of leaders is obvious everywhere we look - in businesses, in education, in churches, in homes, in communities, and above in government; where leadership should be evident by those entrusted with the power to lead. Leadership is simply influence in a positive vision driven direction. When we read American history we learn that giant leaders populated in our land. They made the great nation we became. We are still reaping the rewards from their sweat to build the greatest nation in the world. Have we lost the compass to guide us into a bright future? True leaders have a long term vision, delay gratification and leverage the power of compounding by developing other great leaders, not just followers.

1) Self – The first step is for you to lead you. How can you lead someone else when you cannot lead yourself? We live in a world where the blind is leading the blind. How can someone who is financially broke, deep in debt teach you about personal finance? Complacency and self-interest is not just accepted, it is the norm. It is time to rise above your circumstances and start to take responsibility for your life and the life of those that depend on you. In life a lesson is repeated until a lesson is learned. Be true to yourself. The truth will set you free to help others. Sometime the truth is not easy to swallow and digest, but it is the best thing for your system. No man is free who cannot command himself - Pythagoras

2) Business – The short term focus and lack of vision is now the norm in many businesses. Businesses are failing to develop the next generation of leaders. Companies talk about people being their greatest asset but their actions do not match the fancy words in the annual reports. The information age, the free flow of information is bringing transparency and accountability to business and the inefficiencies are being exposed.

3) Education – America became the best country in the world to train and instruct and one of the worse in educating the next generations of leaders. The classics, the source of a principle based education, have been abandoned for centuries by the great educational institutions that used to provide the leadership kit for the great leaders that built America. Liberalism and relativism became dominant in our Universities.  How good is it to be so technologically advanced if the populous is ignorant and without the basic education principles to live significant lives?

4) Church – Lots of talk and very little action and examples. The focus seems to be on the one at the pulpit doing the talking not on the one that died on the cross for all of us. Most churches became like fast food restaurants; what they are feeding is not nourishing people, it only satisfies them for a brief moment, while they are there. Teach them how to fish not just giving them fried fish with fries. Churches have the duty to make disciples, leaders, servants to those in need. Shepherds, are you creating new shepherds?

5) Home – The industrializing of America sent mom and dad out of the house to work in jobs. The government loved it as it doubled the tax collection base and increased the size of government. Who is disciplining and educating our kids? We became a lost society once we turned our kids to government and expected them to be educated. The teachers don’t have the power to play the role of parents. Parents have the responsibility to educate their children, not the government. I clearly remembered my dad telling the teachers to discipline me when they thought I needed it; and that seemed to be very often. I always had a double dose, in school then at home; always double penance.

6) Community – In most cases the focus has been on attacking the symptoms and not the fixing the problems. For every community problem there is a quick fix that does not fix. A new program is created on top of many already in place. Another non-profit is created because there are still good hearted people that will support the program. Giving and handouts does not solve the many generational problems that exist. A true education is the only solution for all that is plaguing our communities. When leaders emerge, communities can solve their own problems.

7) Government – Special interest groups became the clients of government. Politicians deserve the reputation they have. Government became a necessary evil. Government has not set the example for people to follow, especially when it comes to handling their finances. Imagine you making $23,000 per year; you spend $39,000, you have a credit card debt of $160,000 and a mortgage of $1,100,000. How are you doing financially? Can you get out of your financial mess? This is our federal government when you remove 8 zeros from the numbers to be able to compare with the finances of an individual. How can the government do that? The government can, by asking the Federal Reserve to print currency, fiat money, and then charge interest to loan the money to the government. The Federal Reserve is a private bank, not Federal, and it has no reserves to back up all the fiat money it issues. Pick up a dollar bill and read what it says, Federal Reserve Note. The government financial mess will come to a grinding halt. Are you prepared to take care of your family and those around you in the aftermath of the fiscal cliff?

What is the solution? Have the humility and hunger to learn. Do your part to solve your problems. Plug into the right sources of information and get on the University of Life for life. Read the right books and apply what you learn. Get a mentor, listen and follow his/her council. Admit you; yes you, are the source of your problems. If you do that you will have the power to solve your problems that may have been plaguing you for a long time. Then you can start impacting your family, you community, your state, your country and who knows, maybe the world.

Be blessed and be a blessing to others!

Carlos Fontana, President of Phalanx

Co-author of the book Follow to Lead (The 7 Principles to Being a Great Follower)

Author of the book PRICELESS (Sixty-Six Simple Stories of Reflection, Love, and Legacy)