On Leadership from my viewpoint of being bass ackwards

By Dan Barber

There seems to be a lot of poor management problems throughout our society and government today. The stuff really does roll down hill when it comes to blame and usually sticks to no one who deserves it, but can hit the innocent.

However, those on top of the heap and responsible for the stench will eventually be remembered for the rancid legacy they leave behind.

There are so many of our government leaders and celebrities today who got where they are because of nepotism or the old Faustian tale of selling their soul for fame or fortune. Many times those individuals will eventually have hell to pay when the debt becomes due, we see that in the news all of the time.

When we look to those leaders or celebrities to display any talent to justify their existence in our lives they can disappoint us because they lack the ability to deliver or their soul is actually gone. Throughout my life I have been able to view some political leaders and celebrities from afar and up close. Many times I thought, “Wow, that individual seems to be distracted, afraid, egotistically driven, or just plain absent from the moment.”

Although I have met some really great people who have genuine character and talent.

What can go wrong if we allow people without talent to entertain us, probably nothing because they will eventually just go away? What can go wrong if we trust someone without character who can affect change to our lives without consequences, maybe a horrendous catastrophe?

My view comes from my perspective while serving in the United States Navy, first as an active duty sailor for 20 years, then for another 20 years as a civilian employee with a civilian company for a couple of years.

As an enlisted sailor I was at most a lower-level manager with set but limited responsibilities. If I failed my mission then I would be counseled and any chance of promotion to the next higher pay-grade could be forever be hampered. However, if I worked hard to reestablish my credibility with my chain of command I might be able to reverse my earlier failure. You might think this to be a difficult job, maybe. But it taught me self respect and self discipline. The experience taught me to trust those officers appointed over me… to believe that their mission was my mission. Everyone I worked with had the same set of values.

When I retired from active duty I got a job with a civilian company. I brought my loyalty, skills, self discipline and self respect with me to the job. I contributed a great deal to that company, but alas, 2 years later I was told that they could no longer afford me as a salaried employee with benefits, but asked if I could stay on as a contract employee, in other words doing the same job without having to provide the added cost of the benefits. I declined. I had no need for health care coverage or retirement. I had already earned those from the Navy. I declined because the company didn’t respect me enough to demonstrate loyalty to me. Maybe the company was loosing revenue and needed to cut costs. That would have been understandable, and I would have stayed. But what I witnessed was the boss driving her very expensive luxury car to work every day, leaving the office for expensive hair/makeup/nail appointments and frequently entertaining friends at high-end restaurants. To me that demonstrated character, or lack thereof, after being told the company could no longer afford my services. Perhaps she earned the right to all those things. But the key word here is “earned.” I bade her farewell and good luck.

If I can apply the cliché “hind-sight is always 20-20,” why do we allow history to repeat itself? Is it because we buy into the false charms of the politicians or employers? Is it because we have a short memory? Do we believe that we are immune from past disasters? Or do we put blind trust into people who promise us abstract ideals like hope and change?

When a leader answers a question with the question, “What difference does it make now?” regarding the death of four people who were serving us, the people of the United States, I pay attention, because that is a matter of character.