Leadership Lessons - how not to do things!

This seems like the good day for another 'leadership lessons' post, for tomorrow is the day when the 47th President of the USA is inaugurated. As the incumbent of this position becomes the most powerful person on the planet, and is known as 'the leader of the free world', there must be something we can learn from their leadership, right?

So, why don't we analyse Donald J. Trump by focusing on the characteristics of what I term as a 'cultivational leader' to see to what extent that he possesses them?

Let's start with 'empathy'. A cultivational leader needs to demonstrate empathy for others, so can we identify episodes where Trump has shown this? Two examples come immediately to mind; the first was during a rally in 2015, where he was accused of mocking a physically disabled journalist. This reporting was sadly inaccurate as he was in fact showing so much empathy with the individual concerned that he was attempting to inhabit the man's body and experience life as he experienced it. Doing 'the voice' was not an act of ridicule in the same way that unpleasant boys in the 80s did a 'Joey Deacon' impression, it was an act of utmost empathy.

The second instance where Trump showed his empathetic side was when he donated pallet loads of branded 'Trump Water' to the victims of a train derailment in Ohio in 2023. This was not, as many suspected, an example of Trump making an event all about him and turning it into an opportunity to shill one of his many products, but simply that he empathised so much with the people affected that he wanted them to have the best water available. Incidentally, the brand of water he was giving away was the second attempt he had at marketing bottled water; the first was known as 'Trump Ice' and was discontinued in 2010.

So, Trump clearly has empathy in bucket-loads, lets therefore move on to the second characteristic of a cultivational leader. How does Trump stand when it comes to trusting others to do their roles?

Well, judging by the current batch of potential middle-managers who have been grilled by the senate after Trump has recommended them for important roles in his government, he has based all of his nominations purely on trust, as they have clearly not been made with any awareness of whether individuals can actually do the jobs he wants them to do.

This trust in others continues to be evident if they make what he feels are mistakes in their role. A cultivational leader accepts that others will make mistakes and does not reprimand them for such. Trump's record in this area speaks for itself. I am sure that he was only joking when he made these comments about ex-members of his staff who he felt had not achieved their potential in the role:

• Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions - "mentally retarded"
• Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson - "dumb as a rock"
• Former National Security Advisor John Bolton - "a moron"

Tellingly, when asked if on reflection he had made any mistakes in his first term as president, Trump was only able to talk about appointing the wrong people, firmly laying the blame with his ex-employees, rather than accepting any responsibility himself.

So, we are 2 for 2 so far, and Trump is beginning to look like a candidate for the 'the best cultivational leader' (he would love that one), so lets move on to the third characteristic, realism.

This is an easy one, as Trump's campaigning for his second term as president included lots of realistic statements such as the one about ending the Ukraine war in a day, as well as promising to bring down grocery prices and provide big tax cuts for all Americans. The fact that many, many more qualified people have stated that these promises are not deliverable in any time frame is simply irrelevant as they don't possess the vision of the incoming president.

We're half way now, just three characteristics to go. For 'determination' lets look at Trump's history as a businessman, after all it is that history that many Americans believe is going to 'Make America Great Again'. Businessmen have to show determination in order to succeed, as starting out with a new business is fraught with danger for any entrepreneur. The fact that his companies have filed for bankruptcy six times simply shows his determination to dust himself off, pick himself up, and start again when the going gets tough. The number increases when we add in companies that licence agreements with Trump, such as Trump Vodka and Trump Steaks.

Being 'relational' is our next characteristic. Although my use of the word focuses on the importance of relationships in a successful organisation, Trump has taken things in a different direction in the past by appointing several of his close relatives to important positions in government. Going back to a previous point, this also demonstrates a high level of trust in these individuals, as they had neither experience or obvious potential to do the job well.

Just one characteristic to look at before we can call Trump not only a cultivational leader, but the best example of one that there is. Patience is clearly a strength of Donald's and reports of his short attention span and temper are purely down to the incredible intellect he possesses, one which those working with him simply cannot keep up with.

So, I believe that is a full house! Congratulations President Trump and here's to another four years.

Just before ending this post, as an unconnected point, I was thinking about a teacher I used to work with who had a real problem with sarcasm. They knew that they had an issue, and to try and remedy it they kept a jar in their classroom which they added a marble to every time they used sarcasm on the children. When the jar was full the children would get a treat. After a while, the word 'marble' came to mean 'sarcasm alert', and although I have not worked with this person for a while, that word always pops into my head when I come across sarcasm.

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Marble