Larry D. Lauer

Helping leaders with their communication taught me that long-term success requires strong values, earned credibility, genuine substance, and reasonably polished language skills. There are countless examples of leaders of industry, institutions, and nations who eventually failed because they focused primarily on exercising power and building personal wealth.

When it comes to nations, the general public might react indifferently to autocrats for a while. But indifference inevitably turns to fear of social uncertainty, and eventually to anger and rebellion.

With universities, morale and academic progress will plummet, students will demonstrate, and faculties will officially vote no-confidence.

With nonprofits, NGO’s, and associations, professional services will nose-dive… especially when funds raised to advance the cause are diverted to enrich their leaders.

The bottom line is that sustainable leadership must always stem from trustworthy intentions and greater good driven goals. I know this is obvious to many. But today, it clearly isn’t obvious to everyone. And so it’s up to those of us who understand to beat this drum: Human values, consistent honesty, and solid substance, all matter.

By solid substance I don’t mean filling speeches with endless boring facts. Rather, I mean that effective leaders must have the ability to give solid evidence of subject-matter knowledge every time they open their mouth. They must study trends and news events every day to be prepared to handle sudden crises and complicated issues.

On the contrary, honesty and greater good goals are not character features of control-driven, “me-first” leaders. Instead they are preoccupied with a lust for power, ego satisfaction, and personal wealth. They have a predisposition for bragging, bullying, lying, humiliating, abusing, and openly admiring other autocrats and dictators. And in an effort to secure themselves, they will dismantle the very institutions and programs that are essential to social stability. And what’s more, they will appoint oligarchs, loyal cronies, and family members to important positions, and follow that by eliminating those with the courage to speak truth to them.

In the final analysis, people who support autocrats because they see possible benefits for themselves do so at their own peril. The simple truth from history is this: Control-driven ,”me first” leadership will always fail in the end.