Larry D. Lauer

As I watched the rally in Washington I was mindful of the day John Kennedy pronounced that “the torch has been passed to a new generation.” He realized that both the timing and place were right. It was not so much about his politics. It was about his understanding of communication dynamics.

Readers of this blog know that for many months I have used communication dynamics analysis to assess what has been happening to both political parties and the presidency. In a nutshell, I have had to conclude that political ideology and both parties have lost touch with practical problem-solving, and the presidency is no longer governing from a foundation of basic American values.

It has been perplexing to me to observe how this predicament has been tolerated for so long by so many, and actively exploited for personal gain by others. The lessons of both history and communication warn that such a system will either degenerate into autocracy, or finally be changed by a powerful movement that emerges from widespread frustration and personal fear.

Now we have an uprising of young people. Millions of them. They are a new generation of smart, passionate, articulate, courageous, and new media savvy young people. Tweets will not frighten them! Right now their primary motivation is stopping gun violence. But I could also hear in many of their thoughtful comments an underlying disgust with unresponsive lobbyists and big-donor dominated politicians.

Here is my question: Is there an inspired, informed, and articulate someone out there who can soar above the narrowness of both political parties and give leadership to this incredibly impressive generation?

This weekend we had the kind of mass response and international news-making event in Washington that contains the seeds of a true mass movement. What do you think? Was this the dawn of a new day in America… or just another reality TV show?

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I was planning to offer a new course on the communication dimensions of leadership and wanted to add material on why understanding the impact of media revolutions was especially important today for anyone who aspires to lead. Conveniently, I came upon a brilliant new book on leadership by General Martin Dempsey and Ori Brafman titled, Radical Inclusion, and it happened to contain some compelling new ideas about media.

The media topic is important for leaders for many reasons. The digital revolution is creating a bewildering world of clutter and confusion. Sending out more information is usually only adding to the clutter. Debates today are polarizing more than educating. Television is expanding the leadership advantage of celebrity and entertaining. Repeating lies over and over again is making them sound true. Misusing words is causing them to lose their meaning. Crude language and personal attacks are becoming widely acceptable. And the realization that top experts disagree on most everything is causing average Americans to throw up their hands in confusion.

And just as I was ready to teach my fully revised seminar, the Trump campaign appeared… and the impact of 24/7 news and social media suddenly became much more intense.

Studying the Trump campaign and first year of his presidency was a total immersion in chaos and turmoil. But it helped me see with even more clarity that this digital media revolution is actually creating a new and powerful media “ecosystem,” a system with interacting and interconnecting facts and fictions capable of producing permanent clutter and confusion. As a result the world will never be the same. Leading will be forever changed, And the Dempsey and Brafman book arrived just in time to add very relevant new media insights.

The daily deluge of digital news and social media is actually forming what the Radical Inclusion authors call a permanent  “digital echo,” a state of clutter and confusion that always will be hanging over us. The implications of this for leaders are enormous. “Ways forward” will never again be based on perceived certain truths. That’s because in this digital world there are no reliable truths. As a result, leading may now require imagining and acting out compelling “narratives” more than preparing detailed position papers.

In other words, instead of writing big data-driven strategic plans, to be really effective today aspiring leaders may now need to chart out exciting storyboards and recruit the most talented supporting characters they can find to help tell their stories and act out their dramatic narratives. It’s no longer quiet time in the library. Now, it’s quiet on the set!

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When someone is hired or elected to lead your company, organization or nation what do you expect? Would you hire someone with a record like this?

Past business behavior. Often failed to honor contract labor obligations. Blamed others for his business failures and bankruptcies. Has an overly pompous and self-righteous reputation. Did not always pay back loans. Investigative journalists have written about the criminal and autocratic background of some associates.

Past personal behavior.  A record of numerous sexual harassment and assault charges. Bragged on tape about groping women. Attacks and bullies adversaries. Lies and exaggerates about accomplishments. Always claims that “only I can do it,” rejecting the value of teamwork. Uses “funny names” to intimidate people.

Current leadership behavior. Attacks the press as fake news while generating fake news himself. Uses Tweets to divert attention from serious issues, or to simply create chaos. Agrees to reasonable solutions in meetings and later abruptly changes his mind. Fails to show respect for predecessors and traditional allies. Pulls out of international agreements with no consultation. Arbitrarily ends regulations without regard for the impact on clean air, the environment, or public safety. Makes statements that create divisions. Often sounds racist. Shows no concern for the hostility that his rhetoric encourages. And craves flattery… making himself vulnerable to manipulation by other heads of state.

Morality and the U.S. Constitution. It has been assumed from the very beginning that our nation’s leaders will affirm a belief in individual freedom, equal justice, opportunity for all, and the pursuit of the greater good… and thus will make personal behavior and governance decisions based on those values. No president has been perfect. But this is the measure by which their place in history will always be determined.

The constitution simply puts forth a set of uniquely American values. It certainly never suggests that a president’s ends can justify any means. The “means” are those positive and opportunity enabling spaces where the American dream can come true for everyone. Thus, our country can return to greatness only when those uniquely American values once again shape the means by which it is led.

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Instead of improving our overall ability to better understand each other, the recent 24/7 social media revolution unintentionally created a ripe breeding ground for confusing and often quite hostile political and issue polarization.

It eventually became very clear to me that in this emotionally charged world political ideology actually was contributing very little to serious problem-solving. And it also became clear to me that governing was becoming hopelessly combative. Now it seems that finding reasonable ways forward will require commissioned groups of experienced experts and honest citizens working constructively together.

Obviously, this has not happened. Instead our political system has degenerated into information warfare. As viciously negative advertising and political district gerrymandering became successful in getting people elected, the sad consequence of all this fighting has been the destruction of public trust.

When President Trump established uncompromising expectations related to industrial regulations, climate change, free trade, immigration, tax cuts, the justice system, and traditional institutions of government, he was certain he could dictate it all. And his continuing lies, bullying, personal attacks, war provocations, and admiration of autocrats, are clear examples that he aims to use “by any means necessary” to achieve his ends.

We have also seen this same anything-goes attitude play out in Congress. Extreme House Republicans tried to protect the President from ongoing misbehavior investigations by attacking the integrity of the investigators with a selectively worded and conspiracy-inciting report. House Democrats have now responded with their own selectively worded counter-report. Ends by any means necessary is also now commonplace in Congress.

In the wake of the recent high school shooting in Florida we are seeing the NRA resort to potentially destructive means. They broadened their rhetoric way beyond a rational case for hunting and self-protection to viciously attacking the patriotism of every different-thinking person. If it continues, this level of outright fear-mongering can easily lead to country-wide culture wars… and much worse.

Evangelicals on a bus in Israel were asked why they supported the president. Constant lies and immoral behavior seem contrary to traditional Christian teachings. Their response, however, was that the Bible says Jerusalem should be the capital of Israel and this president is God’s way of bringing that about. As for the president’s character and immoral behavior, Jesus forgives. So ends justify means here as well.

But ends never work out as perpetrators originally imagined. And their means are what become the substance of our everyday lives. Today extremists are appearing everywhere. Most have a fear-mongering purpose. They include Russian agents, racists of all kinds, political extremists, political action committees, and even grassroots patriots with narrow interpretations of the U.S. constitution.

A constant daily diet of  “by any means necessary” has the potential to destroy civic society. If the president and congress would only commission work groups of genuine experts and experienced citizens to find real solutions to real problems we might eventually find a rational way out of some of this mess!

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In our 24/7 emotionally charged media intensive and divisive society, can an increase in violent citizen behavior become encouraged by the tone and style of top leadership?

Here are a few leadership communication dynamics lessons:

Anger begets anger… My rocket is bigger than yours. My military parade is more intimidating than yours. My language is crude and belligerent and you can talk that way too. I can bully people, and watch me to see how to do it. Or, I can threaten violence, and you might be able to justify it sometimes too.

Give yourself some politically neutral space and it becomes pretty clear that mean-spirited behavior can multiply many times over in followers. Call someone an enemy and they will likely become dangerous. Lead with an intolerant personality and you will likely increase intolerance overall.

Lies beget more lies. Cheating begets more cheating. An extravagant leader in lifestyle spending models and encourages that in others. Make promises you can’t deliver on, and your colleagues will too. And all this encourages a preferred social class that squeezes the sense of well-being out of others.

What’s most dangerous is that an arrogant air of superiority in a leader can produce a fantasy movie-like image of an “outlaw (reality show) celebrity.” Those who are moved to model that behavior might seek that same kind of celebrity by attacking violently, or shooting up a school.

More and more and bigger and bigger guns become a part of the culture in a nation growing in intolerant extremes. And that is where outlawing military style automatic weapons in the hands of citizens in no way harms hunting or personal protection, and is therefore not a violation of the second amendment. It is only devastating to the profits of their manufacturers.

On the other hand, tolerance, empathy, and fairness are also contagious qualities of leadership. Why, you ask, would anyone think Oprah would make a good president?  In this climate that’s simple. They think she would be fair, bring people together, surround herself with real professionals, and quickly learn what she does not know about the job. Right now that “trumps” what we have.

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Strategic use of media provides effective tools for finding and communicating an authentic brand identity and clarifying competitive advantage for both institutions and nations. But media tools can also turn rogue and be used to literally destroy the credibility of an opponent. Such unbridled nastiness is currently infecting our political parties, where winning at all cost has become the dominating purpose.

Attacking opponents begins with cherry picking bits and pieces of information specifically to raise questions about an adversary’s integrity. Then endlessly repeating those bits and pieces creates an overall conspiracy aura that begins to sound true… much the same as outright lies begin to sound true in today’s confused world. What’s tragic is that the truly transparent institutions are the ones that make themselves most vulnerable to this kind of cherry picking.

Right now in Washington a group of mean-spirited legislators, obviously concerned about the eventual outcome of an investigation of the president, have constructed a document specifically designed to destroy the credibility of the investigators. Whether or not this is a clever military-style initiative or a totally immoral act depends on where you stand on the issue of “ends justifying means.”

Making matters more dangerous, the most nasty of strategic attackers will poison the situation by adding conspiracy-reinforcing terminology. For example, hearing that a few investigative staffers were meeting after work one current legislative attacker used the term “secret society.” Use of misleading and inflammatory language such as this is the height of strategic “dirty tricks,” and is deceitful and dangerous.

Sadly, average citizens are likely to be seduced by the daily news media input they have chosen. And there are hundreds media platforms today that are not fact checked and have consistent biases. A few may even join in generating fake news because doing so advances their own political agenda or commercial goals.

Finding reliable information in today’s clutter and confusion is all but impossible. It takes time and persistence. Maybe widespread media literacy and civics education in schools and community organizations is necessary to help news consumers read, listen, watch, and form opinions more skillfully. One thing is certain: There is much more clutter and confusion to come.

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