Being an election year, it seems appropriate that I write something about that process. However, I’m not a very political person, and I refuse to engage in Republican/Democrat controversies. It seems more beneficial to ignore the differences in parties and focus on the qualities that make for effective leaders. In a perfect world, what would be the attributes that would make one a “good” leader? It is inherent in any group that there is a leader. An athletic team, a business, a social group, a herd of cows, even — all groups consisting of as few as two members will have a dominant member. Whether elected to that position or simply displaying qualities that others will follow, leaders arise. And what exactly are those qualities from my point of view?

I will limit my comments to human groups since that is the focus of an election year. Two words that immediately come to mind are “nice” and “kind.” These words are closely related and in the sense that I would apply them to leaders is that someone who leads will be good-natured, pleasant, generous, and considerate. And that means of all the others who are led. As we have an extremely large population, with a great deal of diversity, the leader of this country must spend the majority of his/her time in direct contact with all the sections, quadrants, and groups of people all over the country. Not small meetings with carefully selected individuals in an office, but out and about , not talking, but listening. The president is elected to represent all the country, not just a majority, not just supporters, not just the people who give him/her money. Being nice and kind is a 24/7 type of job, but it is essential to any leader worthy of being a leader.

(More to follow)