What constitutes “Legitimate Leadership”?

This may be the most controversial blog I have written to date but this is NOT an intentionally political submission. I will always attempt to honor the primary focus of this blog which is leadership development and personal effectiveness but with the death of Fidel Castro, it has me thinking out loud about the age-old debate among leadership thinkers about what constitutes “legitimate leadership”?

First, and I want to make this perfectly clear. Whatever you believe constitutes legitimate economic/political system then that as your opinion and I will not criticize it. Quite frankly there has been far too much “political shaming” recently and I am not going to play!

To begin and to be fair, the Batista regime that ruled Cuba prior to Castro’s rise was no prize. It was corrupt and had its own abuses that caused misery to many. With that being said, however, the harsh facts are that Castro became a brutal dictator in every sense of the word. According to Amnesty International that tracks human rights abuses. Castro and his brother along with their associates are responsible for the imprisonment, torture, and murder of thousands of Cuban people whose only crime was disagreeing with them. These brave individuals are often referred to as “Prisoners of Conscience” and this practice continues to this day. Further, living in South Florida, I have heard story after story from families whose relations were forced to surrender their homes and all their possessions before they were allowed to leave Cuba. Those without means who want to escape were forced to do so on anything that would float to cross the Florida Straights to reach America.

But the fundamental question remains, are dictators leaders? In other words, is dictatorship a legitimate form of leadership? I once had the opportunity to hear a faculty member from the prestigious Jepson School of Leadership at the University of Richmond speak to the very issue. His classic example was on Adolf Hitler. Like Castro, Hitler provided many social supports in Nazi Germany. Similarly, both men were larger than life and were fiery speakers. To some they even deserved celebrity status but in my last blog I warned against confusing celebrity about ability, or in this case, humanity.

In final analysis, however, there is nothing to respect or emulate in their example. You see the faculty member’s conclusion was that leadership carries a moral imperative and I agree. True leaders understand that the means never justify the ends. They understand that people and their freedoms should be paramount. Therefore, it is my belief dictators are not leaders, they are dictators.

In his address to the United Nations, leadership expert and author John Maxwell shared the rubric to the assembly what would reveal any leader of principal or a legitimate leader if they could answer the following in the affirmative.

• Can I trust you?
• Do you care for me?
• Can you help me?

So, what are we to do? Those of you who lead others from wherever you are? I would encourage you to do something! Be worthy of trust . . . care . . . help!

As always if I can help you and the people you associate with Get Better, Be Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD, I would invite you to email me or to visit my website below and see if any of the training or coaching experiences I offer can provide an impact! Also, as a bonus, if you go to my Out Loud Strategies website (www.outloudinc.com) and enter your contact information, I will send you a FREE guide to establishing a mentoring initiative program in your organization! Such an initiative would be critical to add value to your organization!

Yours in Leadership,

Bill Faulkner

Principal Consultant – Out Loud Strategies

Independent Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team ^TM

Email = bill@outloudinc.com

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