Donald Trump is a great leader. There, I’ve said it. There’s usually only 2 reactions from a statement like this.
1. You’re absolutely right
or
2. You’re absolutely off your ******** head
Which camp do I fall into, you’re wondering? You’re probably thinking if he’s written it he must believe it. If you’re so intrigued to know this without reading this whole article the answer is at the end of the article. However, you won’t understand the answer without reading the whole article so please resist the temptation and persevere. You won’t be disappointed.
Let’s look at a definition of leadership. My trusty Collins English dictionary has 1764 pages of wisdom and knowledge and it defines a leader as; ‘A person who rules, guides or inspires others’. This guides my initial statement. Donald J Trump is a great leader. OK, I missed the J in the initial statement but even adding it to this blog gives it a deeper dimension. Why? Because even the inclusion of this letter in his name has produced as much debate as some of his policies during the 2016 US presidential contest. I even reference the date because you might be reading this some time (years even) after his fight to become the most powerful human in the world in 2016. No need because I don’t think there’s a person on this planet will not be able to date the year he won the right to become a candidate in the election.
So by even the fact of being nominated by his party gives him the right to be defined as a leader.
Let’s go back to my initial definition ‘A person who rules, guides or inspires others’. I would doubt that anyone could dispute that he hasn’t inspired millions of people to vote for him. My definition is absolute because I doubt you can think of anyone in your life who has galvanized so many people to follow a cause with such a high state of emotional devotion without actually calling herself or himself a cult leader.
Hold on, didn’t Barack Obama do that same thing in 2008 so the same assertion could be thrown in his direction.
The key question isn’t whether you follow Donald J Trump or Despise Donald J Trump, it’s how he has managed to do it. How do you lead a nation? How do you inspire such unbending loyalty?
If you manage a team of people you’re probably asking yourself that question every day. How can I motivate them to do better? How can I get them to respect me and the follow me? How can I guide them to do better? Simple, go back to the definition ‘A person who rules, guides or inspires others’. A guide is someone who can lead an individual or group to a desired destination. What Donald has done magnificently is to identify (or politically create, as some cynics might say) a place where millions of people think they don’t want to be and has promised to take them to the destination they crave. They follow him. It matters not if the basis of your message is positive or negative, in despair we citizens will always follow unquestionably a leader out of a burning building.
Back to good old Collins; it defines the verb inspire as ‘to exert a stimulating or beneficial effect upon a person’.
Got you thinking, I bet. Donald has done what we all wish to do, he has:
1. Defined the goal or target and outlined its benefits
2. Given us the plan to get there
But some of you are thinking, it’s illogical, irrational and downright stupid to follow his plan but it doesn’t matter what you think. It’s what works that makes a person a leader.
It’s simple and in its simplicity is also its power. If you wish to lead others following these two basic principles will always get you there.
Any potential leaders our there? Ask yourself these questions:
· What meaningful targets have I set for my team?
· What goals and objectives are my team currently following?
· What targets exist that inspire them as a group or individuals within the group?
· What’s my plan to get us there?
· Are all team members clear about their part in the plan?
By the way, we fulfill our part of the definition: ‘A person who rules, guides or inspires others’ because by voting for Donald J we give him the right to rule us.
Any great leader knows the key to ruling others only exists with the consent of the majority. Donald knows this so back to my original statement…………..
