Piercing the Darkness- What Real Leadership Looks Like
If There’s a Modern American President Who Epitomizes the Leadership our Democracy Thirsts for Today, It’s This Man
Light in the Darkness
Former Beatle George Harrison warned us in one of his songs to “Beware of Darkness.”[1] In a week where there has been much news that can be fairly characterized as “darkness” for our democracy, it is easy to miss news that may not at first blush seem not all that important or heartening for us. However, in the scheme of things, and in the context of the current moment, such news is often truly important.
A judge has just released the government’s revised election interference indictment against Donald Trump submitted in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling that the President has unlimited immunity for their official acts. SCOTUS remanded their decision to the district court to determine which of the charges of Trump’s conduct constituted unofficial acts versus official ones.
The revised indictment is damning, clearly laying out in detail how private citizen and presidential candidate Trump hatched, coordinated, and conducted a scheme which was an election interference plan. It was a plan intended for him to stay in power against the will of a majority of American voters who had cast their vote in an overwhelmingly fair and fraud free election in 2020 to elect Trump’s opponent Joe Biden. This is dark stuff, the kind of dark stuff intended to overturn a two hundred plus year old democracy. It came closer to being successful in ending our democracy than many Americans realize.
How can anything possibly pierce this kind of darkness? I would submit to you that one person has done it repeatedly- former President Jimmy Carter. Carter is an exemplary American who just turned one hundred years old. His leadership is a light for American democracy we can take heart in. Jimmy Carter is the antithesis of the type of leadership many today in American politics practice.
Leadership- A Timely Topic
Now one hundred years old, U.S. President Jimmy Carter is now our longest living president. It seems more than appropriate in our current political situation and given that his one hundredth birthday just occurred, to focus on him and his leadership style. Since we are in the final stretches of the 2024 presidential election campaign, it is safe to say that leadership matters. Many Americans would probably agree that when electing a president leadership matters a lot. In our current political environment, leadership matters most. The question becomes, what type of leadership is being offered?
Yet, unless I’ve missed something, in this current presidential campaign I haven’t run across direct discussion of the leadership styles of the presidential candidates (or even if they have a defined leadership style). Come to think of it, in all the presidential campaigns that I can think of since I became legally eligible to vote (and yes, it began in the twentieth century!), I can’t recall where there has been direct discussion of the presidential candidates’ leadership style. Nor can I recall any, or at least memorable and meaningful discussion, of what type of presidential leadership style best serves a representative democracy. Maybe there has been, and if there has been, I’d like to be made aware of it by Democraticus readers. Until then, I remain doubtful.
It’s Timely, But Often Absent from the Public Square
I can recall plenty of discussions about policies, policy issues, slogans, songs, and good old partisan politics during past presidential campaigns. But I don’t recall anyone asking the candidates to describe to the American people what their leadership style is, how they would go about leading, and how their leadership would result in good governance of the nation. Not bad questions to ask someone who would like to be president, don’t you think? Possibly it would enhance Americans’ ability to make better decisions as to who is best suited to occupy the Oval Office and would be a sharp contrast to the typical American electoral decision-making paradigm which too often is, what can Candidate A or B do for me?
Now, before the reader gets too worked up, I need to say that I am very aware that every candidate has their own unique personal qualities, attributes, and idiosyncrasies when it comes to leadership. That said, the question remains, what leadership style and qualities should Americans be looking for within the mega-demanding context of the American presidency in American democracy today when electing a president?
I would submit in answer to that question- take a look at the thirty-nineth president of the United States, James Earl Carter, best known to Americans as Jimmy Carter.
A Life of Service Excellence
Regarding Jimmy Carter, author and journalist Steven Beschloss said it well:
“…In times like these, when we have reason to worry about demagogic, hateful leadership that attracts far too many Americans, it’s a gift to reflect on the humane quality of a man like Jimmy Carter.”[2]
To quote another well-said comment from Beschloss about Jimmy Carter:
At a time when too much of our political sphere is poisoned by cruelty and hate and malignant narcissism—and where too many self-described Christians appear driven by grievance and self-righteous aggression—the good works of Jimmy Carter offer a refreshing antidote and a necessary reminder of the power of humanity.”[3]
Life of Service to Others
But it wasn’t just Carter’s service excellence that is notable. And it was more than just his time in public service as Georgia’s governor and our President. Keep in mind that Jimmy Carter only served one term as president (1977-81), being defeated by Ronald Reagan in 1980. I would submit to the reader that while Carter exhibited a heart of service as president, if the reader really is interested in learning what superb public service looks like, they should examine what Jimmy Carter has done after 1980. It is Carter’s work since he left office that truly defines him for us.
Whether it has been his work with his non-profit Carter Foundation to improve lives by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy and preventing diseases.[4] Or, whether it was his decades long constant participation in building housing for those who most need it through Habitat for Humanity,[5] Jimmy Carter has been defined by service. More specifically, service to and for others.
It's Taken Time for Me to Fully Appreciate Carter’s Service
It’s true confessions time. At the time of the Carter presidency, I was focused mostly on being a fairly new husband and a new father. I remember not being that impressed with Jimmy Carter the President although Carter did have to deal with some difficult situations as President, some of which have been judged fairly critically.
But, if I’m honest in a self-assessment of my knowledge of leadership, I was new to this thing called “leadership” as a young city manager. There was much I didn’t know about it. In fact, looking back there was SO much I didn’t know about leadership in my city manager role, much less about leadership in a role as enormous as that of a U.S. President. It forces me to conclude that I really did not have, until many years later, any sort of a semi-meaningful critical lens through which to make a fair assessment or come to an understanding of Jimmy Carter’s presidency.
According to the official White House web site on the Carter presidency, “Jimmy Carter aspired to make Government “competent and compassionate,” responsive to the American people and their expectations.”[6] There has already been much written both in praise of and critical of the Carter presidency’s accomplishments and its failures. For that reason, I will leave that to others.
To be sure, there were failures during Carter’s presidency.[7] However, even after he left office, he never let those setbacks define him. He moved on to the next opportunity to serve others. Here, given that Mr. Carter has become not only a centenarian, but also our oldest living president, I would like to focus on Mr. Carter’s leadership style. Yes, that leadership style has a name. It is a style of leadership that is sorely missing in much of today’s public sector, especially among elected officials.
The Leadership Style Democracy Craves
That leadership is called servant leadership, something Jimmy Carter modeled for us all. The concept of servant leadership originated with Robert Greenleaf (1904-1990) and has served as groundbreaking, paradigm shifting, and foundational for creating a new, more positive, and enlightened approach to leadership. Servant leadership as a concept adapts into any sector of our world, public or private. And if one wishes to attribute servant leadership to one of the major world religions such as Christianity, one can do that, as it is quite compatible.
However, Greenleaf’s conceptual framework for servant leadership came not from religion, but from his 1958 reading of Hermann Hesse’s Journey to the East, a story of a band on a mythical journey whose central figure is the story of Leo. Leo accompanies the band doing menial chores but sustains them with his “spirit and song.” Leo is a person of extraordinary presence. All goes well until Leo disappears, the group falls into disarray, and the journey is abandoned. They cannot make it without the servant Leo. From this inspiration about leadership in Hesse’s novel, Greenleaf wrote “The Servant as Leader” in 1970 and from there this leadership philosophy has taken hold in leadership writings, lectures, and approaches ever since.[8] To quote Greenleaf:
“The servant-leader is servant first- as Leo was portrayed. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions. The leader-first and servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.”[9] (emphasis mine)
Greenleaf’s servant leadership approach is grounded on twelve characteristics the servant leader should embody to his or her followers. They are:[10]
· Listening
· Empathy
· Healing
· Nurturing the Spirit
· Building Community
· Awareness
· Foresight
· Conceptualization
· Persuasion
· Calling
· Stewardship
· Commitment to the Growth of People
Jimmy Carter- a Servant First, then a Leader
This type of leadership Greenleaf first identified, servant leadership, Jimmy Carter exhibited “to the max.” Carter was there first to serve, then to lead. It was a leadership style dedicated first to serving others, including those you have been chosen to lead. Servant leadership is a leadership style that is not “leader centric,” but instead is “leadership centric.” Believe me, there is a HUGE difference.
But if you don’t believe me, take a look at former president Donald Trump, a man that is a “leader centric leader” to the core. By that, I mean everything, and I mean everything, is all about him and only about him all the time. Everyone and everything in his sphere of influence is peripheral, there only to do his bidding, and if they can’t do the things he demands of them, he jettisons them. There is no commitment to serving others by him as Jimmy Carter exhibited. Instead, it is all about him. Trump sees himself as the “center of the universe,” meaning it is all about him “twenty-four seven, seven days a week.” If you don’t believe me, I challenge you to watch him closely for a week. I doubt one can find a greater contrast to Jimmy Carter in today’s political realm than Donald J. Trump. In Trump’s world, the organization and his followers are only there to serve him. Nothing else matters.
Jimmy Carter’s Leadership Legacy
Compare Trump to Jimmy Carter, a man far more interested in, as my friend Dr. Rick Rigsby likes to say, “making an impact, not just an impression.”[11] And boy, has Jimmy Carter made an impact on his hometown, his state, his nation, and the world in general. According to the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, which is devoted to presidential studies:
“…To many people, Jimmy Carter has provided Americans with an ideal model of post-presidential life. In fact, some consider him to be the nation's greatest former President.”[12] (emphasis mine)
The Miller Center goes on to describe more of Jimmy Carter’s leadership legacy:
“…Carter became a champion of human rights and worked for several charitable causes. To that end, in 1982 Carter founded the Carter Presidential Center at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. The center is devoted to issues relating to democracy and human rights. Additionally, Carter worked with Habitat for Humanity International, an organization that works worldwide to provide housing for underprivileged people. Through such projects, Carter has maintained a high profile; he is often seen on television, helping with Habitat home construction or providing his opinions on the issues of the day.
As a President who was deeply embroiled in foreign crises during his term in office, Carter has taken opportunities to apply his experiences and knowledge on the world stage. Carter has served as a freelance ambassador for a variety of international missions, including soothing disputes between countries, observing elections in nations with histories of fraudulent voting processes, and advising presidents on Middle East issues. He has been involved in mediating disputes between the U.S. State Department and the most volatile of foreign leaders, including Kim Il Sung of North Korea and Muammar Qaddaffi of Libya. In 1994, the former president assisted the U.S. government settle a tension-filled nuclear weapons dispute with North Korea.”[13]
Whew! That’s enough to tire a person out just by reading it! And along the way, Jimmy Carter was recognized in 2002 with a Nobel Peace Prize for “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.”[14]
Taking a Lesson
We all can take a leadership lesson from Jimmy Carter, as well as take this opportunity to wish him a slightly belated happy one hundredth birthday! Our democracy needs more, not less, of servant leaders like Jimmy Carter today. If we did, perhaps we would not be dealing with efforts by some so-called leaders working right now to do away with American democracy. I close with Jimmy’s own words from one of his most famous presidential speeches that seem to apply more today to us than perhaps they did at the time he spoke them to the nation:
“We simply must have faith in each other, faith in our ability to govern ourselves, and faith in the future of this Nation. Restoring that faith and that confidence to America is now the most important task we face. It is a true challenge of this generation of Americans.”[15] (emphasis mine)
These are the words of a true servant leader. Let us take heed of them. Let us accept Jimmy Carter’s challenge to restore our faith and confidence in America, thereby showing the world that we know our nation has its best days before it, not behind it. We need this type of leadership now more than ever.
[1] George Harrison – Beware of Darkness Lyrics | Genius Lyrics
[2] “Happy Birthday, Jimmy Carter, Revisiting the Humanity of the 39th President on his 100th Birthday”, by Steven Beschloss, from “America, America With Steven Beschloss”, October 1, 2024, Copyright 2024 Steven Beschloss.
[3] Happy Birthday, Jimmy Carter, Revisiting the Humanity of the 39th President on his 100th Birthday”, by Steven Beschloss, Ibid.
[4] The Carter Center | Waging Peace, Fighting Disease & Building Hope
[5] Carter Work Project | Carter Work Project (habitat.org)
[6] James Carter | The White House
[7] James Carter | The White House
[8] Robert E. Greenleaf, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_K._Greenleaf
[9] “The Servant as Leader,” by Robert K. Greenleaf, pg. 6, 1970, www.ediguys.net/Robert -K-Greenleaf-The-Servant-as-Leader.pdf
[10] 4th Dimension Leadership: A Radical Strategy for Creating an Authentic Servant Leadership Culture, by Ron Holifield, xxiv, Ibid.
[11] Rick Rigby communications (rickrigsby.com)
[12] Jimmy Carter: Life After the Presidency | Miller Center
[13] Jimmy Carter: Life After the Presidency | Miller Center