With the anniversary of 9/11 today I was remembering afresh the shock, devastation, and vulnerability that was shared by so many. At the same time, I was reminded of President Bush. The events surrounding 9/11 served to show some very important leadership characteristics from the president. He was strong, decisive, clear, passionate, sympathetic, and believable. He led with conviction and courage.
You may not be fan of George W. Bush, and certainly he had his issues, however, he did lead with conviction and courage.
(1/2) Bush to VP: "We're at war…We're going to take care of this. When we find out who did this, they're not going 2like me as President."
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) September 11, 2014
Perhaps this point is more clear in my mind after listening to the chatter surrounding what President Obama is going to do about ISIS. The criticism has been that the president has been anything but clear and courageous. People claim that the mixed signals and qualified speech depict us (and the President) as weak and passive.
I contrast these two periods not so much to make a political but a general point about leadership. Leaders must lead with conviction and courage, speaking clearly about what they are going to do. This is true at any level, whether leading two people or two million, because there will always be opposition and a need to make a decision. At the end of the day the leader must lead.
Amid the horrible images and memories of 9/11 let us not forget that a bold leader emerged to rally a nation that was greatly wounded. My prayer is for the current leader, that he too would lead with conviction and courage.
