But, none of those reasons involve that person s leadership qualities. In order to willingly accept the direction of another individual, it must feel good to do so. This business of making another person feel good, in the unspectacular course of his daily comings and goings is, in my view, the very essence of leadership. Leaders love people. They expect the best from them.
People respond to such leadership.
I have had the opportunity these last six years to work with two outstanding leaders. Former Governor George Allen and Governor Jim Gilmore possess qualities that instill confidence in the people. When former Governor Allen ran for office in 1993, the cornerstones of his campaign were criminal justice reform, welfare reform, and education reform. You are too young to remember this, but prior to 1994, when a violent criminal was sentenced to serve time in prison, they only served a small portion of their sentence before being eligible for parole. Some of these parolees turned out to be repeat offenders and wound up back in prison, only to be released into the public to again commit more crimes.