The Trump Phenomenon---He's Got Nerve!

DEMOCRATS SO DESPERATE,  THEY'RE CALLING ON WITCHES  TO HEX TRUMP

WATCHED PART OF TRUMP'S CPAC SPEECH TODAY and it was vintage Trump all the way. He reiterated his agenda.  Then he reiterated it again.

 I keep being struck by what a total phenomenon he is, like nothing I've seen in decades, or even during my entire lifetime.    Right, wrong or somewhere in between, Trump is a true leader by my lights.  What I mean by that is:  he defines himself clearly, he tells us where he stands regardless of his increasingly vociferous detractors, then he lets the chips fall where they may.

A true leader defines, then stands his ground. Expect chaos.  Usually that chaos starts to wane in time.  But even if it doesn't a real leader still stands his ground and holds onto the principles he believes in.

The late leadership coach and former Jewish rabbi Ed Friedman writes in his book on leadership, A Failure of Nerve:

A leader needs the capacity not only to accept the solitariness that comes with the territory, but also to come to love it. These criteria are based on the recognition that  "no good deed goes unpunished",  chronic criticism is, if anything, often a sign that the leader is functioning well!

I couldn't agree more. True leadership begins with leading ourselves, expands into the family and community, then on into the career and business worlds. Most principles of leadership apply across the board, and if you can't define yourself to yourself and know what you're about and not about, you sure can't define yourself to others in a widening sphere.

The more you have a self that is differentiated from the larger,  emotional, political and cultural mass, the more able you are to be a true leader.  Mobs are made up of fused masses of people who can't stand on their own two feet and only get their identities from a group. 

Donald Trump certainly knows where he stands on most issues and doesn't hesitate to let the American people know where that is. Trouble is, a great many Americans have had weak to no leadership in their homes, families and workplaces, so areal  leader like Trump scares the hell out of them. Protests, sabotage and tantrums are to be expected.

Leadership in the age of the quick fix----especially after 8 years of the weak but popular Obama---takes a helluva lot of nerve. Nerve without end. It appears Trump is the right guy for the job.

He's got a lotta nerve. May he live long and prosper. May his leadership make America great again!