Fresh Politics: Intelligence, Authority, and Instinct
The Underlying Truth about the Presidential Leadership
Philippe de L. Pierre-Paul
Issue date: 11/21/08 Section: Opinion
Barack Obama was elected into office two weeks ago and reports of his post-election decisions quickly followed. In recent news, President-elect Obama met with President Bush, declined an invitation by the G20, and appointed an array of new staff members. Furthermore, some journalists have gone nearly to left field to report on the implications posed by Obama's clothing. It is difficult to remain focused on key issues with these few examples of the Obama craze sweeping the nation. As a disclaimer, this analysis will not entertain the outrageous Obama reports. Instead, it is concerned with the criterion that defines a leader. More importantly, what Obama's cabinet picks reveal about his leadership. Whereas some argue that President-elect Obama's appointees give a minor preview into his presidential course, others argue that the cabinet is insignificant; solely a spoils system. My own view is that Obama's new cabinet highlights that the differentiating test of leadership pertains to human judgment.
This view is best understood with the knowledge of leadership qualities. Arguably, in consideration of a true leader, sound judgment is not the only qualification. As an illustration, Charles de Gaulle, in The Edge of the Sword, writes that a successful leader needs intelligence, authority, and instinct. In other words, intelligence is the leader's knowledge of the subject, authority is the leader's ability to persuade others to follow a specific path, and instinct is the leader's ability to judge what lies ahead. Accordingly, the struggle is finding the balance between these qualities. Here one may easily consider intelligence as the most important, as many Americans do. But the reality is that sites like Google and Wikipedia make information so abundant that anyone can become an expert.
So what about authority? Well, a large group of supporters is very impressive, but without direction they stand useless. Finally, that leaves instinct to be winner. A leader's "gut feeling" or "sense of reality" is most important because it is the unique factor that is different among each individual. Obama's cabinet picks are a case in point because they score Obama's judgment after the facts are presented.
This view is best understood with the knowledge of leadership qualities. Arguably, in consideration of a true leader, sound judgment is not the only qualification. As an illustration, Charles de Gaulle, in The Edge of the Sword, writes that a successful leader needs intelligence, authority, and instinct. In other words, intelligence is the leader's knowledge of the subject, authority is the leader's ability to persuade others to follow a specific path, and instinct is the leader's ability to judge what lies ahead. Accordingly, the struggle is finding the balance between these qualities. Here one may easily consider intelligence as the most important, as many Americans do. But the reality is that sites like Google and Wikipedia make information so abundant that anyone can become an expert.
So what about authority? Well, a large group of supporters is very impressive, but without direction they stand useless. Finally, that leaves instinct to be winner. A leader's "gut feeling" or "sense of reality" is most important because it is the unique factor that is different among each individual. Obama's cabinet picks are a case in point because they score Obama's judgment after the facts are presented.