The Leaders that We Have Been Waiting For

Many of us yearn for a romanticized version of a leader – an idealized leader shaped by stories in books and films.  Every generation has had them.  In my youth in the 50’s, it was John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Gregory Peck and so on.  For my son growing up, it was Hans Solo and Luke Skywalker in Star Wars and Sigourney Weaver in Alien.  Think back to your youth and recall the movies that were influential and the leader/hero that you admired.

In the movies, as the events unfold, the hero faces difficulties and monumental problems but rises to the challenge and prevails.  These archetypal stories illuminate how the great ones (leaders) know exactly what to do when things are out of control.  These colorful leaders helped us conquer our fears and showed us how to magically turn potential tragedy into a good ending, even against great odds.

Today, as one scans the web, TV, and newspapers, we see massive chaos.  There are many supposed leaders who appear to be running in all directions.  More often than not, we see people acting angry, cynical, violent and abusive, not to mention the extreme polarized mindset that divides us by competing values.

We are confused and distrustful about who can offer the answer or speaks the truth about the current state of events that overwhelm us.  There are many self-promoting groups that suggest they have the answer or promote their leader who supposedly does.

For the most part, all of us are searching for a reliable source of knowledge, a voice of reason, or a savior.  At the very least, we will settle for leaders who are credible.  We are quick to anoint leaders only to find that they are not as perfect as we expected.

We yearn for a leader who is just like us – someone who shares our values and believes in those principles that we deem sacred.  When they fall on their face, we are disappointed and wonder how we failed to notice their character flaws.

This is a time when many of us are questioning our leaders.  Whether it’s the president of the United States, our CEOs, executive directors, teachers, politicians, coaches, the parish priest, or athletes.  We scrutinize and question deeply because not only do we want our leaders to meet our standards, we want them to exceed our expectations.

So it beckons the question – if we have such high standards for our leaders and we continue to be disappointed, why don’t we become the leaders that we have been waiting for?

The Hopi saying, “we are the leaders that we’ve been waiting for” is incredibly relevant at the present time.  The chaos and fear of unpredictable change places a great demand on perfection in our leaders.  It is virtually impossible to find a leader that will satisfy all our needs.  So I suggest that if it is our needs we want addressed, such as our family’s welfare or the economic stability of our friends, then it is time for us to gather and use our collective power to fulfill our needs, interests, and create necessary and meaningful change.

It is not a bold concept to think that we can assume leadership and meet our own needs.  It is something that our ancestors have done many times in the past.  But, somewhere along the line, we have acquiesced and given our leadership away.  We have become resigned and relinquished our aspirations for ourselves and our community.  For example, if we want our schools to be better, then we need to collaborate with educators and other parents to help teachers and administrators improve, become more transparent, and truly work as partners.

It is time for us to be the leaders that we have been waiting for.  It is time for us to band together to work through our differences and begin to talk about who we are as people beyond the labels that are so convenient.  It is time for us to question what is important and how we want to live a meaningful life.

As we have learned from recent disasters, when events turn our world upside down, help is not always readily available.  But when we read about the communities that came together, took control, and worked towards solving their problems, we were reminded of the power of leadership and community collaboration.

If we want our lives to be different then we must assume leadership individually and collectively to create meaningful change.  This applies to the communities that we live in and the organizations where we work.  There is no one leader who can do it.  It is up to all of us to create the world in which we want to live.  After all, we are the leaders that we have been waiting for.