Under Pressure

With so many bold promises made on campaign trails, a new administration and congress are finding that leading and getting things done is much harder.  As each week rolls by the path forward and the agenda is becoming more dicer.  The end game is becoming more distant, cutting deals, working across party lines and the ability to build winning coalitions only looks good on paper.  Now that this brand of new leadership or “rubber” has hit the road…stuff is getting really ugly. 

             

Talk is certainly cheap when you can blame others for the mess, but now with the power in hand and the numbers to make something happen… well!  What is the problem now?  To make things more interesting and with future elections looming, countless local constituents have become upset during town halls meetings of elected officials and demanding that their health care and social benefits remain unchanged.   These are certainly hot button issues.  And in the words of the rapper known as Nelly…“it’s getting hot in here.” 

It certainly has been some interesting times lately and we have learned a lot to get us where we are today.  This has included learning several new words and concepts… like… walking things back, fake news, Alt-right, demagogue, deplorables, redacted and unmasked…just to name a few.   I am willing to bet that more is on its way.  So, just keep a pencil or pen and paper available…class is now open.   For people do and say some strange things when they are under pressure. 

Throughout our lives we have all come to believe that leadership matters and for those who aspire to a higher office in public service, our prayers go with you.  Leadership helps to get things done, without question.  We all need great leaders to inspire us, to support and to learn from.  It’s one of the foundations of a great nation, community, business or institution.   And   leadership is also at times without easy answers, setbacks and a loss for words.  But that comes with the job description.  As my mother use to say…“if you can’t stand the heat… get out of the kitchen.”