One area I’ve been focused on throughout this Presidential race is the absence of a serious discussion on leadership. For me, and I think for the betterment of the country, what we need now are some of the right questions being asked of all the remaining five candidates. With that in mind, I share what I think they ought to be:
- What is the most significant crisis you’ve dealt with, the role you played, and what was the key lesson you learned?
- In your executive experience, what one mistake have you made that has been most beneficial as a learning lesson?
- What is your approach to putting a team together, and beyond talent, what are you most looking for as you assemble that team?
- What is the toughest decision you’ve had to make? What helped you most? What did you learn?
- What leadership experience can you point to that you are most proud of and why, particularly as it might relate to the challenges ahead for our next President?
Wouldn’t it be refreshing to know more about how they would do the job, how they would actually be able to do all that has been promised, and more importantly, what experience they’ve had that would give us confidence that they could in fact do the job? It is abundantly clear that voters have serious concerns. Why not get beyond the rhetoric and applause lines to some evidence that they could deliver on what they promise? Maybe it comes down to just one question: how are you going to get the job done?
I plan to follow up on this discussion and keep an eye on other forums where these questions could be addressed. It is my hope that each of us, as informed voters, can learn together through this process to select our next President.