Breathe
By María Fernanda Cobo M.
Leadership is exercised from the State, from national, state and municipal governments, from companies, from trade associations, from academic institutions, from civil society organizations; in every community and even in every home. The scarcity of leaders in our political reality is a clear sign of the leadership crisis we are experiencing in every dimension of our civic life. Aspiring to an effective and transforming leadership represents a social ambition that cannot surrender to resignation or indifference.
Henry Kissinger, in his book Leadership, helps us to understand the axes of this transforming power, which is independent of the political system in which it is exercised. He explains that the vital attributes that a leader needs are the courage and character to establish a strategy and make decisions; the didactic ability to communicate objectives, mitigate doubts and mobilize support; and to surround himself with a dynamic team that is the visible complement of his inner vitality, because his leadership can be magnified or weakened by the qualities of those around him. Good leaders awaken in citizens the desire to walk together.
Through a careful selection, Kissinger identifies six leaders who stand out in history for turning their strategic leadership into a state ambition. Of Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1963, he highlights his strategy of humility, in which he accepted limitations on sovereignty as the only effective guarantee for maintaining peace and promoting Germany's reintegration into the international community. Of Charles de Gaulle, President of France from 1959 to 1969, his strategy of will, which appeals to national unity to legitimize the renewal and independence of a Republic; of Richard Nixon, President of the United States from 1969 to 1974, his strategy of balance, which promotes, based on the national interest, the peaceful coexistence of nations through a policy of détente focused on reducing the risks of confrontation. Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt from 1970 to 1981, highlights the strategy of transcendence, turning peace into a bold practical aspiration to achieve regional unity. Lee Kuan Yew, Prime Minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990, highlights the strategy of excellence, which turned the national interest of achieving economic viability and security into the origin of a modern state based on pragmatic excellence, evolving from economic and technological progress to democratic and humanistic strengthening. Of Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, her strategy of conviction stands out, in which her ideological determination turned inflation into a threat to the national interest and on which she based her reformist drive.
Humility, will, balance, transcendence, excellence and conviction are skills that inspire us as citizens to exercise a civic leadership capable of demanding the enhancement of an authentic leadership that today is dwarfed.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
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