How Washington Confuses Bravado with Leadership & Growing a Pair

I rarely allow a guest blog. It takes a special person with a true understanding of my point of view for me to consider it. Randy Pennington is one of these people. Randy is one of my best friends. He is also one of the best writers I know about business, leadership and change. His newest book, Make Change Work, is a MUST-READ for everyone. And he has a great grasp of what is going on in our country. I know you will enjoy this blog from Randy. If you do, follow him and hear what he has to say every week. 

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How Washington Confuses Bravado with Leadership & Growing a Pair
by: Randy Pennington

Senator Susan Collins, a moderate Republican from Maine, has one of the biggest pairs in Washington.

Collins understands that pandering to your base is not the same as leadership. She knows that doing what’s right is much more important than telling the world that you are right.

And here’s the thing: Collins is likely to be maligned by the leaders in both parties.

The Democrats don’t want to join her. They believe that they have the Republicans on the ropes. That is why they have suddenly decided that we need to increase spending not hold it in check.

The Republicans will not join her – at least those who drank the Ted Cruz Kool-Aid or fear a Tea Party challenge in the next primary. They see her pragmatism as a weakness.

Yes, growing a pair means standing up for your principles. Cruz and his Tea Party colleagues have done that. So have the President and Harry Reid. Great, you have made your point.

Now is the time to embrace that growing a pair also means having the courage to do what is right even when it is inconvenient and unpleasant.

And while I’m at it, it is time for the political pundits and radio hosts on both sides of this argument to grow a pair, too.

The idea that we will stop paying all of our bills on October 17 is ludicrous. So is the idea that we can indefinitely pay the interest on our loans without a rise in the debt ceiling.  Cash flow is not an exact science for the government any more than it is for the average person who hopes that a deposit will hit the bank before a check clears.

But make no mistake. There will be a huge crisis if the world sees the United States continue to confuse partisanship with leadership.

For some reason, there is a large percentage of the American public who believe that everything they hear on talk radio is a fact. They somehow disregard the reality that you are paid to find something controversial to say. I suspect that many of these are the same people who believe professional wrestling is real and the rest of the world is fake.

It is time for talk radio to grow a pair and use your immense collective voice to promote sanity and responsibility in leadership.

Pandering and bravado aren’t leadership. Brinksmanship is a lousy long-term negotiating strategy. Elected officials were sent there to govern not grandstand. Growing a pair is doing what is right and realizing that you can’t always get your way. It is time that you watched Senator Susan Collins and the other grownups in the room to learn what that looks like.

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Randy Pennington is author of Make Change Work: Staying Nimble, Relevant, and Engaged in a World of Constant Change (Wiley, 2013). He writes, speaks, and consults about leadership and business. Connect with Randy at Facebook, Twitter, or on the Internet at http://www.penningtongroup.com.