“I Think You are Great, But That is a Really Dumb Idea”

We All Need Someone Who Can Regularly Tell Us Why We Might Be Wrong

As I have watched the Trump Show these last few days (the photo session with the Pakistan Prime Minister was amazing. I kept checking the TV to see if I had stumbled onto Saturday Night Live), and the Mueller hearings on Wednesday, I was reminded of an old truth that is as powerful today as ever.

If Everyone Agrees with You All the Time, You Need a New Circle of Advisors

Any time a leader surrounds himself or herself with Yes Men, trouble inevitably ensues. We are all human. We don’t always see our own errors in logic or in decisions. For some, this tendency to get lost in our own world is more pronounced. It does appear that Donald Trump and many of his followers live in an alternate universe, in part because they have only themselves and Fox to engage them.

When I was a young military officer, one of the concepts hammered into me was the importance of having people with permission and courage to tell you they think you are wrong. Good leaders take such advice as a gift and do not punish the nay sayer. They actually seek out the doubters. They ask for other views. Sure, no one likes a perpetual critic, but having people around who know that you are open to suggestions and criticisms saves a lot of pain down the road.

I saw the value of this approach more times than I can recall. One application of this approach is to brief two different teams on a project. Tell them what you want accomplished and any limitations or cardinal parameters. Do NOT tell them how to solve the problem or any preferences you might have. Let them sort it out and see what comes up. The leader who lets it be known in advance what results are desired will get their wish granted. But that wish comes at great risk to the mission at hand and at a cost to the integrity that should be instilled in those who work for you.

Anyone Else Have This Problem?

I really don’t think this is just a Republican thing; hubris comes in all directions. But I did notice much of the same thing when I was in the private sector working at times with the Bush administration. A very small group of people made all the decisions and they had zero interest in cautionary tales, warnings, or challenges to their position. A different approach likely would have meant we never would have gone to war in Iraq.

But leaders of all types can easily slip into this model. You start to believe your own press releases about how visionary you are. Before long, it seems that you could get so much more done, if only the rules did not apply to you. This happens with the very rich and the politically powerful all the time. It has always been so. Unfortunately, they are often right – the rules don’t apply to them. Until they do. Then the reckoning is harsh. Ask Mussolini. Ask Jeffrey Epstein.

Many have noted that Trump seems ever more erratic and incoherent in recent months. One reason for that is the absence in his inner circle of people willing to tell him the truth. The last of the adults are gone. This is reinforced by a congressional contingent of his party that permanently checked their values at the door. If someone could tell me what being a Republican means now besides covering for Trump, I would like to hear it. Because I don’t see any other standard at this point. Match this lack with a supremely insecure personality and you have what we see pretty much every day with Mr. Trump.

I have always felt that honest criticisms from subordinates is the highest form of loyalty. Simply backing the boss in all cases takes no thought, no courage, no imagination. Not the description of who I would want around me when the going gets tough. I don’t think I would do well in a Trump cabinet. How about you?

Sooner or Later: Karma, Baby

Mr. Trump has likely already self-destructed by his own words and conduct. Whether it is by impeachment, by defeat at the polls, or by indictment after he leaves office, he will have done himself in. Setting a higher standard for his team and expecting more of himself could have saved him and us a lot of pain.

But that is not the way he thinks, is it? To a certain degree, one can get away with this approach for years in business or in other sectors. But government, with its visibility and built-in checks, tends to catch such mischief sooner or later. It is about to do so again, one way or the other, in the next two years. Let us hope that those who are left standing when this is all over, of any party, are wiser.

Ask not for whom the bell tolls. It tolls…

    Bill Clontz

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