When your dad, who happens to be a retired police officer, recommends a book on leadership, it’s a good idea to check it out. In this case, the book is Where Have All the Leaders Gone? by Lee Iacocca.

With firey verbosity, Iacocca takes aim in many directions regarding a lack of leadership in our country today. He especially unloads on the poor leadership he sees in Washington, DC.

I have to say, while I don’t necessarily agree with all of Iaccoca’s politics, he makes some very good points. I don’t think there’s a town on earth that matches DC in how “leaders” forsake leadership for gamesmanship.

Here’s my take on the lack of leadership in DC:

One side of the aisle says “A,” so the other side of the aisle bashes idea “A” and advocates idea “B.” It doesn’t matter how much common sense exists in idea “A” and how much good it will bring. The mere fact that the idea came from the other side of the aisle would validate the other side of the aisle, and we certainly can’t have that!

Iaccoca is right on the money that most of we see in Washington DC is a quagmire of non-leadership. I would add that any leaders in corporate America taking their cues from our country’s politicians are looking for gold where it does not exist. 

A digression from my personal history: I recall a conversation with Roger Hedgecock, the now-popular talk-show host on AM radio who had to resign long ago from his position as Mayor of San Diego. Hedgecock told how that, as a politician, he said whatever he needed to say to the group he was talking to. “If they were writing me a check, I told them what they wanted to hear,” Hedgecock said.

Thankfully, Hedgecock now refers to himself as a “recovering politician.”

But back to Iaccoca’s book and his position on leadership: I really like that he says leaders are made, not born.  I’ll grant that some people have a natural charismatic charm that others seem to follow without question. But when it all boils down, I believe people must learn leadership.  It requires a conscious effort to acquire a well-rounded perspective. It requires balance. It requires the ability to think.

Iaccoca gives credence to this concept with the use of his “Nine C’s” of a leader:

Curiosity, Creativity, Communicate, Character, Courage, Conviction, Charisma, Competency, and Common Sense.

In large part, Iaccoca’s book is a long rant. Read it to see how a leader can get fired up. It may even lead you to take the next step in your own leadership development–and that would be a good thing for anybody. And really, that’s what this book does for me. The former president of Ford and Chrysler doesn’t put too many nuts and bolts of ‘how to’ in this work, but that’s okay. I like how it stirs the pot and gets people to think about leadership.

Thanks, Dad.

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By the way, if you’ve read the book (or even if you haven’t) and want to comment, or if you want to comment on the “Leaders are born, not made” philosophy, just use the “comment” link below:

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