Principled Leadership

The other day I spoke on Partisanship and how it relates to principled leadership. My wife told me that I neglected to discuss principled leadership in sufficient depth. So tonight we return to the topic.

Principled Leadership is a rare and precious thing. It requires three elements. A principled leader is one who knows what they believe, lives what they believe, and invites others to live as they do.

Some people go all their lives and never take the time to figure out what they believe. It is easy to accept that whatever your parents raised you to believe is right. It is also easy to seek out friends that think the same and leaders that tell you that you are right. I heard a comedian the other day say that "the rest of the world thinks that our president is the devil...and most of us would agree". (Gabriel Iglesias) It takes no real moral fortitude to stand up in front of an angry mob and yell "Yup. You're totally right. Let's get 'em!". Going along to get along is the easiest thing in the world, except that you often have to sacrifice principle to do so.

Moral equivocation is the cost of appeasement. If you wonder whether you truly believe something, ask yourself if you are living that principle now. You don't truly believe in being debt free if you are living an in-debt lifestyle. If you are living that principle, then ask yourself how you would react if that belief was challenged by a love one. You might think that you truly believe in fidelity in marriage. You might preach or teach that principle. But if you allow lust into your mind and heart, then you have already contradicted yourself. You have to live by principle in order to lead by principle.

If you wish to lead by principle, and you are currently living those principles, then your job becomes much easier. You set your personal course by the compass you've chosen and invite those you speak with to join you. Moral certitude is fountain from which all righteous authority flows, both secular and spiritual. "The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and they scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever." (D&C 121:46)

The Savior was the greatest example of a principled leader the world has ever seen. In every way he exemplified correct principles and invited us to live as he did. Now, for myself, I know I am not perfect. My wife and I have made foolish decisions in the past. But we have discovered some of our true priorities (the hard way). One of those priorities, as I have mentioned, is to live debt free. In these uncertain times, we feel it very important to get our family on solid ground. We are working to get our lives in line with the principles we have chosen. We hope to eventually be a positive example to those around us.

May God bless us all in these perilous times.