What is a leader? by Hollie Davis

Depending on who you ask leadership can be simply the ability to get people to follow you. No I would argue that’s a dictatorship. I think the question at the beginning of this post is way to simplistic. We need to ask: What makes a good leader? I mean really what IS the difference between Barack Obama and Saddam Hussein? What is the difference between Winston Churchill and Adolph Hitler? I mean after all they have the ability to get people to follow them. There is an undeniable consensus that one of these leaders of each comparison is vastly better for the people in who they lead. In this short post I seek to explore the relationship in which the public servant and the public is healthy for each party. 

"the best argument against democracy is a 5 minute conversation with the average voter"
-Winston Churchill 
Agree or disagree 






This was the most revealing to me among my facebook posts. My friend Juras offered the idea that a leader is only as competent, educated, and inspiring as the people who put them in power. However my friend Gaerin would offer this as challenge to Mr. Churchill; "The worst democracy is one where the plurality of voters are educated, and vote for people who suppress the education of the uneducated." Not all leaders are good for the lead in a sense the wolf sometimes leads the sheep. How can we value leadership if their agenda is "voting for people who suppress the education of the uneducated?"

This brings me to my second point in determining what a leader is the fundamental trust that has to exist between a leader and the lead. Leaders have to be mindful that the entirety of their authority rests in the people who put them in power and invested their trust in the. Reflexively therefore the lead need to believe that their leaders are not only qualified but ethical in fulfilling the promises they made. It all revolves around trust, whether it's given, broken, strengthened, or lost. This is obvious in every aspect of life when you think about it. When parents sends their children to daycare they trust the daycare will play, watch, and keep their children safe for them. When millions of Americans put their money in a bank they understand there is not one bank in the world that has all of their customers money on hand. However they know that the federal government insured their money for up to $100,000.

Leaders must be educated and be conscientious of the people they represent. They have to understand their actions not only in the terms of what they do but who they benefit and at what cost. Their actions are carefully considered and are meticulously thought out. In Eric Hoffer's words "In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists."

By: 
Hollie Davis
(Art Institute of Chicago Youth Ambassador)