302. The President Isn't The Problem, You Are
There are two problems with the US political system and none of them are the Presidential candidates. It starts with your company culture.
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Half of the country is scared that Donald Trump is President.
I get it.
The other half of the country would be scared if Kamala Harris were President.
I get that too.
People say things like, “If we only had better Presidential candidates in the middle.”
But we won’t.
It’s too late for that.
The United States has become dysfunctional. Our political culture has already jumped the shark.
And the President isn’t the problem.
The President is only the symptom.
(This is gonna come back around to you in a smidge. I promise.)
The First Problem of the Political Process
I’m no political pundit, but I do have a knack for seeing things in a slightly different way, and sometimes my insight has a modicum of merit. And I kinda think it does right now.
What I’m saying about the US political system is that there are two significant problems that need to be changed.
The first problem is the 24-hour news media.
I wish we could abolish them.
We can’t. But we should.
—
The purpose of 24-hour news channels is not to provide unbiased news coverage. Oh if it were only that simple.
Their purpose is to make money.
You know that. I know that. Nobody is fooled by that.
The best way for them to make money is to have a lot of viewers. The more viewers they have, the more ads they sell. The more ads they sell, the more money they make. You would’ve learned that concept in Econ 101 had you not slept through that class.
But - and here’s the big but - there simply isn’t enough compelling news to cover nearly 9,000 hours per year of programming for each channel.
For news channels to remain interesting, they are often forced to repeat the same stories over and over in different ways.
But there’s a trick that we’ve learned from Buzzfeed’s mastery of headlines: the more sensationalist you make your stories, the more people will tune in.
Sensationalism sells.
Especially in the US.
Not surprisingly, the news media, has become increasingly more sensationalist in their quest to get more viewers.
However, people want their news to be credible, not sensationalist. Or at least they want the perception that their news is credible.
24-hour news channels understand this, and they capitalize on it. They’ve mastered the misleading art of credible-sounding sensationalism.
<Rachel Maddow - enter stage Far Left>
<Tucker Carlson - enter stage Far Right>
The brilliance of both Rachel and Tucker is their ability to deliver credible-sounding sensationalism better than almost anybody else out there. That’s why they became the spokespeople for the two diametric ends of the sensationalist spectrum.
The masses of Americans believe what Tucker and Rachel say. Or, really, the masses believe one of them and despise the other. You decide which side of the sensationalist spectrum you’d like to park your tricycle.
The more our media leans toward this type of credible sensationalism, the more we naturally look for presidential candidates who embody the same characteristics.
That’s why Trump and Harris were inevitable candidates.
We didn’t choose Donald or Kamala - we chose Fox or MSNBC.
And that’s why 24-hour news channels are the number one reason why our presidential candidates are the symptom, not the problem.
But it doesn’t stop there.
The Second Problem of The Political Process
The second problem we have in the political process lies in the natural motivations of our elected representatives.
Being a congressperson is a job. Sure it’s a more visible job than yours, but it’s still a job.
Like most of us, congresspeople want to keep their jobs. They don’t want to be fired.
I don’t blame them. Who wants to be fired?
You and I can be fired by our respective bosses, but for a congressperson to lose their job, they must lose the faith of at least 51% of their voters. Their voters are their bosses.
Make sure you understand what I’m saying here because it’s super important. Let me rephrase it so I’m clear.
Based on the current structure of their job, our congressional representatives are NOT motivated to do what they feel is right. They are NOT motivated to have a conscience. And they are NOT motivated to buck the system.
The very structure of their congressional role means their primary motivation is simply to get enough votes in the next election so they don’t get fired.
If 51% of their voters think the President is awesome (or terrible, as the case may be) because a sensationalist news anchor told them that, it behooves the congressperson to support (or defy) the President so that they can get the votes - even if they are opposed to taking that stance.
If they don’t adhere to the beliefs of at least 51% of their voters, they risk being fired from their jobs in the next election.
And that’s the problem.
If a President makes a decision that goes against our democratic principles, the people in charge of checks and balances are oftentimes more interested in keeping their jobs than they are in checking or balancing.
Here’s my solution:
Imagine if we changed congressional seats to being one term - and one term only. Sure, maybe the term lasts 7 years or 10 years or whatever. But my point is that if we remove the need to be reelected, their entire motivation changes from not getting fired, to doing what they feel is right.
Will it change the dynamic of Congress?
Maybe. Maybe not.
But I very much err on the side of “maybe”.
OK, let me step off this soapbox now because, well, I don’t know why soap is kept in a box in the first place and, anyway, it’s time we talk about you.
The Company Culture You Create
As I mentioned above, the United States political climate has become dysfunctional. If we were a company, we’d have a big culture problem.
In fact, there’s a direct parallel here.
Whereas our political climate is shaped by the media, your team’s culture is shaped by you.
As you rise in your career, your strengths, weaknesses, and fears are the elements that influence the culture.
If you have a fear of conflict, your team will sweep problems under the rug
If you are a micromanager, your team will stop taking the initiative
If you are acting like a congressperson and just trying to be liked, you’ll avoid standing up for the unpopular decisions that are better for the company
As with our Presidential candidates, the culture you created wasn’t built to solve your problems. It was built because of your problems.
A poor company culture isn’t the problem, it’s the symptom.
The problem is you.
The Company Culture Problem Is You
Whereas our congresspeople often feel compelled to prioritize their job security over their conscience, the best leaders prioritize their company over their ego.
Effective leaders make decisions that are best for the company, even when it’s uncomfortable or unpopular for them to do so.
But here’s the good news: unlike Congress and 24-hour news media, you can quickly fix your problem on your own (or with the help of an awesome leadership coach)
[Editor’s Note: hmmm… if only we knew one]
Effective leadership relies on maintaining at least a sprinkling of self-awareness, if not a full thunderstorm of it.
If your team’s culture is kinda crappy, the first thing to do is to take a good look in the mirror. Just to make sure your hair isn’t standing up or you don’t have food in your teeth.
The next step is to walk away from the mirror and stop acting like a narcissist. Then think about what characteristics of your personality are negatively influencing the behavior of your employees. Cause I guarantee you, something in your behavior is influencing theirs.
Are you empowering your team or controlling them?
Are you addressing problems directly or trying to sneak around them without anybody knowing?
Remember, a company’s culture is defined by the worst behavior a leader is willing to tolerate - so what is it about you that is causing and tolerating the bad behavior?
Whether it’s our political climate or your leadership style, acknowledging and addressing the problems (your behavior) is what will transform the symptom (the culture).
Fortunately, you don’t need to wait until the first Tuesday in November to change course. You can do it right now. Or, maybe after you finish reading this article.
Which is right now.
I quickly transform teams into high-performing, collaborative units. Want to learn more?
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Jeff, You nailed it. Great article. Term limits would solve a lot of problems.
Paul B. Thornton
Whoa! "The culture you created wasn’t built to solve your problems. It was built because of your problems." This is gold, Jeff. How many times have we seen policies created as the result of a problem, that ends up becoming 'just the way we do things' when the issue could have been resolved a better way.