A Contrast in Leadership Styles

I participated in a lively discussion on Facebook earlier this week, in which I tried to isolate a particular point of difference between Democratic presidential front-runners Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.  People obviously have divergent opinions about these two candidates, which (rightly) influences our takes on their respective characteristics; after all, everything is related to everything.  Still, it was fascinating to dive into a specific aspect of Bernie vs. Biden.

But first, let me take a step back.  In general, I’d have to say we think about who we want to support as president in one or more of the following ways (in no particular order):

1.       Identity politics.  Independent from where a candidate is on the issues, it can feel good to support someone because of what they represent, whether it is a matter of race/ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, or age.  Some of this is because it is thought that, say, a female candidate will be more able to advocate on women’s issues.  And some of this is because the presidency is highly symbolic, and so “the first XXX candidate” sends an important signal as to the accessibility of the highest office in the land to all people and not just some.

2.       The issues.  Usually where we think about lining up with a particular candidate, since they are literally our elected representative in federal government.  So we seek someone whose worldview lines up with ours, and trust that once in office they’ll act according to that worldview.

3.       Character/competence.  Sometimes, independent of what group or set of issues a candidate represents, we desire to be represented by some of high character and competence.  Compassion, thoughtfulness, open-mindedness, basic human decency, intelligence, self-control…these are worthy characteristics that we may choose to prioritize as yardsticks against which we measure presidential choices.

The discussion I participated in attempted to isolate something that is related to but not quite any of those above criteria, which is leadership style.  One extreme, represented by Joe Biden, can be described as “manager,” which I realize is fraught with all kinds of positive and negative connotations, so try to approach this label with a blank slate.  Biden has over the years assembled a remarkable track record of reaching across the aisle and learning the procedure, in order to get stuff done.  Whether you like it or not, a lot of DC machinery works this way, is through a surprisingly small number of people working the back channels, pressing the flesh, and counting the votes.  And, one bill at a time, one issue at a time, stuff moves forward. 

People in this camp tend to dismiss the more performative aspect of politics, saying that talk is cheap, and that inspiration is great but only to the extent that it leads to real action, and that real action happens in the unsexy work of agreeing to move forward one inch rather than stand still because we can't get everything we want.  Folks here tend to roll their eyes when they hear someone say "I'm an idea guy, I let others figure out the details," because they know the progress is in the details themselves.  The federal government is one big bureaucracy, and if you want to actually make a difference, you have to know the machinery of moving that bureaucracy forward and be willing to work the machinery.

The other extreme, which I'll label as "inspirer," marks the highest office of the land as a place fraught with symbolism and narratives.  And, whether you like him and his positions or not, Bernie has shaped the conversation through his work through the years.  His detractors will say he hasn't actually passed any legislation of substance, and his backers will say his influence lies not in the forming of law but in the shaping of values.  Folks in this camp value the performative aspect of politics because they consider politics to be performative, in the sense of competing for hearts and minds.  The history books elevate certain landmark legislation, to be sure, but more often it is inspiring speeches and marches that have changed the course of our nation. 

Not lost on me is the relationship between how you think the country is doing and what kind of leader you are looking for next.  Biden's support comes from older and more affluent voters, who are not much bothered by the status quo (with the exception of uniform disdain for the current POTUS, of course), for whom whatever change they do desire they trust Joe more than Bernie to know how to actually get done.  Bernie's support comes from younger and more marginalized voters, for whom talk of a revolution makes sense because the US is not working for them, and so the idea of burning it all to the ground is quite appealing, as does all of the rhetoric and protesting that comes along with that.  

I'll let pundits more informed than I am work out who's the better candidate and how the rest of the election season will play out.  I'll just end by saying that if you fancy yourself a leader, ask yourself whether you're naturally more a manager or an inspirer.  Ask yourself what your people need from you.  And ask yourself what changes you need to make (or strengths to keep leaning into) in order to make a difference.