Sometimes in life, we have to decide whether or not we are going to allow our prejudices, biases, political or religious bent, etc, keep us from being intellectually honest.
What amazes me is how some people will use one set of rules for one person but make an exception, for another. It’s like giving one a pass and not the other.
This behavior to me is intellectually dishonest.
I grew up hearing this statement: “What’s good for the goose must also be good for the gander.”
As a child, it didn’t make sense to me. I had no idea what a goose or a gander was. And I really didn’t care.
As I got older, it became clear to me what it meant. I understood it then.
But this understanding brought with it another set of issues. I saw the unfair treatment of people simply because of their looks, ideologies, beliefs, choice of faith, the way they dress, and so on.
The one word that represented all of this for me, was hypocrisy. The phrase intellectual dishonesty came later.
I do not agree with a lot of people on a lot of things. But I’ve learned and am still learning the skill of seeing things and people as simply different. This way I can put myself in a learning position.
Recently, I engaged Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (aka AOC) on Twitter. She didn’t respond, which I wasn’t surprised because of the many comments, both good and bad, she receives.
She had posted on her timeline five leadership skills that caught my attention.
I acknowledged them, and added, seven others that came from my latest book: The Emotelligent Leader – Succeed Where Others Failed.
Even though I don’t agree with her on many of the things she says, I could not deny that this list made sense and fits within the scope of what I train leaders on.
How could I disagree with her yet teach other leaders these same skills?
Surprisingly, it wasn’t a day later, that the world heard about the historic visit of the United States President Donald Trump’s visit to North Korea.
Many people had their own take on what it meant. I won’t get into that here. Suffice it to say, the five leadership skills Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez outlined, were all fitting for this historic moment.
If she was to somehow say they do not apply to the president because he is her nemesis, would be intellectually dishonest.
If they were true within the context in an interview on the Guardian.com with Greta Thunberg, they must be true in any other context as well. That’s simply intellectual honesty.
Here is the list of the 5 Leadership Skills as outlined on representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s twitter timeline.
- Leadership is Enormously difficult.
- Leadership is a responsibility. Leadership is not fun.
- Leadership is about doing things before anybody else does them.
- Leadership is about taking risks.
- Leadership is about taking [sic] decisions when you don’t know 100% what the outcome is going to be.
Would you agree that President Donald Trump displayed all these 5 leadership skills?
Whether you like the president or not, is beside the issue. Let’s not rob ourselves from learning from others, no matter who they are. Life is all about learning and we can learn from all.
You can here a more expanded view of this conversation on my latest podcast episode at The Kingsley Grant Show.
To access your FREE COPY of the book mentioned, click on this link: https://www.kingsleygrant.com/freeleadershipbook
If you’d like to hire me as your leadership coach or your next leadership presenter at your next event, connect with me HERE.
(Previously published on LinkedIn)