Why is it so difficult to find functioning grownups to serve in leadership positions?
In place after place, we see leaders blubbering over pinpricks as if they were deep gashes. They have the resilience and emotional discipline of newborns.
Consider the dustup between President Donald Trump and rock legend Bruce Springsteen.
Springsteen, who has made no secret of his latter-day-John-Steinbeck liberal political beliefs, has taken to criticizing Trump during his concerts. He has called the president “unfit” and said Trump runs “a rogue government.” The singer also said Trump was at the head of a “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration.”
Those are, admittedly, harsh criticisms, but—given Springsteen’s political loyalties—they would have received only a modicum of attention if Trump had exerted even a little bit of restraint.
But the president couldn’t help himself.
“This dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker (his skin is atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that’s just ‘standard fare.’ Then we’ll all see how it goes for him!” Trump fumed in one social media post.
In another, he resorted to all capital letters—a sure sign someone has managed to get under the tissue-thin presidential skin.
“HOW MUCH DID KAMALA HARRIS PAY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN FOR HIS POOR PERFORMANCE DURING HER CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT? WHY DID HE ACCEPT THAT MONEY IF HE IS SUCH A FAN OF HERS? ISN’T THAT A MAJOR AND ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION?” Trump wrote.
Springsteen, realizing he’d just been invited onto the world’s biggest stage to repeat his criticisms, responded by casting himself as the defiant victim by pointing out that Trump was trying to suppress every U.S. citizen’s constitutionally guaranteed right to criticize an elected official.
In other words, Trump’s lack of discipline turned what would have been a minor story into a controversy that has stretched on for days.
Even worse—from the president’s perspective—Trump managed to give Springsteen a much more powerful microphone to use while broadcasting his charges.
It’s not the first time Trump has done something self-defeating.
Whenever he’s criticized—regardless of how trivial the criticism might be—he responds as if he were back in kindergarten and someone just stole his milk money.
He doesn’t ever seem to grasp that being poked, prodded and complained about is part of being a leader.
And definitely part of being president.
But the problem isn’t just at the very top level.
Here in Indiana, the General Assembly adopted a measure placing control over Indiana University in the hands of Gov. Mike Braun.
No one seems to be willing to step up and acknowledge ownership of this boneheaded maneuver, which has infuriated alumni around the country and world.
Braun says he didn’t ask for authority over IU and didn’t know about it until it happened. (This raises another question: Just how many other major changes in our state government occur without our governor being aware of them?)
While almost everyone wants to leave ownership of the idea unclaimed, the trail seems to lead back to IU President Pamela Whitten.
Whitten reacts to criticism the way vampires respond to sunlight. She withers under it.
She came to IU under a cloud because of a dubious search.
Skilled leaders, though, can find ways to turn bad beginnings around—generally by mollifying criticism and by turning opponents into allies.
She did none of those things.
As a result, she’s already received a vote of no confidence from IU’s faculty and the school has become a poster child for academic repression.
All because Whitten, like Trump, couldn’t bear up under criticism.
It’s important to be clear about something.
No one enjoys being criticized. It’s no fun having your actions, much less your motivations and character, picked apart or mauled.
But it is the price a leader pays for being able to effect more change than anyone else at the university (in Whitten’s case) or around the world (in Trump’s case).
If they don’t want to pay that price, well, this is a free country. No one forced them to become the president of either a major university or the United States of America.
If they think the price is too high, they can always leave.
If they don’t want to leave, here’s a way to dampen criticism: Start acting like you belong in the job.
Start acting like a grownup.