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What makes an admirable leader?

In any group or organization, we need someone in the middle who leads the entire body. Success or failure of group projects at school or work often depends on how their leaders orchestrate things that could have led to a smash hit or a debacle.

My morning partner on the way to the gym early at dawn is always the news updates by Dan Damon on BBC World Updates from NPR (National Public Radio). One of the frequent world reports these days is from the Republic of Korea, regarding the unprecedented political scandal of the president Park, Keun-hye and her personal close friend who was the influence peddler. Now that people are waiting for the verdict of the Constitutional Court on the impeachment of President Park, she is urged to grab her final opportunity to show true leadership as the nation’s commander-in-chief. That is to say, it is incumbent on the president to take the responsibility for her wrongdoings along with the current chaos in Korean society and decide to step down on her own for a drastic cabinet reshuffle. That is how the head of a nation can embrace all his or her people, including not only supporters but adversaries as well. Since a country is not a coterie of members of “the same interest” or something that can break up at any time, the virtue of genuine “leadership” is called for more than in any other time of Korean history.

Since it is hard to find one, I often think of what would make a truly respectable leader in our society in which a lot of charlatans are prevailing. What creates the je ne sais quoi that a more-than-just-qualified leader is supposed to have? First off, a true leader should never let his or her personal greed encroach upon the right and purpose of all. Secondly, we all wish to communicate and become connected with our leader. When a leader stays aloof, turning a deaf ear to people’s voice, leadership goes out the window. Last but not least at all, a genuinely qualified leader needs passion and driving force that would play the role of a real turn-on for people. I never give up dreaming of an admirable leader in our society, nation, and the world who will be the embodiment of what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. asserts as a true leader: “A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus."

Expressions
influence peddler: (noun) the user of position or political influence on someone's behalf in exchange for money or favors. This is a silly generalized illogical phase made up in the 2012 GOP primary by Mitt Romney to describe someone he can't accurately say is a lobbyist

to be incumbent on someone to do….: …is someone’s duty to do…

cabinet reshuffle: (noun) rotations or changes in the composition of ministers in their cabinet

adversaries: (noun) one’s opponent, enemies, or rivals

coterie: (noun) a small group of people who have the same interests and do things together but do not like to include others

charlatan: (noun) (=imposter) a person who claims to have knowledge or skills that they do not have

je ne sais quoi: (French origin) Literally it means "I do not know" in French. But it is actually an euphemism to express a pleasant or desirable characteristic about something or somebody that can't be easily described or explained

to encroach upon…: (verb) to intrude upon or infringe upon…

turn-on: (noun) something that stimulates/interests/appeals to …





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