“The truth is that leadership is not fun. It is difficult and lonely. Every decision you make is scrutinized by others. If you do well, then your subordinates get the credit. If your subordinates fail, it is because you created the climate in which they were permitted to do so.”
I am so sick of hearing political pundits making statements such as: “With all the attacks against the intelligence community, what happens if they no longer share their information with Congress?” Is this really a serious question? If so, I can answer it; then those individuals who hide the information go to jail. Simple answer.
Does anyone really think that because the FBI, the DOJ, or any other agency gets a black eye they simply get to no longer share their information with those who are vested with the power of oversight? This is simply the stupidest statement I have ever heard (thanks Juan Williams).
I can tell you in detail how much damage Bill Clinton managed to do to the morale and readiness of the military at the end of his term because I was serving and saw it firsthand. Same thing goes for Obama, I wasn’t serving under him, but I saw it happening from the outside. Yet in all that time, I never heard any leader mention or even hint at seditious statements. As government employees, we simply do not have the power to decide who leads us. We also do not have the ability to keep information from those we dislike.
I remember as a Captain, I worked for a boss that I absolutely hated. He was verbally abusive, liked to physically bully, and was the only officer I ever met who was legitimately racist and sexist. Every facet of his personality disgusted me. On one occasion he went off on me in front of the entire brigade staff. One of the battalions had made an error on a manifest and needed me to update their roster. All he heard was that there was a mistake and he assumed that it was on my end and it was going to make him look bad.
There is no higher calling than to serve one’s country. It is a thankless and tiring job that no one can empathize with unless they have physically filled that seat.
I took the screaming, and after I had updated the system, I went outside to calm down. He followed me and started in on me again. I calmly informed him that I wanted to use the open-door policy to see the commander and that I was going to request a transfer. This then led to threats against my evaluation followed with threats against me personally. In the end, we worked out a deal where I would do my job and he would avoid me, so I could do my job. However, at no time did I believe that I had some sort of power to withhold information from him or make him look bad to further my own ambitions.
Whether you are with the FBI, the US Marshals, or the military you are eventually going to get your fair share of blackeyes. Even if they are completely unjustified, your organization will become a political scapegoat. In this case however, it would appear that the black eye suffered by the DOJ and the FBI is justified. What should happen, in my opinion, is the voluntary resignation of all those at the top.
The truth is that a large portion of the American people have lost faith in the system. I like Jeff Sessions from what I have seen (except for his belief in the completely unconstitutional use of civil asset forfeiture), but over the last year, nothing has happened to rebuild the reputation of the Department of Justice. I do not believe that Sessions has any political motivations other than fulfilling his oath. Yet my belief holds. As the Attorney General, he alone is responsible for repairing the reputation of his office.
I understand the pain that can be involved in this process. Often times conducting such an operation involves the airing of additional dirty laundry. More importantly, it often involves removing people from positions. These individuals have bills to pay and families to feed, so publicly destroying their careers and reputations can be difficult. When I was put in that situation by subordinates, I always tried to remember that I was not the one who committed the action in question. They made their decisions with a full understanding of the potential ramifications of their actions and they had no one to blame but themselves.
Of course, these individuals often lack the self-reflection to see their own failures, so one must be prepared to take the brunt of the blame. Then there will also be all of those who will walk behind you and try to judge you for every decision you make. These individuals are usually lesser beings who lack the intestinal fortitude to make the tough decisions and therefore they like to sit on their thrones and judge others with their ability to use hindsight.
Additionally, you have those who attack and threaten you simply because you refuse to yield to their whim. This is especially true when dealing with Congress. Then you have the phenomenon of going from Hero to Zero. As pathetic as I believe Comey was as FBI director, he makes a great example of this. During the Hillary Clinton investigation, the Democrats hated Comey because he was investigating their messiah, yet as soon as Trump fired him, Comey was the greatest asset to law enforcement since Sherlock Holmes. Of course, the Republicans had the opposite view.
The deputies at these same agencies all failed as well, and as such, they also need to go. Again, this is the honorable thing to do. Even if they did not fail, they allowed the failure to take place. Being in command is tough and you cannot shirk the inherent responsibilities that come with it.
In regard to the FBI, Director Christopher A. Wray took over on August 2nd, 2017. This means that he has been in that position for six months. As a leader, I believe it takes approximately ninety days to really evaluate and understand your role and your organization. Even if you come from within, each new level of authority requires time to fully assimilate. After that, I believe it takes about six months to implement and make significant changes.
With an organization as immense as the FBI, and with the multitude of investigations going on, I can even see that being extended up to a year. However, that time is going to quickly arrive. If he has failed to repair the reputation of the FBI and not removed those individuals within the FBI who have allowed it’s reputation to be damaged by then, then he needs to go as well.
The truth is that leadership is not fun. It is difficult and lonely. Every decision you make is scrutinized by others. If you do well, then your subordinates get the credit. If your subordinates fail, it is because you created the climate in which they were permitted to do so. It is a role that few can yield properly and it is for this very reason that so many people avoid the obligations that come when one assumes these positions.
There is no higher calling than to serve one’s country. It is a thankless and tiring job that no one can empathize with unless they have physically filled that seat. The government will use you up and spit you out worn out and broken. If you don’t believe me, look at the before and after pictures of former Presidents of the United States. While it is true that power has a certain allure to it that attracts people to these roles, the cost of wielding this power takes its toll.
I respect all of those who are willing to accept such positions. If it were not for such individuals, our nation would not be the beacon of hope and freedom that it is. With that comes the understanding that the fulfillment of duties is always more important than the individual fulfilling that role. If you cannot do your job, then you need to make room for those that can. This is not about hubris, it is about our country.
