Observations©

By Donald S. Conkey

Date: January 24, 2008  # 8804 Title: The Source of a Good Leaders Power (809)

I read with interest both of the Tribunes recent articles regarding Gene Hobgood’s inaugural as Canton’s new mayor. The first article, a front page story, told about his swearing in ceremony and named those he had appointed to various governing committees. The other article was Rebecca Johnson’s column on the editorial page telling of Hobgood’s gifted attributes as a natural leader.  

Perhaps it was ironic, perhaps not, that shortly after reading these articles I was reading about the corrupting influence of politics, which, according to Johnson, Hobgood has been able to rise above. I agree with Johnson as I served with Hobgood on Cherokee County’s Library Board of Trustees for a period of time and saw in him the same natural leadership qualities that Johnson sees in him. I enjoyed watching his leadership in action on the library board as we worked together. I also worked with the mayor’s wife Elly on the same board and saw in her the same characteristics of natural leadership her husband exhibits.  

Living in Eagle Watch, one of the several communities that make up Towne Lake, I am a recipient of Hobgood’s leadership wisdom and foresight as it was he, as the lone county commissioner in the 1980s who not only approved the building of Towne Lake but approved the building of Bridge Mill, two of the county’s premier communities.

Few are the individuals who can avoid the corrupting influences of power politics. Georgia has had more than its share of power hungry politicians. Georgia’s county unit system was riddled with corrupt politics, and politicians. I witnessed the demise of this system in 1962, the year I moved to Georgia.

If we look carefully enough we can see how the corrupting influence of politics has affected past and present leaders’ right here in the county. The old adage that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely is one of the reasons the Founding Fathers insisted that no one should be left in office too long as they who retain power create a machinery of corruption. Their philosophy: get them (elected politicians) out fast and new leadership in quickly.

This principle was demonstrated in a recent PBS documentary on Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States. When he took office he fired everyone and hired those that had supported him during the election. Sometimes I think this is what is needed in Washington today, get rid of the entrenched bureaucrats and start afresh. The entrenched bureaucrats are as susceptible to corruption, perhaps more so, then the elected leader. It is often within these lower bureaucratic ranks, frequently those who consider themselves the intellectual elite, where corrupting conspiracies take root, conspiracies that have historically toppled governments. History is replete with such examples.

We accept the fact that strong leadership requires authority and power but the question is where does the great leader get that power to lead effectively for the benefit of the people he or she serves? Being sworn into office doesn’t guarantee an effective leader. Yes the authority to lead is granted by legislative decree but real authority comes from those the leader is elected to lead. A leader becomes great because those he or she is called to serve sustains them and are willing to pitch in and be a part of the governing process. This principle of “sustained leadership” is true wherever a leader is called to lead; be it in the home, church, business, government, military, or wherever.

Successful businesses, families, churches all effectively use this principle of “sustained leadership.” Employees sustain and follow such leaders, children obey and sustain caring parents, and the parishioners of great ministers sustain them and are willing to do the mundane tasks that build strong organizations.

Those who believe in God as the creator and intelligent designer of the earth and all things thereon recognize that it is this principle that sustains the earth in its orb.  All the intelligences that make up the earth are willing to follow the Lord, He who created them, having faith that his leadership will always be righteous and true. That is, the scriptures tell us, where He gets his power – from those intelligences He governs.

The same principle will be true for Gene Hobgood. If he reaches the leadership potential many believe he can reach it will not be because he was simply sworn in as the mayor of Canton but because the citizens of Canton believe in him and that his leadership will be fair and they, the citizens, will be willing to step in and perform those necessary functions of self-government, with due diligence, while following the example that Hobgood must set as he moves Canton forward and sustains Canton as the premier city of the county.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could say our next president had similar attributes? Let’s hope we can.