The Moment That Defines A Leader

What’s lacking in the 2008 Presidential race is one memorable moment that defines leadership. It has not happened. There has been no passionate phrase, action or expression that has instantly triggered the image of leadership before voters. The primary reason the debates have been boring, and the race so close is that we don’t see an authentic leader before us.

Moments like that are most often impromptu, brief and magical. Such moments that define a true leader make history.

Locked in a close run-up to the White House in 1980 with a field of other presidential hopefuls, Ronald Reagan did something daring during a debate in New Hampshire, and was instantly recognized as a leader and next president of the United States.

Here’s what Mr. Reagan wrote about the moment:

“I decided I should explain to the crowd what the delay was all about and started to speak. As I did, an editor of the Nashua newspaper shouted to the sound man, ‘Turn Mr. Reagan’s microphone off. Well, I didn’t like that – we were paying the freight for the debate and he was acting as if his newspaper was still sponsoring it. I turned to him, with the microphone still on, and said the first thing that came to my mind: ‘I am paying for this microphone!’ Well, for some reason my words hit the audience, whose emotions were already worked up, like a sledgehammer. The crowd roared and just went wild. I may have won the debate, the primary – and the nomination – right there.”

When we look back at that moment, it only lasted a few seconds. But Mr. Reagan’s six words – “I am paying for this microphone!” – were bold, strong, and what voters and the media recognized as a man they felt could lead the country through troubled times. And, he did.

Category: Featured, Leadership