Cont:

...I wish to enlarge on a point I opened-up above, comparing Gillard to Chamberlain. This point should be given the trilogy of comparison, which includes Abbott. Abbott IMO, is a master at psychology (intelligence); Abbott demonstrates his superior leadership quality by NOT appeasing.

...This was a Howard tactic, resembling closely that of the method of the dictator. Hopefully the Democratic system by which Australia is ruled will continue to allow leaders to emerge using all tactics in their leadership endeavours, suitable for the times (Churchill), excluding total domination of the people. (Syria)

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Dear Hasbeen,

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"I still don't like your idea for choosing leaders. The general public will only know of either sportsmen, entertainers, or those good at self promotion, & publicity. You are bound to end up with an Obama, a Rudd or Skippy. What we do need is some way of finding those who have the capacity to understand the problems, not charm the punters."

Yes,it's a bit like finding a needle in a haystack, Hasbeen. Most likely, none of those on offer are leaders anyway so what do you do then?

There have probably only been a handfull of true leaders in the world since democracy was invented. Therein lies the clue that can help us solve the problem: we don't need them. We can do without them, until some particularly exceptional situation arises.

When that happens, the exceptional situation automatically produces the leader capable of handling it. No rats, no Pied Piper. No World War II, no brilliant UK leader called Winston Churchill. The leader rises to the occasion as and when necessary. We do not have to choose him. He just blossoms like a flower in the spring.

All we need the rest of the time are competent managers with whom we share a common set of values and aspirations. How should we choose them? On the basis of their qualifications, training, track record and reputation. The same way we would choose our doctor, dentist, butcher or baker.

I agree that beauty parades are only useful for choosing pin-ups, not politicians.

Voting in primary elections only makes sense if you are prepared to devote time and energy in studying the potential candidates. If there is insufficient sound, detailed information available for a particular candidate, then don't vote for him. It's as simple as that.

Letting the political parties do the leg work for you is no guarantee they will see things through your eyes and make the same judgements you would. To satisfy yourself with second choice, to me, can only be second best.

You are never better served than by yourself.

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Dear Diver Dan,

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"Take our great Winston Churchill. Now there was a leader with a vision, who would never be described as a dictator! A manipulator yes, an appeaser no: But that’s politics of the times! With Neville Chamberlain, on the other hand, the fault was appeasement. Does that remind you of Julia Gillard?"

I think I know what you mean about politicians always wanting to "appease" us or "protect" us from some great crisis or something they hope we are afraid of. I think it's called infantilization.

That hinges on insult so far as I am concerned.

Whenever I hear that type of discourse on television I always get the feeling the person pronouncing it is talking to somebody sitting behind me, perhaps a group of children or old women.

Apart from that, Gillard seems to be a reasonably competent manager so far. Maybe she is just no good at marketing.

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I can agree with most of that Banjo, particularly that mostly we want good managers, not leaders with vision.

That same period that threw up Churchill also threw up Hitler. Hitler was at least as good a leader as Churchill, the problem was he had vision.

Originally it was, at least in part, a pretty good vision too, but it soon became destructive. This may be why I do not like leaders with vision. Vision is a particularly dangerous & deadly thing all too often.

I actually doubt that Churchill was all that great, although he was perceptive, with a real ability to see future problems before most even thought about them. I think it was the circumstances which allowed him to grow to greatness.

On a number of occasions I have thrown people in way above their heads. So many have grown to handle positions they had never aspired to, that I believe many of us have that ability to grow when asked.

I have salvaged a couple of companies that were in or about to go into liquidation. I found that in both instances the existing staff basically knew what the problems were, & had some pretty good ideas of how to fix many of them. They only had to be asked properly & they were pleased to asked & happy to help.

What they had suffered was the Rudd type leadership. One who knew everything, & exactly what to do, & was damned if they were going to waste their time listening to anyone.

Perhaps the greatest skill a true leader needs is the ability to pick the brains of those around them, nicely.

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Dear Hasbeen,

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I understand your distrust with certain forms of "vision". Having visions can be a sign of mental derangement. On the other hand it may be considered a miracle or devine revelation. Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" is a form of vision. People who are visionaries or dreamers seem to lack all practical sense.

Then again vision may mean foresight which is making logical projections into the future. In that sense a blind person may have good vision.

Anticipation is a form of vision. It is an advantage to anticipate what is going to happen next. Moving into the best position in advance gives you a head start. Chess champions look many moves ahead before making a move. That's vision too.

Nobody is capable of forseeing the future but if we want to go somewhere it helps to make a few enquiries before we head out. That improves our vision and our chances of getting there.

We cannot forsee the future but it can be helpfull to try to imagine possible futures before taking an important decision.

But a leader with vision sounds a bit like a room with a view and I think I would be just as wary as you on that one, Hasbeen.

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