Irony Alert!
***IRONY ALERT***
“Who is the soviet censor now?
In the last few days a commissioner, a councilman and an editor have all penned attack pieces in the CDA Press accusing the KCRCC and myself (Brent Regan) of soviet tactics and censorship, so of course I was given the opportunity to give the other side of the story...Just kidding. My modest OpEd was denied by the Press editor. The reason? I was not complimentary enough about the Press at a meeting of the Pachyderms. The commissar is not pleased with my speech so my words must be censored.
Here are my horrible, offensive words:
Leadership Secrets
If you are the leader of any organization there is one inescapable constant, criticism. If you are an ineffective leader you are accused of being too weak. If you are strong you are accused of being too authoritarian. If you are compassionate you are accused of being too emotional. If you are effective, well, that is the worst of all.
The loudest critics are typically the ones who themselves either have never been in a leadership position or have tried and failed.
As chairman of the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee (KCRCC) I serve at the pleasure of the nearly seventy precinct committeemen and officers representing every part of Kootenai County. It is my honor to do so. The KCRCC is recognized as one of the best of the 44 county central committees in Idaho and credit for that is entirely the result of hard work by the dedicated members. The key to leading this exemplary organization is to not lead. I’ll explain.
Prior to my tenure as chairman I spent eight years studying the many Kootenai County political organizations; how they were formed, how they operated, how they grew, and in a few cases, how they failed. What I discovered is that Kootenai County conservatives don’t like being told how to do what they already know how to do. Republican organizations with authoritarian leaders having a tendency to micromanage did not grow and prosper.
The reason is simple. Republicans tend to be self-motivating, self-governing, Type A personalities, who have a skeptical view of governance. Because they are skilled, forcing them to do things “your way” is counterproductive.
The “secret” to leading conservative Republicans is to clearly articulate the goal or objective, to give them the responsibility and authority to accomplish the task and then, most importantly, get out of the way and let them get to the task.
As a leader, the critical skill to have is the ability to recognize talents in others and then to put them in a situation where they can use their skills, and encourage them to do so.
Recent KCRCC events such as the Legislative Town Halls, Liberty Festivals, Parades, Rating and Vetting, and most recently our Lincoln Day Dinner have been unqualified successes, not because of me but because of the skill, talents and hard work of the committee members involved. They deserve all the credit and have my admiration.
People who equate “leadership” with “control” are mystified by this management style. They attribute the resulting success to “mind control” and a “cult of personality”, failing to understand that the best leaders focus on enabling others to excel.
I consider myself fortunate to be part of an organization with so many talented and effective leaders. I am grateful that they allow me to exercise my skill at running our meetings. It gives me great satisfaction to see my fellow committeemen enjoy the tremendous success their hard work has wrought. To be able to do this in the furtherance of bringing prosperity to our community and protecting our God given rights, priceless.”