A recent opinion piece by columnist David Brooks made me think of our upcoming election for county supervisor. His topic was how the experience of political candidates “distills life into instinct.” He contrasted two approaches.
One approach is: “If you interpret your life as a battlefield, then you will want to maintain control at all times. You will hoard access. … You will close yourself off to those who can help.”
The second is the “gracious leader”: “If you treat the world as a friendly and hopeful place, as a web of relationships, you’ll look for the good news in people and not the bad. … Gracious leaders create a more gracious environment by greeting the world openly and so end up maximizing their influence and effectiveness.”