The association believes that every day thousands of residents in the Bega Valley demonstrate natural leadership as they go about their daily activities.
Whether it is on a fire ground, from behind a counter, on a school playing field or through the provision of thousands of paid & unpaid services to the community, these local heroes provide unselfish examples of leadership in their dealings with others.
An almost universal truth about those leaders is that what they do comes quietly & naturally. Another almost universal truth is that their standing as leaders comes through recognition by the community & not through self-promotion.
Indeed, many if not most such leaders don’t feel comfortable about being singled-out for doing no more than what they think we should all be doing.
But, in a world driven by marketing, we have invented another kind of leader: the self-appointed populist, typically found in the ranks of pop stars, opinion-makers, media personalities & politicians like Donald Trump or even our own current Prime Minister, “Mr Marketing”, Scott Morrison.
Unlike our community leaders, our “populist” leaders crave recognition & attention & are invariably always in search of a stage from which they can boost their public standing. And they are always ready to tell you what you should think, say & do.
This week, well-known council spin merchant,
Ian Campbell, published yet another piece of virtue-signalling,
this time promoting the virtues of Kristy McBain & her alleged success as a “
leader” & taking issue with her alleged unnamed critics.
Campbell claims that “attacks on her character” reflect a “disconnect” within our community.
We agree.
But we would argue that that “disconnect” is a function of the fact that the majority of people in our community are more than capable of recognising who their real leaders are, as opposed to those who claim to be their leaders.
The association believes that genuine leaders communicate effectively, lead by example, act responsibly & are accountable. And they are role models & figures of respect & inspiration as a result of what they do for others, rather than themselves.
The association also believes that leaders who are held in high esteem invariably display common behaviours, such as courage, tenacity, patience, confidence, creativity, flexibility, conviction, consistency, humbleness but, above all, honesty & integrity.
They act on principle & not on expediency.
Ian Campbell claims that Kristy McBain led the community through the bushfire crisis.
Ian Campbell suggests that
Kristy McBain’s leadership is honest, empathetic, smart & serves the community, leadership that is truly "
of the people - for the people", but he makes no mention of a phony leadership
Award from the
Minister for Local Government & a fictitious leadership
Award from the
Governor-General.
While the association acknowledges that Cr McBain is a popular figure in our community, it believes that “popularity” is no substitute for “leadership”, just as “activity” should never be mistaken for “achievement”.
Anyone who would like to learn about inspirational leadership should read about
Lennie.
John Richardson
Secretary/Treasurer
Bega Valley Shire Residents & Ratepayers Association
Tel: 0264945669
Email: secretary@begavalleyshireratepayers.asn.au
Website: http://www.begavalleyshireratepayers.asn.au