Issue160，领导者应不应该固执己见，3天3天3天！

shadow1987UID: 2605840

TOPIC: ISSUE160 - "The most essential quality of an effective leader is the ability to remain consistently committed to particular principles and objectives. Any leader who is quickly and easily influenced by shifts in popular opinion will accomplish little."
WORDS: 404
TIME: 00:45:00
DATE: 2010-8-7 18:33:32

In this era, scientific and technological changes bring about a complex society wherein people's opinions varied dramatically. I agree with the speaker's claim insofar that the ability to hold the particular principles and objectives is a characteristic for most effective leaders and they indeed would not be influenced easily by others' opinions. However, if a leader insists a mistake and could not listen to any other suggestions, his leadership would become a disaster for the people under his governing. Consequently, my firmly held view is that an effective leader should listen to various opinions and think about them thoroughly before draw the conclusion.

In the first place, I must concede that a leader's ability to remain consistently committed to his believes could some time lead to his success, therefore, the people will benefit from this as well. Meanwhile, as the precondition, the leader should assure his policy or decision is well-considered. For example, during the Great Depression, President Roosevelt practiced his new deal for the recovery of the national economy. Nonetheless, some of his acts met obstacles, and the "National Industrial Recovery Act" is one of them. Since violating some capitalists' interest, the act had been charged for violating the constitution. Going through a hard and difficult struggle, President Roosevelt insisted his decision and helped American economy attain prosperity again. In this case, the leader' characteristic of precious persistence indeed bring benefit to the masses.

However, if the leader cannot hear the people's will and show respect to others' suggestions, he would make mistake and violate the interest of the people eventually. For instance, Chairman Mao was once taken as hero in China, being highly-appraised all the time makes him to some extent stubborn and could not hear any advice. As the result, he launched the "Culture Revolution" which is considered a disaster not only in Chinese politics, culture, education, but also in the field of science and technology due to the loss of those great Chinese scientists. Therefore, for a leader, being extremely stubborn and committed to one's principles or objective could also bring terrible aftermath.

For another thing, the leader should know that his obligation is to balance different classes' interests, and for this concern, listening to the representatives from different classes is indispensable. For instance, in the phase when America was just founded, the states' opinions are dispersed and even go against with each others. Thereby, the job to unify the nation and establish the federal constitution seems extremely difficult. It would not be a complicated issue in those despotic countries, anyway, with the purpose to found a democratic country, George Washington, who is taken by American people as "the father of our country", held the constitution convention in Philadelphia. During 5 months' argument, General Washington heard the opinion asserted by the representatives from twelve states conscientiously and finally established the American Constitution.

To sum up, to be an effective leader, one could have his own principles and objectives, however, it is also significant to be clear that listening to different opinions is inspiring and indispensable.
On the one hand, different opinions and suggestions carry many reasonable ideas which the leader might never come up with independently. On the other hand, to balance the interests fo different classes justifiably, the leader should listen to different opinions conscientiously.