The Romance of Leadership

You probably read the title and thought, “What is going on with Edward? Is he a romantic now?” I am a romantic, but I promise this post isn’t about that. Still, one of the definitions of romantic is: “having an inclination for romance: responsive to the appeal of what is idealized, heroic, or adventurous,”1 and that actually connects well to today’s topic.

The “romance of leadership” is a theory describing our tendency to over-credit leaders for success and over-blame them for failure. In other words, we often treat leaders like the sole source of outcomes, overlooking the larger systems, environments, and people around them.

An essay from The Economist titled Beware the “romance of leadership“ explains it clearly:

Gary Johns of Concordia University in Montreal attributes this blind spot to the “romance of leadership”, “the idea that the innate qualities of individuals at the top determine success or failure far more than the environment in which they operate.”

The essay uses the recent New York City mayoral election as an example. It highlights Zohran Mamdani, a charismatic Democratic nominee whose clear promises energized voters. But campaigning and governing require different skills. Once in office, the realities of leadership—compromise, bureaucracy, competing interests—make the job far more complex than the campaign trail suggests.

War on the Rocks , a platform for analysis and debate on strategy, defense, and foreign affairs, also explores this topic and points to leaders such as Donald Rumsfeld, Jim Mattis, Eric Shinseki, and President Trump as examples of figures placed into this “romanticized” category. We could add Presidents Clinton, Obama, and many others. Their supporters saw them as larger-than-life figures capable of singlehandedly turning things around.

One of my favorite definitions of leadership is this:

“Leadership is the ability to inspire confidence and support among the people who are needed to achieve organizational goals.”2

These individuals certainly inspired confidence—they won elections or were appointed to powerful roles. But that doesn’t mean we should place them on pedestals or treat them as if they possess godlike powers. That’s a mistake.

We shouldn’t romanticize leaders. We should read, listen, question, and evaluate their plans and policies with clear, rational judgment. A leader’s charisma or emotional appeal shouldn’t replace logic, evidence, or accountability.

This country has deep issues at every level of government. To address them, we need to elect the best people—regardless of political party—not the most romanticized ones. Believing that any one person is a savior leads only to disappointment and bigger problems down the road.

  1. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/romantic ↩︎
  2. Dubrin, Andrew J. Leadership – Research Findings, Practice, and Skills. (pp. 2). 
    Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Company ↩︎

82 thoughts on “The Romance of Leadership”

  2. I couldn’t agree more with this post, Edward. These tomato, as you call it, ideas on leadership have been the downfall of Africa. Struggle leaders are in no ways qualified to lead countries. They don’t have the knowledge and education and feel they are entitled to compensation for their sacrifices which leads to gross corruption.

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    1. Thank you, Robbie. The ones without knowledge and education are the worst. They think they know it all and don’t listen to sound advice. At the end of the day, the citizens of the country will suffer the consequences while these so-called leaders enjoy their riches.

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  4. To your point about running for office and serving being two different animals: I think I despise politics because of this. We vote based on vibes and sound bites, but those don’t do the hard work needed to represent a constituency. And that’s why I fear ridding our government of MAGA won’t alone solve our problems.

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      1. We maybe thinking about the same guy. I know I saw a clip where he actually bragged that but I can not find it. Never thought I would be nostalgic for the first term, where we still had a few advisors that stood up to him. He learned that lesson better than many of us have.

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  7. Well said, Edward. Clear, grounded, and needed. Leadership isn’t about heroes, it’s about honesty, humility, and shared responsibility. Great message. 🙏

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  8. Oh wow. I really love this! leadership isn’t magic and shouldn’t be treated as such. There is never an easy path or quick fix that works like many people hope. No one person can give problems that have been broken and getting worse for decades. Being a leader requires compromise, patience, and a whole ton of accountability. Too often we expect leaders to be saviors but that’s not fair when in reality progress depends on collective effort to actually get things done. I really hate how divided things are because that is a big reason why things don’t change. I really enjoyed reading this, was great food for thought as usual!

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    1. Thank you so much, Samantha. I think what you said about “progress depends on collective effort” is the key to solving our problems. We need to come together at some point if we want this country to succeed.

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  10. Davidwdon (DD), I saw your comment about Wilfred Bion’s theory of basic assumptions, and I was about to respond, but it disappeared. I looked for it in the deleted items and couldn’t find it. Anyway, the theory is definitely connected to the Romance of Leadership. Sorry that your comment is gone, but luckily I saw it, so thank you for reading and commenting.

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  11. You can say this again, Edward:
    “We shouldn’t romanticize leaders. We should read, listen, question, and evaluate their plans and policies with clear, rational judgment. A leader’s charisma or emotional appeal shouldn’t replace logic, evidence, or accountability.”

    While this is true on every level, I have to say that there is a basic fundamental piece to me of honoring others and not speaking down to others that actually does create a sense of romanticism to me, if that makes any sense?!~ Kindness cannot be over stated! Ni 💕

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  12. This is so spot on, Edward. It reminds me of the book New New Thing that Michael Lewis wrote about Jim Clark, founder of Netscape. We put a lot of weight on the cult of personality.

    I couldn’t agree more – we need to elect and follow the best leaders, not the most romanticized ones! Great post, Edward!

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  14. A blind spot in the vast thinking about leadership! Wow…I so get this but doubt I’d ever have put it together on my own….the tendency to over-credit leaders for success and over-blame. I see that. Yes, I do. Thanks for another gem, Edward. I’ll be thinking about this for a while. The importance of steering clear of charisma…focusing on substance. Yes! 💝😉💝

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    1. You’re very welcome. I know it’s hard because we all love charismatic leaders, but we need to learn how to pause and look through the smoke to find the substance. I hope you have a great weekend, my friend.

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  15. I tend to not believe what politicians say anymore, even when their heart is in the right place, they often are tied to bureaucracy that cannot let them do what their heart tells them is right, and of course, so many don’t have a heart these days. Someday, someone will come who can lead us better and bring everyone whole again.

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  17. At first glance, the phrase does evoke thoughts different the definition which could include the advantages of being a leader. Your well-written article clearly defines this phrase and offers insights into the value of solid leaders, beyond the hype of being elected or assigned. Thanks for sharing!

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      1. haha Well, that’s sounds delicious! Thank you, Edward! A wonderful weekend to you and thanks again for your recent book review. Most grateful for your informative shares and for your encouragement. 🙏🏻

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  19. I enjoyed this, Edward. The way language changes over time is of particular interest to me. The word “romance” or romantic has come to mean (at least in the minds and vocabulary of people in general) something entirely different than it originally did. All the way back when I was in high school, I had a literature teacher who once lectured on “romance” and he pointed out “That doesn’t mean all the hearts and flowers and love, but something not based on fact and/or exaggerated. However, even dictionaries eventually took up the popular meaning. LOL, now to most people it just means sex.

    Anyway, I agree. Corporations and governments proclaim the importance of leadership all the time. Yet what they really want is a posse parading behind them with lips puckered and firmly planted on their posteriors. 🙂 Hugs.

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    1. It’s so interesting that you received that lecture about romance as “something not based on fact and/or exaggerated.” I agree with you that language changes are fascinating. There’s a big debate in the Spanish speaking community about the use of “Latinx” and “Latine” to replace “Latina” or “Latino.” I hope we keep “Latina” and “Latino,” but we’ll see.

      Yes, lately it seems that leaders want people to follow them blindly and to keep their lips firmly planted on their posteriors, as you said, and I would add, for eternity. Thank you, Teagan.

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  20. Great write-up, Edward. These lines sum it up:

    “These individuals certainly inspired confidence—they won elections or were appointed to powerful roles. But that doesn’t mean we should place them on pedestals or treat them as if they possess godlike powers. That’s a mistake.”

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    1. Thank you, Violet. Yes, and this has been happening in our country for far too long. Some people are tired of their voices not being heard and are starting to do irrational things. Somehow, once politicians are elected, they need to start reaching out to all citizens, listening to their concerns, and actually taking action. Congress should be doing that, since they are the direct representatives of the people, but their priorities are all over the place right now.

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  23. Romanticizing leaders sounds like worshiping gods; only they are not. And that’s the problem in all of this. They may inspire confidence, but they don’t care for people—as they should or as God would. I so agree with you, Edward: beyond charms and promises, people should study well their future representatives to make sure they will truly represent them. A great post, as always. Very eye-opening! Thanks for this precious information. Always glad to be here. Infinite blessings and light your way, my friend ✨🙏

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    1. Thank you, Susana, and “worshiping gods” is a great description of what some people are doing to politicians and other leaders. It’s really bad for society, and as you said, we should look for people who will truly represent us. Electing servant leaders is a better option. I appreciate you taking the time to read and engage with me. Blessings to you, my friend. 🙏🏼

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    2. I agree with what Susana said so well. I find it so odd that people kneel before their chosen leaders, offering outrageous golden gifts, and never-wavering praise (despite obvious despicable faults) as one would at an altar of a god. Why would any intelligent person throw away all their logic, observation skills, and instincts just because a ‘leader’ claims to belong to the same political party/religion/etc…? This is a good, thoughtful post Edward.

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  25. Great post, how do we undo this mess, like “Writing to Freedom” say, we need inspired leader, but we should not blindly follow anyone, even the good ones seem to change, because of big money, but we can not give up hope in this divisive environment of politics.

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    1. Thank you very much. It’s going to take some time, and a few crises that directly affect voters, to realize that change is needed. When that happens, not even big money is going to save the day. They might take their money and move to another country, but that’s a different topic for another day. People just need to vote en masse in every election. A participation rate of 60 to 65 percent is unacceptable, in my view. With everything that’s going on, and how much people complain, you would think that 90 percent or more of our citizens would be voting.

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  26. The romance of leadership sounds very much like the “halo effect,” a concept that has been around for decades.

    I agree that we need the best people, but we must be very careful to elect those who have not bent the knee to man who would be king and who would compromise our Democratic Republic and operate as if the countless impoverished in our country should not get assistance because they deserve their misfortune.

    That idea goes as far back as the “Robber Barons.” of more than 100 years ago. Thanks for the interesting essay, Edward.

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    1. Absolutely, Dr. Stein. Most of the papers I’ve read connect it to psychology research. Your comment about electing people who have not bent the knee to man is spot-on. That’s our current problem in Congress, where the majority has abdicated its constitutional power to one man, well, and some of his followers. How the government fought the continuation of SNAP during the shutdown was politically motivated and inhumane.

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  29. Thanks for an interesting post Edward. I understand yet find myself wanting inspiring leaders like JFK. Clearly leadership skills are the most important, along with character, compassion, and the ability to get things done. I don’t know how anyone can do that in our divisive climate and broken, corrupt (by big money) political system.

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    1. You’re welcome, Brad. I think it’s okay to look at inspirational leaders. To me, Ike was an inspirational leader, but I think the danger some people fall into is idolizing a leader, as if they are perfect and will rescue our country with some kind of magic wand or something. Then the same people who idolized a particular leader believe that everyone else is wrong. I think that’s the danger, expecting too much of a leader. No one person is going to solve this country’s problems, but every single citizen realizing that something is wrong and doing something about it can make a difference. That will take putting political parties aside, and we are not there yet.

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  30. Well said, Ed, as always. Trump is still being romanticized while anyone else, specifically Mandani, is being targeted because of his belief to represent more than one group of people. I am a Christian and do not believe in all that he stands for. However, I think one thing we do forget is that each elected representative governs all the people, not just the ones who agree with them. Thank you for sharing. I appreciate your candor.

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    1. Thank you, Sandra. I agree, and I always give people the benefit of the doubt. We’ll see what Mamdani can or can’t do once he is in office. But the double standard is visible for sure, and sadly, in our current environment, it is expected.

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