The romanticized authority of the Reagan Right

There is a big disconnect between how republicans define leadership qualities (they tend to use words like authority, power, and emotional intelligence) while what is actually required is a person who can lead teams and working groups. In the Journal of Applied Psychology, researchers from Stanford explored which qualities matter most for performance and team success, and what can damage it.

Republicans think the most common leadership quality is charisma, command, or character. People like Ronald Reagan, Billy Graham, and Jerry Fallwell are often named with a certain religious devotion in common. But Lindred Greer, a member of the research team from Stanford, maintains that although the image of a charismatic CEO is romanticized, a good leader earns their authority.

The romanticized authority of Ronald Reagan (above).

To apply her research to this election cycle: there are three strategies voters should use to ensure the leadership they select at the ballot box is sound:

1. Select for competence. Use of objective measures should displace “connections,” persuasiveness, or the appearance of authority.

2. Stick to the best information. A good leader will value others’ skills and expertise and be willing to share power when they are not best suited to make a decision.

3. Keep a skill scorecard. Political challenges should be evaluated regularly to see whose skill set is most up to the task. "Leadership roles are better assigned once you understand who knows what, and this will shift in the course of the primaries as new issues arise,"

And, a good leader does NOT earn their authority through the "religious trauma" of hate-talk radio!

"The intensity with which many religious fundamentalists hold their faith, which by definition they can’t justify with logic, is frightening to me and many others."

As for the ultra-right:

When given the opportunity to explain the difference, a return to "romanticized authority" was the coping mechanism. (e.g. They do not know,)

All of that hyperbole aside, the difference that really matters:

But THERE IS HELP for the right for those with a burning desire to serve their particular god (based on two suppositions)...

1. If god is real (which skeptics doubt and atheists deny)

2. If Pizza is real (which quantum physics questions)

THEN:

or