The Problem with Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is a Lack of Leadership Skills

I voted for Rob Ford for mayor of Toronto. I supported his vision for fiscal responsibility and the building of subways. The Mayor's vision is getting sidetracked by squabbling in the council chamber. Much like the situation in the US congress, the business of government is getting shunted aside by partisan politics.

So what does this have to do with entrepreneurship? To my mind the issue at both Toronto City Hall and the US congress is a lack of leadership. Great leaders, whether in government or business can move mountains. Poor leaders can get bogged down and accomplish very little. That seems to be what's happening in Toronto and in Washington.

So what are the qualities of great leadership?

1. Integrity. I am not questioning Mayor Rob Ford's integrity. I have no doubt that his heart is in the right place. He has, to some extent, led by example by reducing the budget of his own office.

2. Teamwork. Here is an area when the Mayor breaks down. Teamwork requires, among other things, fairness and empathy. The Mayor has been unable to keep his right of centre coalition together because he has lost touch with the members of his team. A leader with empathy for his team members doesn't experience the type of mutiny from his own supporters.

3. Planning. The whole subway vs LRT debate was lost by the Mayor because he had no plan. While he may be right that his constituents want subways, there was no plan in place to pay for them. If he had anticipated the weakness of his position, he would have realized that a fiscally prudent plan was required and he would have beaten his critics to the punch. Instead, the debate defaulted to what was considered affordable (or at least more affordable).

4. Vision. Rob Ford has a vision. However, it was incomplete. His vision, as far as I can see, consisted simply of slogans such as "end the gravy train" and "the people want subways". He may be right, but he was unable to inspire other politicians at City Hall to follow his lead, due to the lack of specifics for his vision.

5. Adaptable. A great leader has to be openminded and adaptable. Rob Ford's strategy is to shout and bang his drum the loudest. An astute leader would have seen that things were moving against him and would have adapted to bring more of his colleagues on board with this vision. Instead, he loudly and arrogantly stuck to his guns and he alienated some of his supporters.

6. Passion. There is no question that Mayor Ford is passionate. He often looks like he is going to blow a vein. Passion is important. But,  it has to be a passion of the infectious kind. A great leader is able to get people to come along with him for the ride. If the Mayor wanted to play the populist game, as he has tried, he needed to motivate the people to come out in support for his vision for the subway. If there had been a rally at City Hall supporting subways, the "mushy middle" might have been too afraid to abandon the Mayor and risk crossing their constituents. Instead, the Mayor merely pounded on his desk (at least metaphorically).

7. Positive. Great leaders have a positive outlook. I haven't seen the Mayor smile in months. He always appears under siege. And angry. This is not very motivational for either his fellow councillors or the voters.

8. Persuasive. Successful leaders are charismatic and can get their followers to follow them anywhere. Any great leader is a great salesman first. The Mayor's selling style is more in the nature of bullying. If you are a bully, make sure you can deliver on your threats. The Mayor's opponents called his bluff and the emperor had no clothes (sorry for that unfortunate metaphor). Rob Ford neglected to line up the support that he would need to win the day on subways. Bluster just doesn't cut it.

9. Communication. Rob Ford got elected because he was seen as an "everyman", the people's mayor. In campaign mode, he was able to effectively stay on a simple message of "end the gravy train". However, once elected he had no plan. And if he did, he has not communicated it in an effective manner.

Mayor Rob Ford doesn't seem to understand how City Hall politics works. We have a "weak mayor" system here in Toronto. This means that Mayor on has only one vote. Therefore, he must garner the support of over half of the other councillors in order to move his agenda forward. It appears that he is in way over his head at least in terms of his leadership abilities and his ability to manage and lead a diverse council.