In advance of this week’s election, we knew something about what American voters thought. But we knew nearly nothing about what they felt. Inquiring minds such as pollsters and pundits told us tidbits about people’s world views and policy preferences. But they told us hardly anything about their furies and frustrations.
A million times over we heard that “affordability” and the “war in Iran” were top of mind. But what was in people’s hearts remained a mystery. So, when the results of the election were tabulated nearly everyone was stunned. Stunned to discover that Republicans in such enormous numbers were so severely punished and Democrats in such enormous numbers were so richly rewarded.
Leadership is a relationship – a relationship between a leader and at least one follower. We continue nevertheless to fixate on the former and relegate the latter. Which explains why we still have such scant understanding of why people behave as they do – of why, in this instance, the American people voted as they did.
To understand why the “blue tsunami” we must look under the hood. We must tap not just into people’s minds but into their hearts.
The list below is only partial. Still, it sheds light on why voters chose one candidate over another – and on why this week we were thunder struck.
- People want to feel safe and secure.
- People want to feel validated.
- People want to feel connected.
- People do not want to feel fearful or anxious.
- People do not want to feel derided or deprived.
- People do not want to feel excluded or isolated.*
So long as leaders remain an obsession and followers a mere afterthought, so long will we be flummoxed by the obvious: That followers are like leaders. That they, we, think. And they, we, feel. Seems, for example, no one took accurate account of how some populations were especially enraged and outraged by some of President Trump’s policies and pronouncements.
A mistake.
*For more on this and related see my recent book, Why We Follower Leaders – and Why We Don’t.