Who makes the better leader, a flip-flopper or a hardliner?

Probably someone in the middle… It’s said that only a fool never changes his mind. But someone who caves too easily isn’t a good leader either.

I agree that someone who can see the viewpoints of others and works toward consensus is the better leader.

Flip flopper is something different. People who move with the times or change their minds due to circumstances are wrongly labeled as such.

I think it depends a lot on the issue. If they’re right correct, they shouldn’t change. If they’re wrong and they learn as much, they should change appropriately. “Flip flopping” is often a sign that a person thinks about things and grows and changes. (Do you have the same views you did ten years ago?) However, it’s also used as an insult toward thinking, growing people by those whose ideologies don’t allow for growing and changing. If someone is impervious to data, perhaps they ought not lead.

No President was as much a hard liner as Nixon, and he did flip on China, to his credit.

You guys who answered within 27 minutes didn’t watch the video, because that takes 27 minutes. That’s OK. I understand time pressure, and appreciate your thoughts on the basic issue. But if you do find the time to do it, be sure to watch the lecture if you haven’t already heard it. I might be wrong, but I think you will enjoy it.

@HungryGuy Good point. Neither extreme is desirable.

@marinelife I can easily handle a leader who says I used to think this, but then I looked into it further, or new information came to light, and I see that I was wrong. I now think the opposite is true. What galls me is the ones who flip-flop and claim after doing so that they never held their previous positin. It’s like confirmation that they are clueless about the invention of tape recorders, video, and the YouTube.

@laureth GA! And thanks for correcting right. :-)

@filmfann I think Nixon had numerous character flaws such as a persecution complex and inner insecurity. He was paranoid, sure people were out to get him. He was devious and kept enemy lists. But he wasn’t so much of an ideologue. He was rather the pragmatist, and when he saw an opening for a rapprochement with China, to his great credit he took it.

Don’t like either kind. I like leaders who have good ideas, driven by good theory and good evidence to support them, but who are willing to change when better evidence comes along supporting a different position.

Of course, usually there isn’t information available to make a lot of the decisions presidents have to make. So they have to fly by the seat of their pants. A hardliner will not change even when they are wrong. A flipflopper will never decide., You need someone with the skills of a powerful business leader—they are pragmatic and they are good guessers. They stick with what they choose, and are usually right. When it becomes evident they are wrong, they will change.

Of course, that’s what our political system does, anyway. People don’t like what is going on, and they vote in new leaders and the new leaders overturn the stuff from before.

Neither – those are both labels of extreme characteristics, and it depends on what you’re talking about. A great leader is both an open-minded critical thinker who is capable of re-examining his/her positions, and someone with good principles and values, who will fight for them and won’t sell those out.

@wundayatta GA! That’s a good leader.

@Zaku Thanks. I agree.

Whoever has the wisdom to know when it is appropriate to be whichever one for the situation.

@cockswain Indeed. There are times for both being willing to change position, and being doggedly determined.