We don’t have leaders
“Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.”
– Colin Powell.
Over the past few years, I’ve made a broad observation of “leaders” I encounter: they don’t lead. Instead, they seem to market the success of their role through positive messaging. This leadership style feels highly performative, offering little actual leadership. It’s like a reality TV show – they’re pretending to be leaders. Their communication is tinged with an almost uniformly positive message. If things were always going great, such positivity would be appropriate. However, the problem is that things are not going well. Therefore, the constant positivity in their messaging becomes toxic and inhibits any focus or attention on solving the numerous problems we face. Right now, the USA seems to be careening towards catastrophe.
The Elephant and Donkey in the Room
Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been seeing this play out at the highest stakes possible: the US Presidential race. It’s replete with examples of deeply concerning leadership. Both political parties appear irresponsible. We have the recent example of Joe Biden’s continued candidacy. He’s clearly showing the effects of aging. In response, we see widespread gaslighting, with people telling us to ignore the obvious. Leaders are saying one thing in public and the opposite in private. Meanwhile, this allows Biden to maintain the status quo, protecting his ego. He’s acting just as selfishly as his opponent. He’s not doing what’s best for the nation and is failing to show leadership.
On the other side, we have an even greater demonstration of cowardice and failure. The entire Republican party has surrendered to Donald Trump. Their candidate can be most charitably described as a grifter. More accurately, he’s a habitual liar and convicted criminal. He’s engaged in numerous acts that would disqualify him from any position of authority. His first term as President was demonstrably incompetent. Were he not the President, he could never obtain a security clearance. Yet, the entire leadership of the GOP caved in the face of him. Everyone remaining in the GOP was too cowardly to stand up to Trump. They all prioritized their personal success and power over the good of the nation. They all essentially said, “Let’s support the crazy guy.”
“Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.”
― Colin Powell,
In both cases, all the leaders have chosen their own success over the good of the nation. We see a systematic failure to confront objective reality because it is too difficult and risky. Obvious problems are ignored and minimized. The personal goals of the individuals in power overwhelm any sense of duty. Those in power turn out to be selfish narcissists. None of them are fit for leadership as a result. This behavior is not limited to the top of the power chain.
The Connection to the Covid-19 Pandemic
“One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.”
—Arnold Glasow
All of this started to come to a head with Covid-19. However, to be honest, the trend had been building for a long time, even before that. President Trump’s constant dismissal of reality, claiming the virus would just disappear, exemplified this behavior. This pattern repeated itself down the chain of command and across organizations. While Covid-19 was the peak of this toxic positivity, many smaller issues are communicated in the same way.
This cognitive dissonance, the disconnect between what leaders say and reality, resulted in deaths during the pandemic. A national crisis was exacerbated by inaction. Even worse, the pattern of ignoring problems and inaction seems to be escalating. The success of leaders who practice this approach almost guarantees we’ll see more of it, until it ultimately leads to their downfall.
While the pandemic was the most high-profile example of abysmal leadership, it’s hardly unique. The inability to speak truth and focus on problems appears to be an epidemic itself. I see this constantly within the institutions I interact with. Another prominent example is Boeing, where deadly consequences arose from two crashes and recent near misses. We’re witnessing a once-great company in freefall, destroying its reputation with each calamity.
If we delve deeper into the reasons for this lack of focus on reality in leadership, money emerges as a central issue. In the case of the pandemic, there was a fear of spooking the economy. With Boeing, the focus was on protecting shareholder value by keeping stock prices from dropping. Time and again, the threat of bad news impacting finances seems to be a top priority for leaders. It would be naive to believe that Boeing is an isolated case. Boeing is a canary in the coal mine, a warning sign of danger ahead.
One key takeaway is that leadership positions often lead to wealth. Even lower-level managers are well-compensated compared to those they manage. Furthermore, the potential for promotion is highly attractive. Preserving these personal benefits by avoiding waves and keeping the status quo intact allows this entire dysfunctional system to persist. In essence, our leaders are incentivized not to lead and expose the incompetence that surrounds and surpasses them.
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”
– Abraham Lincoln.
Money is the Only Thing We Care About
“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” ― Peter Drucker
A key element is the rise of money as power. In today’s world, money is the heart of personal power. Leaders hold significantly more wealth and power than those they lead. This can lead many to cling to these positions far longer than is beneficial, neglecting important concerns. We’ve become a society where money is the sole measure of worth, overshadowing other values like quality, ethics, and humanity (e.g., Boeing). Financial gain is seen as the only measure of success and grants immense power. In the corporate world, shareholder value becomes the excuse for prioritizing profits over all else. This trend is a product of the neoliberal era.
This, in turn, fuels vast societal inequality, creating a leadership class with an existence entirely divorced from those they claim to lead. Leaders, naturally, are unwilling to relinquish their privilege. We also see the corrosive and dangerous aspects of concentrated wealth and power. Those in power view losing their leadership roles as a personal threat, and they actively work to maintain the status quo for their own benefit. Falling out of the leadership class translates to a significant decline in both economic standing and societal influence.
Preserving the status quo is paramount. One way to enact change is to begin addressing problems. Ignoring and perpetuating problems simply affirms the status quo. This, in many ways, explains the rightward shift. Conservatives generally favor the status quo and upholding tradition, which benefits those in power. Since power in the US is heavily tied to money, we see an alliance emerge: moneyed interests and conservatives working together to preserve the existing order.
Leading the charge for the GOP is the Supreme Court. They have transformed from a legal oracle into a partisan entity. The recent immunity ruling is arguably one of the worst decisions in history, destined to stand alongside Dred Scott in infamy. The outcome could very well lead to the dismantling of the Court and the nation itself. It’s a recipe for dictatorship. The Court relies on the Executive Branch to enforce its rulings. If the executive branch disagrees, they can now break the law with impunity. Essentially, power now resides with the President, not the law. While the Court seized significant power over the executive branch, they ultimately relinquished it all back to the President. The nation’s future hangs in the balance. We could very well descend into a de facto dictatorship, effectively losing any semblance of a functioning democracy.
Toxic Positivity
“The supreme quality of leadership is integrity.”
–Dwight Eisenhower
A significant portion of the problem stems from the overuse of toxic positivity in communication. Effective leadership hinges on clear communication and directing human effort towards shared goals. Leaders who filter out problems to create a narrative of perfect circumstances erode trust. When a leader assures you everything is great while you know it’s not, it raises a red flag. This destroys trust not only in that specific situation but also makes you question their honesty in general. This continuous erosion of trust contributes to the decline in societal trust as a whole. Each selective edit of reality feels like another betrayal, leading us to view leaders as habitual liars and fostering cynicism. While acknowledging problems can be difficult, it’s a crucial aspect of leadership. Bullshitting people with positivity is cowardly and destroys trust.
The issue of toxic positivity has profoundly impacted my life. In 2020, I had a close friend who demanded nothing but positivity during interactions. As a therapist, she dealt with people’s problems all day, so it’s understandable that she craved positivity outside of work. However, 2020 was a year of significant challenges, and the inability to share these burdens within our friendship caused me distress. Despite being part of my social circle, I eventually distanced myself due to the one-sided nature of the relationship. Her insistence on positivity came at the expense of balance, ultimately undermining the friendship.
Toxic positivity is a telltale sign of a leadership problem. Instead of honesty, we’re offered the soothing but meaningless platitudes of positivity. Problems are denied, and everything is portrayed as being under perfect control. When reality contradicts this narrative, problems fester or become hidden secrets that divide people. Leaders who resort to toxic positivity simply aren’t leading. They have no intention of tackling complex or time-consuming issues. Their strategy is to manipulate communication to maintain their leadership position and hope that problems remain hidden. This approach is infectious, and upper leaders often establish a “shoot the messenger” culture that discourages reporting bad news. This, in turn, perpetuates the cycle of toxic positivity throughout the organization.
One cannot simply dictate positivity. Life is inherently complex. The same principle applies to leaders; they cannot be effective without balance. True leadership requires a blend of acknowledging the good and the bad. Leaders who lack the ability to admit problems or recognize failures cannot lead effectively. They should celebrate successes and use them as springboards for growth. Identifying problems allows them to rally their followers to address them. It is through solving problems that leaders achieve greatness. Ultimately, the greatest success comes from transforming problems into opportunities. Unfortunately, this virtuous cycle seems to have been lost. Today, some leaders believe they can manipulate their way to success through messaging and pronounce problems solved simply by declaration.
“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.”
—Max DePree
Given the high stakes involved, what can be done? The philosophy of Victor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor, offers an answer. His concept of “tragic optimism” acknowledges that problems are inevitable. Death, for example, is a universal experience. We will all face tragedy repeatedly. However, tragic optimism encourages us to approach these inevitable challenges with the belief that they can be overcome. We can not only survive but also thrive in the face of tragedy. This requires acknowledging problems head-on. This is the foundation of great leadership. This philosophy can guide us towards a brighter future. However, we can only achieve this by rejecting the current generation of “leaders.” We should demand honest problem-solvers who act in the best interests of the institutions they lead. Only when we stop rewarding cowardice with power and riches can we truly turn the corner.
“My own definition of leadership is this: The capacity and the will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence.”
—General Montgomery
Next week, I will discuss the societal reckoning we are approaching in relation to social justice movements. While the causes may be just, I believe the current methods employed to achieve social justice are counterproductive. We need to re-evaluate our strategic approach to building a better society.
being forced to. In addition, I do not feel that I am at liberty to go into the nature of the pressure being placed on me to stop. Nonetheless, I am being clearly pressured, if not threatened. When you call your wife to talk to her about an event and her response is fear bordering on terror, it gets your attention. I don’t want to hear that ever again. That is enough to get you to say, “fuck this shit”.
sons are varied and largely personal. First and foremost, the blog was a way to practice writing as a habit. Writing is a core professional and personal activity. A focus on writing is key area of personal and professional development. It is difficult and often exposes one to intense and personal criticism. A blog meant that the work would be published and read by others. That has a way of focusing the mind, and you take things more seriously. When you write only for yourself, the level of care and attention is not nearly so acute. Occasionally a blog post would resonate and get a lot of viewers, which is a nice feeling. More often I would get a handful of viewers, but the post had already achieved its intended purpose.
at a National level. The level of intellectual discourse around our programs is dismal, I’m lending my thoughts to the vacuum of ideas. Other blog pasts were pointed at dealing with the management of science. To say that science is managed poorly today is an understatement of some magnitude. It is getting worse. Finally, a handful of posts were completely out of character, and simply existed to maintain the writing habit and speak to something I really believe in. This won’t be the end of my writing, but it will happen in a different forum probably anonymously. I may experiment with different forms of writing too, fiction, poetry, …
uch of my thinking goes into figuring out what the hell is going on these days. I’m distinctly unhappy with how work has evolved over the course of my career. On the one hand I feel like I’ve become that guy who pines for the “good ole days”. At the same time, I crave progress and a better world. I don’t want tomorrow to be like yesterday at all. The progress and World I desire didn’t exist in the past, but we were moving far faster toward it then. The good times of the past were defined by progress and purpose of work. It is the sense of progress, the meaning of work and sense of purpose that has been drained from my day. I realize that my expectations of work resolve around the spirit of progress toward something with importance and meaning. Work should have a clear purpose beyond simply delivering a paycheck. Work should be life affirming beyond its mere conduct.
I sat down recently with one of my managers to make an admission that felt rather profound. My expectations of work are rather far beyond anything my employer can deliver on. This conclusion is rather intensely sad. Rather than lift me up and encourage me to greater heights, the demands of my job are smaller than me. I will have to lower myself to meet them. I don’t think this is uncommon, but rather a sad testament to today. I think this sentiment is broadly applicable and the strain between survival and a life of meaning has grown acute society-wide. More and more we aren’t dreaming or grasping for something bigger than ourselves. Day in and day out life is merely about survival and a host of petty concerns. The lack of meaning and purpose is a reflection of society as a whole. Most people are struggling even if the economy is humming. Our Nation is about reacting to fear, distrust and hatreds than aspiring to progress, hope and betterment. Work sadly reflects this time with cruel parallels. \
wait to leave each day to really live, and found the weekends were never long enough to make up for the time lost. Yet here I am, being all those things because work has become so entirely empty of importance, meaning and value. It does not have to be like this, and ultimately this state serves no one, not even those who seemingly benefit.
It is instructional to examine some of the concrete aspects of work that could step into this abyss and form some purpose and meaning. For example, we have a national program to reclaim the supercomputing throne again. It is an exemplar of what is wrong with today’s World in many ways. It is what masquerades as a big idea today. Instead, it is a very small idea. Supercomputing has ridden the coattails of Moore’s law for fifty years and that time is coming to an end. For a while we could advance in computing without any strategy or effort, just an expenditure of money. Those days are over, but the tiny thoughts surrounding it are still present. Rather than react to this reality we are simply repackaging the same old stale ideas we have used for the past 25 years. The use of modeling and simulation is an essential modern scientific tool. Among the things that need to be done to enable effective modeling and simulation the supercomputing hardware is the least important thing. It is the furthest away from reality and its impact is diluted by a host of steps that all must be done correctly for the hardware to have meaning. This current program is shorn of effort in all of the most important things in modeling and simulation. The greatest gap is the sense of meaning that this program has in the real world is simply a marketing ploy. It has no reality or substance at all.
that will end up killing people. Long before people die the social chaos and damage will unfold. We will see problems already present due to low trust to magnify. The challenges already existed, and the current situation is only amplifying an already dangerous situation. A host of difficult economic concerns that already limit any benefit that normal people receive from economic growth will only get more strained.
Vexing problems require risky solutions as well, and with risk off the table we simply avoid hard problems. Today that chain is broken at every level with our leadership being increasingly devoid of intellectual depth. Our experts are ignored, the institutions just want money and the government controls the money. Expertise is unwelcome because it only complicates the process and gets in the way of the money. This problem is one of the core issues with any strive for excellence and utility of peer review. Our institutions increasingly don’t care what they do as long as its paid for. The government has no interest in the work or its quality. All of this is a horrible downward spiral. In its wake value, meaning and quality are sacrificed. At the core of this maelstrom is an awful lack of trust and honesty that sprawls across society. If we can’t trust each other, we can’t work together and doing anything great is completely out of reach.
by the lack of growth overall. They only gain a relative degree of power, wealth and standing in comparison to the common man. We are living in a period where overwhelming fear is being used as a tool of the powerful. In the wake of 9/11 we saw irrational fears used to justify vast authoritarian overreach that continues to this day. We see huge defense budgets to be pillaged by the wealthy. The post 9/11 World has taken the United States directly toward a being a police state. People don’t even bat an eyelash at our massive level of imprisonment. It is a deeply unhealthy characteristic of our Nation, and most people are oblivious. At the same time the fear produces a compliant populace hungering for the safety of strong man rule. We see this playing out across the West as Democracy recedes in response. As Democracy recedes war will surely follow.
Today I’ll stick my nose into some of the appallingly destructive laws we have to live under. We are about to see a new one enacted to all of our detriments. We are a Nation that depends on laws for order and the common good. When the laws are simply veiled attempts to push other agendas that harm innocents, all law is undermined. In other cases, the law is simply incompetent and ill-suited to provide the intended good. The worst case are laws that are both veiled agendas and incompetent. These laws threaten the future, order and the tolerance of people. They do genuine harm to all of us. Unfortunately, we have far too much legislation that follows these characteristics. Many of these laws are marketed as something they are not so that they can serve the agendas of the powerful, often oppressing the weak and vulnerable as a side-effect.
Most people are not aware of what is happening to the Internet right now. The congress is in the process of passing a censorship of free speech associated with sexuality. These laws are packaged as efforts to stop sex trafficking, a horrendous crime and genuine problem. The bills are quite frankly Trojan horses for a whole bunch of other stuff and will actually harm the people it is marketed to help (
harms the people it is purported to help and amplifies existing problems in society rather than alleviate them. We already live in an obsessively shame driven culture with a sex negativity that harms many especially women. The way to combat human trafficking is to make sex work legal and allow it to proceed in the full light of day. It will happen and when it is underground it will attract criminals.
Let’s look at some concrete examples of current laws. At my work we have to abide by export control laws. Calling this law idiotic is an insult to idiots. It combines terrifying penalties for violations with sketchy and piecemeal guidance. It rules by fear and incompetence blended into a toxic stew. For what I do the technical guidance needed for export control is intricate, and the law provides none. At the same time the legal jeopardy is extreme and exceeding that for classified data associated with nuclear weapons. The result is chaos and non-uniformity. The parallels to FOSTA/SESTA are stunning and terrifying. The new legislation is defined by the threat of massive legal jeopardy. These legal hammers are bludgeoning people like Craigslist to take steps to insulate themselves as a result.
Marijuana is illegal without regard for its level of risk. It has genuine medical benefits that the law does not acknowledge, and its hard is far less than alcohol by virtually every reasonable standard. Rather than be a gateway to harder drugs, it is an alternative that reduces abuse of opioids. It is only illegal because it was the drug of choice by minority groups and an invitation for systematic targeting by police. Again, the parallels with FOSTA/SESTA are uncanny. We see legislation that sounds like it is a public good and instead is a targeting a vulnerable population. It make sex more illegal and drive it underground where it will help provide money to organized crime. Superficially the legislation sounds good, enacted and in practice it will hurt people and our society.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the variety of partial differential equations with their hyperbolic, parabolic and elliptic character. The point of the essay was noting that parabolic and elliptic equations have some intrinsically unphysical aspects. While this is true to an extent, I failed to note the linearity of these concepts. Some of my wise readers called me on this oversight in particular with respect to nonlinear parabolic equations that exhibit clear wave like behavior. Where linear parabolic equations produce infinite speeds that are clearly unphysical, the nonlinearity of the diffusion produces finite wave speeds and fronts usually associated with compressible flows. The nonlinear diffusion equations are used to model porous media and radiative transfer. The higher the degree of nonlinearity, the sharper and more shock-like the fronts behave. Furthermore, this sort of diffusion can be extremely useful for numerically stabilizing the solution of hyperbolic PDEs. My failure to note this texture was a significant oversight on my part.
Other aspects of modeling with PDEs are problematic. One issue that comes up frequently with hyperbolic heat conduction is relativity. Generally, models are not Lorenz invariant. Almost every equation can be recast in a relativistic form to fix this issue. For many cases this has no significant influence on the solutions to the model. In hyperbolic heat conduction the changes return the equations to satisfying the second law of thermodynamics. The speeds in the equations are generally not relativistic, which makes this an extremely curious result. In greater depth, the entire notion that grounds the second law is equilibrium thermodynamics, and the processes in hyperbolic heat conduction are out of equilibrium. We need to carefully apply principles and assumptions when their foundations are being shaken.
The Regularized Singularity 