Where Have All The Leaders Gone In Today’s Messy Security Environment?

By Luke Bencie, Conner Allen and Davis Masella

Former Fortune Magazine editor, Marshall Loeb (and later former Chrysler CEO, Lee Iacocca), once famously asked the question, “Where have all the leaders gone?” While this popular lament has often been subject to debate, the current state of our global security environment is no doubt troubling and in desperate need of leadership.

The messy exodus of American involvement in Afghanistan has called into question the leadership abilities of the Trump and Biden Administration. However, the situation in Afghanistan is far from being the only global issue in need of more effective strategic decision-making and top-down guidance. The 2020 pandemic (and new Delta variant), the aggressive expansion of China into the South China Sea, the continuously rising tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, cyber-medaling from Russia, and the ongoing debates about climate change are just some of the international challenges facing leaders from various nations and organizations. So, who is up to the task of dealing with these difficult problems and, more importantly, what should their leadership characteristics look like?

Long gone are the days of the stereotypical leader; the powerful orators, like Winston Churchill, Harry Truman, Nelson Mandela, or Ronald Reagan. Men whose words could both comfort and inspire. Leadership guru, Tom Peters, makes the claim that in a time of chaos, you want a vocal leader. But words aren’t enough...