I read former Defense Secretary James Mattis' op-ed in The Wall Street Journal and was struck about his restraint. This quality should be unsurprising in a military man where discipline is the order of the day. Yet given the manner in which President Trump publicly boasted at a Cabinet Meeting on January 2, 2019 that he had "essentially" fired Mattis following his resignation, one must appreciate the quality and subtlety of his rebuke:
When I served as Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, a new post created in 2002 to help streamline and reform NATO’s command structure, I served with a brilliant admiral from a European nation. He looked and acted every inch the forceful leader. Too forceful: He yelled, dressing officers down in front of others, and publicly mocked reports that he considered shallow instead of clarifying what he wanted. He was harsh and inconsiderate, and his subordinates were fearful.
I called in the admiral and carefully explained why I disapproved of his leadership. “Your staff resents you,” I said. “You’re disappointed in their input. OK. But your criticism makes that input worse, not better. You’re going the wrong way. You cannot allow your passion for excellence to destroy your compassion for them as human beings.” This was a point I had always driven home to my subordinates.
“Change your leadership style,” I continued. “Coach and encourage; don’t berate, least of all in public.”
But he soon reverted to demeaning his subordinates. I shouldn’t have been surprised. When for decades you have been rewarded and promoted, it’s difficult to break the habits you’ve acquired, regardless of how they may have worked in another setting. Finally, I told him to go home.
Mattis might have been specifically writing about a European admiral, but he was really talking about an American President. How often has Trump dressed down his subordinates in front of others? How often has Trump publicly mocked reports critical of him as "fake news"? Can there be two more fitting words to describe Trump than harsh and inconsiderate?
There can be no doubt that General Mattis is telling Americans to send President Trump home. Will we follow his advice?
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