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Miami Herald
Biden likely can’t win, but leadership hubris won’t let him see it | Opinion
By Modesto “Mitch” Maidique,
3 days ago
After what is already a potentially historically defining debate performance, people frequently ask me something like this:
“Professor, you study leadership. Why, despite all the pressures doesn’t Biden step down? It’s obvious he can’t win.”
The answer is a combination of two disorders that often afflict leaders – even the most powerful man in the world – addiction and hubris.
Power, just like crack cocaine, opium, and, in extreme cases marijuana, is addictive. Unless a leader has a powerful, genuine self-esteem, if you take away his power, he is likely to plunge into sadness or even depression as you remove his artificially bloated self-esteem.
The more power they have, the harder they fall. Whoever holds the U.S. presidency is rightly considered the most powerful person in the world; just imagine the fall from such a state.
The second is hubris. Attaining such a position can lead to excessive pride – especially after several attempts in a lifelong career aspiring to the position. This pride is often continually inflated by those that surround the leader, especially those closest to him or her.
Hubris says: “You are great. You can do anything you want.”
Addiction to power says: “Who would I become without the vast power I now have? What I was before?
Who would the fable’s emperor be without his clothes?”
Modesto “Mitch” Maidique is the former president of Florida International University and a renown expert and professor on the topic of leadership.
Modesto ‘Mitch’ Maidique served Florida International University’s president for more than 22 years. He is the namesake of the University Park campus, an honor bestowed upon Maidique when he stepped down in 2009. Miami Herald file photo
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