Timing

It is clear that one of the most important things for leaders is timing. This may not be as true at the student level, but it is definitely true at the state, national and international levels. Unfortunately timing is one of the things that a leader can not control. Leaders can work on many other skills such as confidence and charisma, but they can not work on timing. Allow me to give you a couple of examples from history and the present.
The first example is Franklin Delano Roosevelt. As I’m sure you already know FDR was elected in response to President Hoover’s inability to deal with the great depression. He offered people a change to the way that the Republican president had run the country. The funny thing about it is Hoover was an accomplished business man who was suited to help manage a national economy. FDR provided the people with the hope that the economy could turn around with an appropriate level of public programs. It was this hope of change that the U.S. voters elected FDR to four consecutive terms. If FDR would have been president in 1929 it is very likely that the voters would have wanted someone who understood the economy and business, someone like Hoover.
The other example is our current president, Barack Obama. It is my opinion that Obama was voted into office so easily because the voters wanted someone who could provide change from the last eight years. If the Bush administration had not taken steps that angered a significant portion of the U.S. population it is likely that the Democrats would not have won sweeping victories in both 2006 and 2008. In fact it is possible that we would have another Republican in the White House.
These are just two short examples of how timing can be very important for a leader. As I mentioned earlier timing may not be as important as a student, but it is still important to know how it has affected other leaders. I hope these examples inspire you to learn about these two leaders and others. Have a great day.