Scholarly speaking, leadership is a widely researched, debated, analysed, and evaluated concept; in other words, a well-examined phenomenon. Ordinarily, leadership is commonly associated with power, influence, and control of human and capital resources, including decision-making processes and the exercise of authority over them. Explicitly, leadership is not confined within institutions or national territories but also manifests itself in interstate relations. The latter dimension of leadership is the focus of this article.

Interstate relations differ from one region to another. Still, they are primarily characterised by the pursuit of national interests, that is, values, principles, and a set of beliefs, which enable states to promote and project their leadership preferences. In this context, the word “preference” is being used judiciously. At the state level, leadership preferences are demonstrated through the behaviour and the actions of government leaders, particularly heads of state and ministers, as well as other senior functionaries, sometimes referred to as “technicians of power”.

Typically, states through government institutions carry out leadership instructions and/or directives that are encoded in public policies, statements, programmes, projects, or simple utterances of those who occupy positions of influence and power, euphemistically referred to as leaders. It was the consummate English creative artist Charlie Chaplin who retorted to many definitions of leadership as a manifestation of power that “you need power only when you want to do something harmful; otherwise, love is enough to get everything done”. Therefore, guided by Chaplin’s concept of leadership, it can be argued that none of the above government activities require power to be achieved but an authentic and demonstrable love for the people and, broadly, humanity.

The worrisome geopolitical megatrends in many parts of the world, including in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, etc., are manifestations of one or more dimensions of leadership preferences. These are not necessarily shared either by the countries involved in conflict or by the citizens purportedly represented by those at the helm of political institutions. Alas, they are their leaders, nonetheless. Some of these trends are driven by none other than the narrow and self-centred values of leaders who claim they pursue their actions in the interests of ‘the people’. Who are these people? This question is often left dangling.

Contrary to the common beliefs about the meaning of leadership as associated with power, control and authority, Richard Daft, in the 2023 eighth edition of Leadership Experience, defines it as “an influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real changes and outcomes that reflect their mutual purposes”.

In relation to the global uncertainties fomented by, amongst other factors, the leadership style or preference of the US President, especially in conflicts involving the removal of the Venezuelan president, the war against Iran, and wanton unilateral tariffs imposed on other countries, leadership is seen as the opposite of what both Chaplin and Daft defined it to be. The American President projects leadership as the imposition of his will on others, an imperialist pursuit of national interests, precluding no option to achieve the end goal, even the forceful removal of elected leaders deemed to be a threat to American interests.

Leadership is an enigmatic phenomenon because, as John Maxwell puts it, everything either rises or falls on it. Certain about it is that it has everything to do with the traits of an individual or collective that occupies positions of influence and power. Traits of a leader encompass numerous abilities and competencies such as assertiveness, knowledge, extroversion, and decisiveness. It is important to state that there is no universal consensus on whether these traits are natural or nurtured. Nonetheless, these abilities shape how individuals fulfil their duties and responsibilities by influencing decision-making.

Decision-making is a critical characteristic feature of the quality and calibre of leadership. True leaders do not only care about fulfilling their mission or strategic goals. What matters most to true leaders is the implications and consequences of their decisions. In other words, the methodology leaders apply to make decisions is what reveals who they truly are.

If a leader's decisions have more costly consequences, they are simply irresponsible. The late Dr Myles Munroe remarked that consequences are more important than decisions; people don’t live with decisions but with their consequences. Therefore, it’s not the decisions that really matter but their aftermaths. It must be added that the information, knowledge, and skills of leaders shape and determine the type of decisions they are capable of making.

Some leadership scholars argue that the concept encompasses key ethical traits, namely integrity, vision, toughness, decisiveness, trust, commitment, selflessness, creativity, risk-taking, communication, and visibility. In the US, supporters of President Donald Trump view his actions in Iran as a clear demonstration of leadership traits of toughness, commitment, selflessness, risk-taking, decisiveness, and trust. However, on the other side of the fence, the Iranians see the actions of President Trump as imperialistic, dictatorial, insensitive, bullying, hegemonic, etc.

The unorthodox leadership style of President Trump, communicating important public policy decisions, including foreign policy actions, through social media, has both positive and negative consequences for the effective operation of the American government system. It is common knowledge that governments across the globe have created communication institutions, structures, and mechanisms that are recognised as legitimate sources of official information. Granted, social media platforms are accessible to millions of people; thus, information reaches them in seconds. However, the risk of using personalised social media platforms is eroding the legitimacy, relevance, and credibility of government sources of information. Furthermore, social media platforms are vulnerable to manipulation and hacking by rivals or opponents, therefore exposing their shortcomings and weaknesses.

The personalisation of communication and sharing of information outside the established government structures elicits questions, one of which is whether or not the president trusts the government communication system or, even better, the officials entrusted with the responsibility to communicate with the public. Another question is whether the president is more concerned with outcomes than with the process or methodology of making decisions. Whatever the case may be, an important consideration for a leader must be the consequences of the decisions and the extent to which these impact the lives of the people.

Leadership isn't about personalisation of power; on the contrary, it is about fostering relationships and not destroying them through coercion, threats, or unilateral use of force. Worth noting is that effective leadership does not start and end within national borders; it transcends them. In other words, a leader does not become irresponsible at home and suddenly become effective at the international level. A leader’s behaviour abroad is a manifestation of their character. President Trump’s unilateral use of presidential powers and authority at home signals what his international conduct would be, especially against the perceived or de facto weaker states and/or enemies.

It is an accepted reality that leaders differ in how they analyse and interpret the world and their surroundings. Furthermore, it is not only the narratives of leaders that matter in organisational decision-making and policy choices. Management and staff below the leaders also have their accounts about the reality they observe, which inform their viewpoints. Therefore, leadership entails managing relationships with various stakeholders and building competent governance systems that are responsive and resilient to internal and external pressures.