September Leadership Reflection: The Crisis of Purpose in Modern Leadership (019)
“The world is focused on not being human—when being human is the only way to make a difference.”
— Ron Boire, Your Personal Leadership Strategy
This is still raw for me, and I’m sure many of you.
This month, we witnessed a shocking, senseless tragedy: the murder of Charlie Kirk. Regardless of politics, the loss of any human life through violence, especially for their views, calls us to reflect on something deeper than party lines: our shared humanity and the leadership vacuum that enabled such hate to flourish.
Arnold Schwarzenegger at USC
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s comments in the aftermath ring loud and true: “This isn’t about politics. This is about decency.”
You can find a link to his powerful thoughts here.
And yet, here we are, again. Leaders across sectors are either absent, complicit, or worse, weaponizing the moment. What’s missing is Purpose.
When Leaders Abandon Purpose, Chaos Fills the Void
As I wrote in How I Help Leaders Build Their Purpose, Vision, and Principles (PVP), leadership without purpose is not neutral; it’s dangerous. When leaders fail to ground themselves in core values, when they lead by outrage, optics, or fear, they lose their humanity. And so do the people who follow them.
The greatest threat to our democracy isn’t political extremism, it’s leaders who no longer lead with humanity; they fail to Lead with Purpose™.
Crisis Is the Leadership Moment
This moment is not hopeless; it’s a call to act.
As leaders, we must:
Reclaim your Purpose: Why do you lead? If your answer doesn’t include the concept of others, you’re off course.
Recenter on Principles: What values guide you when emotions are high, your team is watching, and your community needs you?
Rebuild Trust: Lead with your humanity. Don’t be afraid to say that you are afraid, but are willing to try.
In a world of noise, rage, and tribalism, the most radical act of leadership is to be clear, grounded, and kind.
Many of the people I have spoken with over the past week or so are wondering, “Where do we go from here?”
Here’s what I ask of you this month:
Watch this short: Arnold Schwarzenegger on Charlie Kirk
Reflect on this question:
Am I leading from my best self, or just reacting to the lowest voices around me?
Revisit your PVP. If you don’t have one, start here or send me a note, and let’s build it together.
Because when the world feels most broken, your voice of grounded leadership is more powerful than ever.
(c) 2025, Ron Boire, and The Upland Group LLC.
Lead with Purpose™ and The 51% Rule™ are trademarks of Ron Boire.
#leadwithpurpose #Democracy #PoliticalViolence #FreeSpeech #Unity #Respect #CivicDuty #Polarization #Humanity #ImHuman
