Terry Newell is currently director of his own firm, Leadership for a Responsible Society. His work focuses on values-based leadership, ethics, and decision making. A former Air Force officer, Terry also previously served as Director of the Horace Mann Learning Center, the training arm of the U.S. Department of Education, and as Dean of Faculty at the Federal Executive Institute. Terry is co-editor and author of The Trusted Leader: Building the Relationships That Make Government Work (CQ Press, 2011). He also wrote Statesmanship, Character and Leadership in America (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) and To Serve with Honor: Doing the Right Thing in Government (Loftlands Press 2015).
The president’s demand that four members of Congress who disagree with him should leave America misunderstands and disrespects the Constitution. It was designed to manage disagreement, not ensure unity.
The climb up the leadership ladder is often slow and and arduous. The fall is much faster. Those who have made it to the top can stay there, but only if their realize the dangers on the uppermost rung.
Because we’re good people, we sometimes permit ourselves to do things that are not so good. Knowing why can help us be better when we want to be.
On Independence Day, we should recall our founders, who took the hard way against the world's greatest power. The longer we take the easy way, the steeper the price we pay to address our nation’s problems..
Current immigration policy is a failure of elected officials. It divides us from each other, increases distrust of the law and pulls Americans away from their compassionate instincts.
As the recent concert of the Crozet Community Orchestra showed, there is a beating heart in every community, a spirit central to our lives and happiness as Americans. .
Americans love to shout “unfair!,” but what’s fair differs depends on who’s deciding. Checking our emotions, seeing the world through others' eyes, and seeking compromise help bridge gaps in our views.
Whenever the military is asked to serve political purposes, as it was recently in Japan, it threatens our Constitution.
There are some silly differences in close relationships. The humor and acceptance that comes from negotiating through them help build the foundation that gets people through rough times.
Fearful of backing down, nations may back into war. As Memorial Day approaches, it is worth recalling lessons from Vietnam.
In science and technology, the balance between humility and hubris is hard to judge. Much of that work goes on out of view and most of us lack the knowledge to evaluate – or even understand – the work itself.
Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were the Jeremiahs of the 19th century, calling the nation to live its founding values. We need Jeremiahs again.
Nearly a hundred years ago, Dr. Frances Weld Peabody said "The secret of the care of the patient is in caring for the patient." That requires empathy.
Stories take facts and weave them into meaning. A nation needs unifying stories. Without them, it is like a ship unable to find a harbor.
The next time technology captures your time and energy, ask yourself: am I really living the life I want to live?
If legality is the sole standard incumbent on a president, we risk a presidential playing field devoid of ethical expectations.
I have a love affair with spring. It's been going on as long as I can remember. Its promise and its gifts never fade.
The campaign against government waste and gridlock has been a hallmark of elections for decades. But we should be wary of a government that acts too swiftly.
Anger is human but can destroy human dignity. More awareness of the thinking potholes it puts in our paths might avoid us driving so dangerously ahead.
Neuroscience is being used by some to shape what we buy and how we vote. Our emotions can be used, by neuro-manipulation, to drive out our reason
