Addressing The Alarming Deficit
TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk (R) speak before departing the White House on his ... More way to his South Florida home in Mar-a-Lago in Florida on March 14, 2025. Trump is spending the weekend at his Florida Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP) (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)
The public and bitter split between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk has once again spotlighted a glaring deficit in the personalities of both leaders. Although the breach erupted after Musk criticized Trump's 'big beautiful bill,' a tax and spending plan projected to result in an additional budgetary shortfall of $2.4 trillion over the next decade, that is not the deficit I'm referring to here. The void that has further polarized our country is a lack of character and values at the highest levels of government.
Aside from the clear lack of decorum, the Trump-Musk feud has turned into an outrageous display of insults and retaliation. As the former chair and CEO of Baxter International, I can say that if such a level of public acrimony had happened in the corporate world, it would have raised serious governance concerns that would need to be addressed.
Without values and a strong moral character, leadership is weakened. That's why in today's polarized environment, values-based leadership is not only relevant, it should also be a yardstick against which we evaluate leaders in business and government.
As my good friend and former chair and CEO of Medtronic, Inc., Art Collins, wrote in an insightful LinkedIn post: 'While past performance should always be examined, I firmly believe that an individual's character is a crucial attribute to be considered when selecting and appraising a leader.'
After reading his post, I asked Art to engage in a discussion on values, character, and leadership. Here are some highlights from our conversation.
As the Trump-Musk breakup fills the news headlines and late-night television monologues, we cannot let ourselves be distracted by political theater playing out in Washington. This is a matter of character, not only among our leaders, but for our country and how we are perceived around the world.
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