PROMPT: The effectiveness of a country's leaders is best measured by examining the well- being of that country's citizens.

Leaders and leadership skill remains as an invaluable attribute to societies that strive to become prosperous. To move towards a better direction, societies need vision. Vision that is derived from leaders who represent the members of communities, societies, and countries. The effectiveness of leadership – the ability transformed imagined vision into realities – is primarily based on evaluating the benefits it creates to its members. Although, it is hard to deny that the effectiveness of a country’s leader is best measured by examining the well-being of its constituents. A nuanced view into leadership should take note that such a metric may not be a magical mirror that reflects the quality of leadership.

In facing both difficult times and happy times, societies need good leadership. Leaders who guide people and communities out of tough times are some of the most revered in history. Take for example: Winston Churchill, the prime minister of Great Britain during the Second World War, whose invigorating speeches and practical strategic calls helped saved Europe from the brink of complete defeat. If Winston Churchill were to be compared other leaders that enjoyed reigns that were not chained by such constraints, based on only the wellbeing of their citizens, one would – more often than not – come to the misleading conclusion that Winston Churchill was maybe an impotent leader.

Even more germane is the global leadership that is required to solve the issue of climate change and global warming. Leaders, today, have to look beyond the wellbeing of their country and citizens and consider the whole world in developing their mandates. Many countries such as the US, China, and the EU whose emission contribute to the growing environmental crisis have to sacrifice now to save their future. This may mean that some leaders have to strip the privileges that are currently being enjoyed by their citizens. For example, leaders may have to choose the more expensive sources of energy like windmills and solar farms rather than cheap energy that comes from coal and nuclear fuel.

Based on the suggested metric, in both aforementioned context, the effectiveness of leadership would be deemed as bad. This is because the wellbeing of the citizens in both contexts are not the primary concern but remains secondary as a secondary issue. This is all to say that leadership is a multifaceted attribute that can only be properly contextualized given the circumstances. Some circumstances may dictate that wellbeing of citizens should come to the fore, while other might not as illustrated in the examples. Ultimately, it remains true that good leadership is embedded in the ability of leader to understand the needs of the citizen as needs are directly associated with every individual’s wellbeing. To conclude, the association may not always be as straightforward.