I want to vote for someone who is a good person as my representative in government. That desire is particularly strong when it comes to voting for President. It may sound cliché, but character does indeed matter.

We have all moved through life gathering experience in different and varied ways, but there is also much that we’ve shared. In the course of our lives, we’ve probably had a bad boss along the way. We know what that’s like to work under an angry man or woman. Thoughtful consideration is generally not the rule. Hopefully, we’ve also worked with someone who was a good boss that provided support and instilled purpose and helped us learn and thrive.

That contrast between the good boss/bad boss that so many of us experienced is often the closest example of how we judge people in leadership positions. We come to know the difference between good and bad leadership because we’ve experienced it ourselves; it is lived experience.

We seldom get the opportunity to vote in our work lives – corporations are not generally structured as democratic organizations. Our ability to shape the future at our work can be severely limited. But this is not so in our civic lives.

Voting shapes the future of a society and given the many examples of countries around the world who do not or cannot vote freely, I feel fortunate to have that opportunity. I vote in every election and when I do, my life experience is in the voting booth with me.

I have witnessed enough angry men in my lifetime to know what to expect from such a leader. Fortunately, I have also been privileged to work with good men and woman who were also good leaders. We all know the difference when we see it. For me, character matters and I suspect, it matters for you too.

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Kevin Deeny