"What makes a good leader?" This question is asked a lot in today's competitive world. Each of us college students entering the job market has thought extensively about leadership and has a different perception of what it is relative to our strengths. But what truly is an objectively good leader, and how do we, as Brandeis students looking to leave the world a better place than when we entered it, become one?

When looking around the world we see all different types of leaders, each with his or her strengths and weaknesses. President Barack Obama has a once in a generation ability to orate and motivate through words. Yet, his approval rating is at the lowest it's ever been according to polls by Gallup, Business Week and others. Does his low approval rating therefore categorize him as a poor leader? 

To judge a leader by their approval ratings, though, would be nearsighted. For the indefinite future, we will be hearing stories about one of the greatest leaders the world has ever seen: Nelson Mandela. Vigils, memorials, speeches and press releases will be made to honor the man who dedicated his life to fighting for the causes that he deemed more valuable than life itself. 

But what discernible quality made Mandela into what he was? How was he able to achieve the immense success and respect that he carried to his grave? 

One of Mandela's shining moments was the decision to negotiate with the National Party government that controlled South Africa through the apartheid, the same white government that held him in jail for 27 years. Moreover, Mandela made the decision to negotiate in secrecy, behind the backs of his own African National Congress, the entity that led the revolutionary charge against the apartheid regime, for he knew they would not approve of such a maneuver. 

Without that monumental decision, Mandela would not have brought an end to the apartheid state. Yet, we can only imagine what his 'approval rating' would have been among the African National Congress had the negotiations been publicized early on. 

Mandela had a firm understanding of what he was fighting for, and how he was going to achieve that goal. He did not bend under the pressure of his enemies nor his allies. He knew the best chance he had to end apartheid was to progress with these secret negotiations-and so he did. Mandela once said, "When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace." 

Mandela knew his duty, and would not let anyone deter his path. And that is what made him the leader he was-his perseverance toward his goals. His subsequent global recognition came only as a response to his success; no respect was handed to him.

Ultimately, we trust the people we choose as our leaders to make the right decisions, not necessarily the popular ones. Francesca Gino, a professor of psychology at Harvard University and author of the book, Sidetracked: Why Our Decisions Get Derailed and How We Can Stick to the Plan, studies how people make decisions. She wonders why so often we decide to proceed a certain way, and end up acting on seemingly the exact opposite motivation. External desires, outside pressure and irrelevant motivations all cloud our judgment of fundamental right or wrong, good or bad, yes or no. 

Leadership, then, is the ability to persevere through the external factors and make decisions on strictly the relevant motivations. 

We live in a world where releasing convicted murderers is a means toward peace in the Middle East, where known terrorist regimes are rewarded for pausing a nuclear program, where the single most powerful government in the world is shut down in opposition to a bill that has passed Congress over 50 times, and where a traditional family holiday becomes a free-for-all celebration of pure materialism and consumerism. 

Yet, all of these things have a stated greater purpose: the release of Palestinian prisoners will bring the Palestinian Authority to the negotiating table, a six-month window of non-progress will lead toward a true halt of Iran's nuclear program, a government shutdown will lead toward bipartisanship, and at a most basic level, we sacrifice Thanksgiving for a happier Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa. 

True leadership is the ability to obtain the universally accepted goals through the most appropriate means, from the leader's perspective. We as citizens, stakeholders and shareholders choose our leaders to be able to make these decisions, and outline courses of action-not simply to listen to what we think should occur.

Approval ratings and public outcry are part of any leader's life; no leader has ever been universally popular while still in office. Courses of action can therefore only be judged after the fact, with the advantage of hindsight. Until then we must trust the leaders in place to make the correct decisions. 

I only hope those same leaders don't abuse that power of leadership and have their judgment clouded by us.
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