Salvador Dali, photo taken at Dali 17 at Museum of Monterey

“All agree the President has complete power to pardon,” tweeted Trump recently. Constitutional questions aside, pardoning family and pardoning oneself is a tone-deaf, provocative example of a leader’s abuse of power.

If you have been following American news at all, you know that Trump has craved, if not demanded, loyalty. Loyalty from his colleagues, his party, and his country.

Loyalty to leaders cannot be exacted, it can only be earned. One way to earn loyalty as a leader is to hold oneself accountable for one’s actions at all times, and to do it in a way that people can see and over time, rely upon. When a leader consistently holds him or herself to high principles and rigorous self-management, while communicating with unflinching consistency and grace, loyalty THEN follows.

A leader who continuously bashes his Cabinet, colleagues and nation for not looking the other way, is doing nothing to engender loyalty or confidence. To pardon oneself for bad, unethical, or illegal behavior–and then publicly castigate those who question you–is the WORST. If anything, leaders must hold themselves to a higher bar of accountability.

If you are a leader, and if you are thinking of giving yourself a pass for missing the mark in any way, DON’T. You will be distrusted and reviled–and it’s nearly impossible to come back from a self-inflicted wound like that. Ask more of yourself, and others will want to follow.