A mother once said of her young daughter, "When she was a child, she would have all the kids in the neighborhood following her around. She always was the boss. She would be leading a line of children carrying a flag shouting, 'Follow me!'"

Follow me! Follow me? "Why would I want to follow you?" one might ask. What compels leaders to lead and command us to follow? What in their souls drives them to positions of leadership? Is it power? Might it be issues of control? Is it a need to have attention? What qualities must a leader possess to be considered great? What role does perfection play in a leader's character? And most importantly, what price does a leader pay to have that role?

At the time of President Ford's passing in December 2006, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said, "Gerald Ford was a man of modesty, decency and national healing. Although he never aspired to America's highest office, once there he renewed our faith in our nation's system of government. He also earned our affection and respect."

Ford never sought national office, nor was he elected to it. Yet he has been touted as a man of integrity for his leadership through the troubled Nixon era and Watergate scandal. The price he paid for guiding us during that time probably cost him his own re-election as president.

In our medical societies, leaders emerge to guide us through the many storms of managed care, malpractice and misapplied reimbursement. Leaders act as watchdogs of healthcare policy, rubbing shoulders with state and federal officials and swaying opinions. And leaders at our state organization take on monumental tasks, such as suing various corrupt companies and hospitals that take physician reimbursement and medical staff leadership for granted.

Still, there are other leaders in our midst. The conscientious physicians who work everyday touching patients' lives are leaders in their
own right. In medicine, leadership can be found virtually everywhere.

But what is the price of leadership? Being a physician is not easy. The lifelong learning it requires humbles us and makes us realize that we can never know it all, that we must "keep up." Just the same, leaders can never know all they need to know to handle the difficulties of their role. Flawless leadership is not possible, even in medicine. However, altruism in leadership is required. Those who head our medical societies only wish to bring meaning and superior performance to our organizations. Leaders wish to make a difference for all of us.

Despite Ford's loss in his own run for president, he still had a marked influence on America for the better. His place in our hearts and history is permanently secure. As President Ford has shown us, being a leader may be different than we imagine, but the price of leadership and making a positive impact is affordable.