Leadership Quote by Rob Simmons

Power, Simmons suggests, is safest in the hands of someone who never chased it. That’s not a misty-eyed ode to humility so much as a hard-nosed political insight: ambition distorts judgment. The person who campaigns for the job, networks for the job, and builds an identity around the job can start to treat governing as a personal project instead of a public trust. By contrast, the reluctant governor is framed as someone drafted by circumstance, insulated (at least in theory) from the ego needs and career incentives that make leaders overpromise, overreach, and cling to office.

The line works because it flatters two audiences at once. Voters get to believe their instincts about “career politicians” are justified; insiders get a neat myth that rationalizes picking a “steady hand” who seems above the fray. It’s the cultural fantasy of the civic Cincinnatus: the competent adult pulled from private life to clean up the mess, then happy to leave. In American politics, that story is perennial precisely because it’s rare.

Subtext: governing is less about visionary self-expression and more about restraint, tradeoffs, and saying no. A would-be governor might be addicted to big plans; an accidental one can be sold as allergic to theatrics. The irony, of course, is that “never planned” can also mean “never prepared.” Reluctance isn’t competence, and a lack of ambition doesn’t automatically translate to courage.

Contextually, Simmons (a long-time politician) is also making a savvy insider’s confession: the system rewards those who want power most, even when we’d prefer the opposite. The quote is a critique packaged as a compliment.