Undoubtedly, the well-being of a country's citizens is a important and reasonable indicator of the effectiveness of a country' leaders. However, when evaluating the effectiveness of a country's leaders, more factors should be taken into consideration. It is possible that some other factors' importance will outstrip people's well-being's.
First, there will be some disadvantages if the well-being of the citizens is the only index considered. Everyone has different sense of well-being. And in most occasions, the effectiveness of leaders in a country has noting to do to effect people's sensation of well-being. Commonsensically, people live in a more prosperous country are feeling more happiness than those of a poor country, but this truth is actually not consistent with that thought. In some developed countries, such as France, Italy and Japan, the suicide rate are amazingly high. From the development level of these country, we can hardly deny the effectiveness of their leaders, while the well-being of their people can not reflect the leaders' merits and achievements.
In fact, the evaluation towards leaders of a country should encompass many indices. The development of the country is a important factor which can not be ignored, and the reliability of policies concerning about racial ,gender and vulnerable groups issues formulated by the leaders can also demonstrate their intelligence. Also, decent diplomacies will win some scores for the leaders. Last but not least, the characteristics and personal chrisma of the leaders sometimes can be a significant factor for their estimation. Take the emperor of Tang dynasty in ancient China as an example, when people think about him, usually his right policies towards the development of the whole country and ethnic issues are considered. Moreover, people will remember his decent diplomatic style and his own overwhelming chrisma, which made him one of the greatest emperor in ancient China's history.
Leaders' effectiveness can be influenced by many factors other than the only reflection of the well-being of a country's people. While it is the same with the well-being of the public, people's sense of happiness can be affected by many factors likewise. Every person lives in a complicated social environment and establishes many relationship networks. Not only the country and the leaders' actions can have influence on them, but also the smaller social environment such as the working place and their peers can impact them. Even if leaders give their people priority without reservation, some people will not feel happy if their bosses always find fault with them or their family members are in ailments. Obviously, the effectiveness of leaders can not necessarily lead to people's well-being. Therefore, the well-being of a country's people can not be regarded as the best measurement.
Comparing to take the well-being of country's people as the best indicator to evaluate leaders effectiveness, I would rather recommend to give the development of a country's economy priority. The economic development is far more visible and pragmatic, everyone can clearly witness a country' development, which owns a large scale to leaders' effectiveness. Dating back to the American Great Depression, the New Deal of Theodore Roosevelt let people pick up the lost confidence, which definitely can be attributed to his effectiveness.
Although the well-being of a country's citizen is a important index that can not be neglected to estimate the effectiveness of the country's leaders, there is a urgent need to take many other factor into consideration. And the development a country's economy, for instance, may be the most significant index.