Blog about Leadership

 The thirty-eighth Vice President of the United States – Hubert H. Humphrey Jr. may have fallen a little short of reaching the top role, but he still attained a level in politics that very few have been able to accomplish.  Today, I want to build on a quote from him.

Leadership quote from Hubert H. Humphrey:
“Leadership in today’s world requires far more than a large stock of gunboats and a hard fist at the conference table.”

Leadership and Diplomacy – In the last century, our world has progressed passed two world wars to an age of significantly less war, even though there are still needless deaths and destruction.  After World War I, our leaders tried to enter an age of diplomacy with the League of Nations, but the league failed to prevent a second world war.  After World War II, we were more successful with the United Nations, which still may have fallen short according to some arguments.  Either way, national leaders in our current world engage in a dialog and interdependence on the world stage which has propelled us toward a period of national leadership where diplomacy is a critical skill set, but diplomacy is also pertinent in the organizational environment as well.

Office Diplomacy - While there are circumstances in which authoritarian management styles are necessary, most of leaders in the modern world understand that “a hard fist on the conference table” will produce unwanted results.  People do not respond well to harsh direction and attempts of coercion.  There’s an American Proverb which states that “You catch a lot more flies with honey than with vinegar” ~unknown author (often credited to Benjamin Franklin).

Leadership requires a skill set of diplomacy.

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