Blog about Leadership

I was reading Thomas Friedman’s latest Op-Ed in the New York Times (here); he is one of the few columnists that I follow regularly and I greatly enjoyed his book, The World Is Flat. He wrote about the biggest leverage that America can use in regards to Iran is the transition from an oil consumption economy to a truly green (environment) revolution.

My only critique of the strategy is that it overstates the impact of American oil consumption on Iran and disregards the consumption of other modern economies in Europe and particularly growth economies in India and China. I do agree that a green revolution in America could make significant strides in opening up freedom and reform in the Middle East and that America is still well positioned to lead this green revolution, but a critical requirement is that European and Asian countries must follow suit with their own green revolutions to produce the effect that Thomas Friedman writes about.

Other than this critique, I want to highlight a great quote that is used in this article. The quote is from Michael Mandelbaum, a foreign policy specialist at John Hopkins University:
“People do not change when you tell them they should; they change when they tell themselves they must.”

This is a great quote for leaders. Significant emphasis in leadership studies is the influence that leaders must have to drive change in their organization. This change also involves people. While a leader may seek to influence change, the best tool available is influence; coercion produces negative effects in attitude and motivation that hinder the positive effects of the change. Leaders need to practice the art of leadership to motivate people to change themselves.

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John Quincy Adams 

The former US President, John Quincy Adams, who was also the son of the US’s second President, was a man who lived an amazing life and was able to influence several of America’s defining government policies like the Monroe Doctrine, Adams-Onís Treaty, Treaty of Ghent, and, even, Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. The son of John and Abigail Adams, born on July 11, 1767, was a diplomat with international accomplishments, a Senator, a Secretary of State, a President, and then served seventeen years in the US House of Representatives until his death in 1848.

Quote from John Quincy Adams about Leadership:
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

Learning

Learning is a primary attribute of a leader. To be successful and to be a leader, adopt a lifetime of learning. But, as John Q. Adams’s quote reminds us, leaders beget leaders. So as you mentor and develop leaders, encourage them to adopt a lifetime of learning.

Action

Without a vision and purpose, there is no action, but merely having a vision is not sufficient. Your actions and the actions of others should move the group or organization in the direction of your vision. As the notable, former Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger puts it, “The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.”

Accomplishment

Your actions as a leader and the actions of those you lead should produce a product, service, or effect that accomplishes your vision. While the goals may change along the journey, the path should be marked with evidence of your leadership and tributes to the success of your team.

Lead

As a leader “…inspire others… (to be) …more…” by being more yourself and dream, learn, do, and become.

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 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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