Last night, as we in Greensboro, North Carolina were
experiencing Polar Vortex II: The Return of the Arctic, Obama delivered his sixth
State of the Union address. After taking advantage of the rare snow to go sledding
down the middle of my street, I came inside and sat down to watch the address.
I was immediately struck by two important parallels between his message to the
country and the concerns and priorities of our industry:
1) That leadership is a multifaceted quality that requires not only a range of skills, but
also an awareness of how and when to use them.
2) That an imperative of leadership is to promote
good, increase understanding and act as a force for improvement in our world.
Obama kept returning to a discussion of what defines
American leadership, and to this question in particular: Is leadership defined
by the country’s military strength? Manufacturing prowess? Diplomatic reach? National
character? The president’s refreshing answer was e.) All of the above. His
assertion that a combination of many factors contributes to the character of U.S.
leadership is something that we in the OD industry know very well. A team
leader cannot lead effectively without developing multiple strengths and
knowing when and how best to use them. In “a world of complex threats,” Obama
said, “our security and leadership depends on all elements of our power – including strong and principled
diplomacy.” The same goes in the business world. A manager that relies solely
on her tendency to use asserting to influence those around her may be
ineffective, or even cause harm, with others in the organization who have a
different influencing style. In the State of Union address last night, Obama emphasized
the importance of developing and using different skills in different situations,
rather than just relying on one strength to lead. This is an awareness the OD
industry struggles to convey every day.
Second, the president encouraged Congress to “remember that
our leadership is defined not just by our defense against threats, but by the
enormous opportunities to do good and promote understanding around the globe.”
So we’re not just trying to deal with each catastrophe as it occurs, we can
also work to improve the leadership status quo. As trainers, coaches, and HR
professionals, doing good and promoting understanding is exactly what we are
trying to accomplish every day. We understand that developing good leaders is a
learning process, and that leadership is not a magical quality naturally bestowed
on a few worthy individuals. So it turns out, Obama’s vision of leadership
coincides with two important aspects of our industry: 1) an awareness that leadership
is multifaceted, and 2) we strive to improve the world around us by building
more enlightened leaders. I also learned something new yesterday: you know those
words coming out of politicians’ mouths? Apparently some of them can be
relevant!
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