Leadership Challenge

The Power of Calm

Over the last several weeks I have devoured as many television interviews, newspaper articles, and any other bits of information I could find on President-Elect Obama.  I've felt a bit like detective, trying to break through the left-over campaign spin and hype in search of some underlying truth about our next leader.  What I've found is that a particular word keeps popping up over and over.  Interview after interview, those closest to Obama describe him as "calm."  It's not the description I would have expected after such a long and heated campaign season.  Yet, it kept appearing.  In a 60 Minutes segment, David Axelrod (chief strategist for the campaign) and David Plouffe (campaign manager) both described him as calm.

Last week the word surfaced again.  This time it was when a colleague was sharing her Vision Statement from The Leadership Challenge Workshop.  "I want to inspire you through my tenacity.  I want to inspire you through my sense of calm," she told us.  We all nodded and as our conversation turned toward the erratic stock market. 

When we think about Inspire a Shared Vision do we automatically jump to the image of those stereotypical out-spoken, driven, charismatic leadership traits.  Do we quite often overlook the power of calm?  In these difficult times of an economic downturn, how can leaders find their calm and bring that strength, that focus to their constituents?

Posted by Lisa Shannon

Michelle Obama on Values

Did you catch Michelle Obama's speech at the Democratic Convention this evening? I'm thinking that one of The Leadership Challenge Forum attendees accidently left copies of The Leadership Challenge and the LPI in Denver. Ms. Obama's speech writer must have picked up those forgotten copies and borrowed a few of the ideas. When recalling her and her husband's common values Michelle words echoed those of The Leadership Challenge:

"you do what you say you're going to do"

and that all important item #14:

"you treat people with dignity and respect."

Whether you support Barack Obama or John McCain or haven't yet decided who will benefit from the vote you cast in November, viewing the U.S. Presidential candidates though the lens of The Five Practices makes for an interesting leadership exercise. And while we all get tired of campaigns' spin and hype, trying to imagine how each candidate might fair when faced with a dose of LPI feedback makes even the most monotonous campaign ads almost bearable.

Posted by Lisa Shannon