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
Lisa, I think calmness comes from letting go of things you have no control over and simply focusing on the things you do have control over. In this tough economic downturn, leaders may not have control over the economic crises but they have control over their attitude towards it. Employees are looking at how CEOs are either reacting or responding to the financial meltdown. The exhibition of calmness in the midst of a crisis is seen as courage by observers and this quality comforts frightened employees scared that they are going to lose their jobs and pensions. Courage (or Calmness) is not the absence of fear but the ability to act in spite of the fear. People want to follow calm leaders. This quality helped Obama win the presidential election.
Posted by: Ola Aiyegbayo | December 17, 2008 at 05:50 AM
Lisa, your observations rang true for me. When I think of the leaders that have inspired me, it has been their sense of calm, despite the "fires" around us, that kept me focused. While Charisma is a characteristic that many say is necessary in a leader, charisma without the groundedness of calm can lead to poor decisions and results.
Posted by: Renee Harness | December 21, 2008 at 11:50 AM
I completely agree with both of the other comments earlier, but have something else.
Although letting go of things you have no control over and focusing on things that you can control helps us in the process, I can't accept that as the end of it all in regards to leadership, especially when the topic is 'vision.'
If vision implies a long term movement towards something we want to see come into fruition, often times much bigger than our own capabilities, then to constantly inspire others to share it requires that we are completely sold in the manifestation of it as long as we believe it will come true (whether it will come true without our being sold out or if we need to be the ones to keep the engine running). I think that with the necessity of life given to the vision, and the fact that we wouldn't be sold on it unless if we thought of it as a necessity to bring to life, it would bring a sense of calm.
In books, people who know their destiny don't move to the left or to the right, but hold steadfast and continue to live life until it comes true. I'd like to know if Obama considered his presidency a destiny or if he simply 'knew' that he would win all along.
Thoughts?
Posted by: Ray Chang | January 10, 2009 at 05:27 PM
The mighty desert is burning for the love of a bladeof grass who shakes her head and laughs and flies away.Do you like it?
Posted by: jordan 11 | August 06, 2010 at 02:08 AM
Great post!
Professor M.S.Rao - Author of 9 leadership books including ‘Spirit of Indian Youth – Soft Skills for Young Managers’
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Posted by: Professor M.S.Rao | October 13, 2011 at 12:34 AM