Leadership Lessons from the Recent Presidential Process

I have been involved in a Leadership Summit group since July with my work with Lutheran Services. I've been thinking about some of the things that we are learning as we study "The Leadership Challenge" and how it relates to what we've been watching over the past few months in the presidential race. I don't usually comment much on politics but here are some observations (with thanks to some thoughts from Kevin Eikenberry's leadership principles):

1. Development of future leaders must become a priority of any organization. Anybody who has studied leadership knows that this is fundamental. And yet...each time another election rolls around both of our national parties seems to struggle to produce one leader that unites the party from the beginning. Instead, we see a large group of small fish fighting over who gets to be the big fish in the pond.

2. For any organization to truly succeed its members must be "on the same page...at the same time." We have talked about how our country is divided and yet our two parties seem to be as divided as our country. As an Independent, I watched the two major parties produce candidates that tore each other apart and then, after the nomination was sealed, tried to convince me that "this person (whom I publicly tore to pieces last week) is now the best hope for our country." If any other organization ran its business like that it would lose the trust of its customer base very quickly. True leaders recognize that the competition is not internal...it is external. Every moment that we spend in hostile competition with our colleagues is a moment that remains undevoted to the true purpose of the existence of the organization. In my area of work with non-profits and churches, this is an area that is causing us as much damage as it did our political parties.

3. Leaders know that they must create safe opportunities for people to practice, grow and to fail. I have come to admire Sarah Palin over the past few months. Here was a lady with definite strengths in public speaking and presentation; yet many felt that she did not seem to have been adequately prepared for someone like Katie Couric. There were discussions, at least in the media, that the RNC was considering not letting Sarah take on engagements that would not portray her in the best light. Nonsense! If you have placed someone in that position you must be willing to give them the tools and the opportunities to grow into that position and create an atmosphere where there is safety, even in failure. Unfortunately, our country does not seem willing to allow people to spread their wings...and then fall. We have created a culture of vultures circling the skies waiting for their next meal. Personally, I liked Ms. Palin very much and thought she added to McCain's ticket.

4. Leaders know that the success of their vision for their organization is more valuable than their own personal success. This is an area that I think George W. Bush did well during this process. He knew that his own unpopularity made him a possible detriment to his party's candidate; and therefore, he went about doing his job as president and didn't spend an inordinate amount of time on the campaign trail. There comes a time for us as leaders that we must realize that a part of our job is to train someone else to be ready to take our job...and to know how to graciously turn over the reins. There are some who will hold on to their own power so long that they become an embarrasment and a detriment to the vision of their organization.

I am praying that, as I seek to develop my own leadership abilities so that I can influence people to grow in grace and truth, that I will learn from those around me...in the areas where we do well and in the areas where we still have need of improvement.

Until Heaven...we're all in this together!