Whenever I ask my class to name me five charismatic leaders, Nelson Mandela always appears on the list. When it comes to leadership, Mandela teaches us that it’s just charisma, but micro-political tactics. It’s knowing people, trusting yourself, not ego-driven. Richard Stengel’s wonderful piece, Mandela: His 8 Lessons of Leadership, is a must-read. With clarity and straightforwardness, Stengel hits the marks describing what it takes to be a proactive leader.
Category: Proactive Stories
Author: S. B. Bacharach
Last night’s debate was another example of different proactive leadership styles. The underlying issue, which seemed to be critical to last night’s drama, was the presentation of self, and specifically, the presentation of emotion. Leaders often walk the tightrope between control and passion. An expression of passion is meant to convey commitment, sincerity, and a sense of vision. A low-key expression of control is meant to convey a leader’s being on top of the game, being methodical and unflustered by chaos.
Passion, at its extreme, may convey anger. Control, at its extreme, may convey a cool indifference. A challenge for proactive leaders is to know how to balance both of these. In the debate last night, Obama was clearly concerned with presenting an image of low-key control. McCain was more focused on presenting a sense of passion. The problem is that McCain’s passion, at times, slipped into projected anger, while Obama’s coolness never slipped into indifference.
Author: S. B. Bacharach
Did you ever hear of W.I. Thomas (1863-1947)? Maybe, if you took a sociological theory class. If you haven’t, W. I. Thomas teaches us one of the most fundamental axioms in all social theory: “If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.”
This is one of those simple sociological principles that is obvious to everyone, but too often is forgotten. How we define the world, and how the world is defined for us will have real consequences for our capacity to cope, take action, and move forward.
In a time of crisis, we turn to each other for reassurance, some definition of the situation. In the last few weeks, many of us have turned to our co-workers, friends, and family for a common definition of the situation-with the hope that perhaps we can gain a little solace and peace of mind from a collective definition of what our world is about.
The notion of experience has come up in a topic in the presidential election. The concept of experience cannot be used as a sledgehammer. In this audio, we discuss how experience is a multi-dimensional concept to which we should pay attention. All of us, not just politicians, should be sensitive as to how the term “experience” is used.
[audio:http://bacharachblog.com/media/ExperienceNotSledgehammer.mp3]Proactive leaders have two political capacities: One to mobilize people and get them on your side and second to sustain momentum and keep people on their side. Success depends on both. In Thomas Friedman’s column in todays NY Times, he points out what Obama and the Democrats must do in order to reclaim momentum.
Friedman is absolutely right. One capacity leaders must have in order to sustain momentum is to speak from their gut. This column is necessary reading for anyone interested in a leaders capacity to sustain momentum.
Friedman warns us that it is not enough to just get people on your side you need to keep them on your side. You have to mobilize people and sustain momentum, and this demands that leaders consistently speak from what Friedman refers to as, “the gut”.
