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Obama on Leadership
Written by: Paul BridleArticle Overview: After eight years of the Bush Administration and the last year of electioneering, the whole world watched in January, as the first African-American took the oath of office and became the 44th President of United States of America.
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Free Download - An Accountant or a Leader - but rarely both By Paul Bridle |
Obama on Leadership
His
inaugural speech lacked the RA-RA of his previous speeches. Rather it focused on setting out his
approach to doing business. Time will tell how much of what he says he can live
up to, or should I say, what the establishment will let him do.
The speech
struck me on a number of valuable points. After making the point that the
previous administration’s actions were questionable and certainly not how he
intends to do business, he made a great point that we would all do good to
remember at the moment:
“We are no less productive, our minds not less
inventive, our services no less needed, our capacity remains undiminished.”
The
details I think worth noting are the points that he makes relating to
‘Leadership’. Referring to United States of America, he said, “…. we are ready to lead once more”.
I took a
few quotes that are worth considering about leading. These are all worthwhile
aspects of leadership that we would all do well to remind ourselves from time-to-time.
First he
made the comment; “Our power alone can’t
protect us nor does it entitle us to do with as we please. Our power grows
through prudent use”.
Leaders
sometimes allow the power to go to their head. Some abuse their power. It is a
wise person that recognizes that with power comes responsibility and that how
it is used defines how it will either grow or diminish.
To the
adversaries he said, “We will work with
you with mutual interest and mutual respect.”
To his
enemies he said, “…your people will judge
you on what you can build, and not what you can destroy”. Then he added a
challenge; “We will extend a hand if you
are prepared to unclench your fist.”
Leaders do
well to consider how their people will judge them and what they will judge them
on. If we understand what our people want from us, we can then manage those
expectations and deal with it accordingly.
It is also
good to see how the ownership for the outcome was shared by offering the hand
if the other is prepared to “unclench
your fist”. Setting out the basis for the future of the relationships in a
fair but firm manner, is the sign of a good leader.
The
President also spoke about “a new era of
responsibility”. Responsibility
is certainly the name of the game at the moment. In defining the values, he
said; “Honesty & hard work, courage
and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism.”
He
certainly was clear that it was a time to give and not to just take. This was a
central theme and the first two values are probably the most important and said
the most about him.
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About the Author: Paul Bridle RSS for Paul's articles - Visit Paul's website Paul is a Leadership Methodologist. For almost two decades he has studied effective organizations and the people that lead them. As a result of his research around the world, he is called upon to assist both private as well as public organizations by acting as an advisor or consultant on a range of projects relating to management and leadership issues or development. Paul is a Faculty Member of the Institute of Management Studies, Fellow of the Institute of Business Consulting, Fellow of the Professional Speaker Association and a Certified Speaking Professional. Paul was also voted 12th in The Top 30 Most Influential Leadership Gurus in the World in 2007 & 2008 for his contribution to Leadership development. International Business Speaker, Author, Facilitator, Advisor and Consultant Click here to visit Paul's website The Empire Strikes Back Service Interaction Work is Love made Visible The Day our Icons let us down Global View |
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