Next Level Blog
Simple, practical, applicable
Dear Mr. President January 21 2009
Dear Mr. President (and, wow, does it feel good to call you that) –
Congratulations and Godspeed on this, your first full day in office. There are many reasons why I’m excited about your presidency. One of them stems from my work as an executive coach. Your predecessor, Teddy Roosevelt, called the presidency a bully pulpit. With that idea in mind, my hope is that you will continue to fill the office in the way that you have started – as a role model to leaders in organizations around the world.
As a coach, I frequently ask colleagues of my clients for feedback on behaviors and actions they should keep doing. These are the strengths from which they can build their leadership platform. With that in mind, I’m offering these observations as encouragement to you and with the hope that leaders everywhere will be inspired by the example you set. So, here are some leadership behaviors I hope you keep showing us:
Speaking the Truth: In your inaugural address yesterday, you called it the way it is. By saying that “the challenges we face are real,” you leveled with us and didn’t sugarcoat it. That helps us define the work we have to do.
Offering Hope: You showed confidence that, as you put it, “the challenges facing us will be met.” You painted a hopeful picture of the future when you concluded by saying, “Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.”
Challenging and Engaging Us: By admonishing us that “the time has come to set aside childish things,” you issued a call for focusing on the big things and not the petty things. Your consistent reminders over the past weeks and months that this is not about you, but about what the American people need to do together make the point that a leader’s job is to help the group define the work that needs to be done and to mobilize them to do it.
Seeking Dissenting Opinions: When you took time the night before the inauguration to attend a dinner honoring John McCain you demonstrated that you intend to work with those that hold different points of view and sent a signal that you intend to listen to those points of view.
Showing Respect: In the midst of the pomp and circumstance of your lunch in the U.S. Capitol yesterday, you took time in your remarks to acknowledge and thank the wait staff for their work and to apologize for whatever disruption you caused them while you worked the tables. That kind of connection with the front line goes a long way in building good will for a leader.
Showing Affection: You clearly gain strength and energy from your family and friends and you are not shy about showing how much you care for them. That’s a wonderful reminder for all of us to keep our jobs in perspective and to take care of the people that matter most to us.
Keeping It Real: You come across as a real person. When you spotted Al Roker while walking the parade route, you, to his great delight, shouted out, “It’s warm!” in the 15 degree wind chill. By showing your sense of humor, you make it easy for people to connect with you.
In conclusion, Mr. President, I’m reminded that when you’re a leader, you’re always on stage. You, of course, are on the biggest stage in the world. We’ll be watching you on your good days and bad days and taking our cues from the example you set. We wish you well and safe travels on the journey.
Scott Eblin is an executive coach, speaker and author of 
Scott, thanks for your comments on the new President.
My sense is that Obama activated something very powerful and deep inside very many people. That thing has/had always been there, but he took actions and initiated communication that elicited it.
It is a fascinating question around exactly what it is that he excited. It could be larger self (versus smaller self), the next stage of adult human development (perhaps post-conventional thinking with complexity and nuance and a systems orientation versus "just lock up the bad guys thinking), or perhaps something spiritual in nature.
But it definitely happened. The emotional reaction is undeniable. Everyone I know cried at one point; many cried many times.
I remember when Julio showed up here in Tysons Corner a few years and asked the group, "What else can explain the pain of the present except that we are preparing to give birth to something new — like a woman in labor?"
I think there is a birth of something new. It feels inherently "right" to me, and while we can think about it a lot, the emotional doman is shouting some clear, positive messages. It could take many forms, but the essence of it is awesome.
Scott:
Thank you for so elequently describing the characteristics that serve President Obama so well in his leadership role.
The exciting part about Obama's leadership to me is that it reflects on a large scale why leadership coaching has such potential to take our culture to a new level. Obama's presence helps each of us resonate at a new, higher level.
This is what we're trying to accomplish with our clients every day. When they learn and practice the leadership characteristics you attribute to Obama, their positive influence spreads, impacting many people's professional and personal lives.
Obama is demonstrating the power of presence. He's showing us that it's not about him, it's about what he can create in others that produces the change.
Hi Jean and Mark –
Thanks for your thoughtful posts. In following up on Jean's comments about what Obama creates in others, I'd recommend Ron Heiffetz's book, Leadership Without Easy Answers. He's a huge thought leader around the idea of how effective leaders mobilize the group to take on the real work. Mark, your comment connects very strongly with an older book I'm reading right now, Ken Wilber's A Theory of Everything.