Watching Obama

As a professor who reads, writes, and is a student of leadership, it has been a delight watching Obama form his Cabinet.  Regardless of your political affiliation, we can all learn from his early actions and decisions.  I am calling it "textbook leadership" so far. 

As Obama surrounds himself with his rivals, he is demonstrating his confidence and security with himself.  He has a healthy ego that is in balance.  He wants the brightest minds around him to challenge his thinking and to add value.  One person described his strategy of selecting Cabinet members as "putting a puzzle together."  Obama wants to make sure that a diversity of voices are heard at the table.

Obama is inheriting a world in crisis with many industries hanging on by a thread.  He will have to make tough decisions that will not please everyone.  But he said in an interview to hold him accountable to measures under his control and reminded us that this role is not a popularity contest.

So far, Obama seems to be using his thoughtful and "no drama" approach and it appears to be working.  We all need him to succeed.  Let's keep watching and hoping for the change that is so desperately needed at this time. 

What do you think? 

More about Wisdom

So what do I want for Christmas?  My main request this year was to receive the book WISDOM by Andrew Zuckerman.  This young photographer decides to photograph sages or elders about what it is like to grow older in wisdom.  Many of the people you will recognize such as Clint Eastwood and Willie Nelson. 

If you click on the link (WISDOM), you will be able to view a short video of the making of the book and preview some of the people being interviewed.  Since I love photography and now I am passionate about sages, I wish I had thought of the idea.  We have so much to learn from people with rich life experiences and we need to be reminded to listen to them. 

Our culture is so youth oriented that we easily discount the value of elders and we don't take the time to listen to their words of wisdom.  Ask yourself these questions:

• Are you better at your job than you were when you started?
• Do you feel better prepared to deal with life's challenges?
• Do you know things now that you wish you knew back then when you were younger?
• Would  you share what you have learned with others if they asked?

If you answered YES to most of these questions, then you know what I mean about appreciating wisdom that comes with reflecting on life's experiences. 

• What needs to change so that more people respect wisdom? 
• How would we be better off if we made the time to respect those with wisdom? 

Hopefully, I will get the book for Christmas.  Can't wait!

Learning from Maya Angelou

At Thanksgiving time, I was reading a magazine article about Maya Angelou.  Included in it was a quote that Oprah has mentioned several times in her writings and it is this: 

"When you get, give.  When you learn, teach."

This quote reflects the spirit of sage-ing which emphasizes being compassionate and giving generously of our time and talents.  Sage-ing includes continual learning so that we can teach and mentor others.  In all of these ways, we are leaving a legacy for future generations.

Maya Angelou (this link includes a great interview with Maya about Obama) had this to say about being grateful:

"I am truly grateful.  I'm grateful for being here, for being able to think, for being able to see, for being able to taste, for appreciating love--for knowing that it exists in a world so rife with vulgarity, with brutality and violence, and yet love exists.  And I'm grateful to know it exists in me, and I'm able to share it with so many people."

"No matter how bad it gets, I'm always grateful to know that I don't have to stay with the negative."

These are words to remember that can guide our lives.  An attitude of gratitude keeps our life focused on the positive and what is important.

• What do you have that you can give to others?

• What do you know that you can teach others?

What I Will Remember

Leadership may be common sense, but it is not common practice.  Why are there so many bad leaders in times when we need good leaders the most? 

Effective leadership is not about being nice.  It is about being fair, honest, acting out of compassion and empathy and not fear.  I want to remember this during thes uncertain times.  Pay attention to the people around you because leadership is ultimately about relationships. 

One book I highly recommend that emphasizes these points is Resonant Leadership by Boyatzis and McKee.

Compassion

Our pastor shared this story in a sermon and I thought it was worth passing on. 

The great anthropologist, Margaret Mead, was once asked by a student, “What is the earliest sign of civilization in any given culture?” The student expected her to say a clay pot, a grinding stone, maybe a weapon. But that’s not how Mead answered. To the question what is the earliest sign of civilization in any given culture, Mead said, “A healed femur.”

Mead went on to explain that no healed femurs are found where the law of the jungle—the survival of the fittest—reigns. A healed femur shows that someone cared for the injured, did that person’s hunting and gathering, stayed with that person, offered protection and companionship, until the injury could mend. It is this evidence of compassion, says Mead, which is the first sign of civilization.

By way of a parallel, the same thing is true within the church. The first sign of Christian civilization is not preaching or music or budding theology or organization. Rather, the first sign of Christian civilization is compassion,

how well we care for those who are wounded or injured, in body or soul;

how well we rally around that person in their time of need,

offering healing and comfort and protection and companionship until they are able to rise up and walk again.

Learning to live with compassion is an important part of becoming a sage. 

An Early Analysis of Obama as a Leader

I am well aware of the dangers of talking politics with friends or at a dinner party.  So I realize I must be careful blogging about it also.  But I want to share some early observations of Obama as a leader.  Regardless of your political beliefs, I think we can learn a lot from watching.  So far I have been impressed:

• He said he views building the Cabinet as putting together a puzzle.  He wants to have people from various groups to have a place at the "table."  How can we disagree with adding diversity to the leadership team.
• He said on 60 Minutes that he wanted people to know that his leadership team was going to try some things.  If they were not working, they were going to try something else to get the country moving forward again.  This is continuous improvement where you pilot test something.  Don't stay with something that is not working.
• By adding some of his opponents in the presidential race (Clinton and Richardson to name two) he has shown that he is secure and confident, but that he respects their years of experience to add value to the team.

I will continue to observe Obama as a leader, but these are some of my initial reactions.  To date, Obama has been leading according to the textbooks and leadership literature.  It will be interesting to see how this all works because it will not be easy and no one is perfect.  But people want Obama to succeed as our leader. 

Change of any kind is not easy, but the key is this:  Can he be trusted?  I trust him.  Do you? 

The Holy Spirit

Since becoming a sage is part of a spiritual journey, numerous spiritual questions emerge.  Recently, we were at dinner with some dear friends.  My friend was telling a story about her son and how he had escaped some serious trouble and got out of what could have been a rather dangerous situation.

As she was telling the story, she kept saying that the Holy Spirit had saved him and that the outcome was because of the Holy Spirit.  I believe in the Holy Spirit, but when I got home that night I could not stop thinking about the reverse of this thinking. 

• If the Holy Spirit saved him, then where is the Holy Spirit when others need the help? 
• Does the Holy Spirit pick and choose? 
• If the Holy Spirit is there in the good times, then where is the Spirit in the bad times? 

So I asked our pastor who I consider to be a student of scriptures and I appreciated his response.  While he said that this was not a definitive answer, he believes that "the Holy Spirit helps us to get through things, not get out of things." 

This response is consistent with the writings of Rabbi Kushner and Rev. William Sloane Coffin.  I have read many of their writings and they advocate that we have a great deal of freedom in life to make mistakes. 

God does not prevent things from happening, but is there to help us deal with the consequences.  I find comfort in these responses.  Life is good, but not always fair.