“We cannot put off living until we are ready.  It is always urgent, here and now without any possible postponement.  Life is fired at us point blank.”

      Jose Ortega Y Gassett, Poet

 

Great leaders have a bias toward action. They have the ability to convert purpose and vision into meaningful action. Just a few examples, FDR, WPA and CCC, Ike, the Interstate Highway,  LBJ, Civil Rights, JFK, Man on the Moon project.  It just isn’t enough to present a positive vision that people can trust. It has to be manifest in some productive performance and results. Most leaders are ideological idealist, dreamers or practical realist.  Who is Mr. Obama? He seems to be grounded in the need for constructive change and practical results. He is not an ideologue. He seems to be following MLK’s advice when he said “Life’s most urgent question is, What are you doing for others?”

How do you go about becoming a good leader? Figure out what you’re good at. Hire only good people who care, and treat them the way you want to be treated. Identify your three or four key priorities and ask your team and country to help you get there. Actively listen and support positive and successful actions to succeed. Celebrate their successes. Admit mistakes and correct your errors quickly. Measure the gains and provide feedback on where we are and where we want to go and why your vision and actions are right and important.

Character matters because, in the leader, character is having the vision to see things not just the way they are but the way they should be — and doing the right things (effectiveness) to make them happen.  What followers want from their leaders is vision, purpose, empathy, trust, hope and positive action. Every leader has a purpose and passion for giving back to others. The problem is figuring out the right solutions for top priority problems. Experimentation and trying everything, was FDR’s approach in the thirties. He felt that the “great depression” was not going to be turned around unless the government took risk and tried different solutions and then learned from each experience and mistake. Leaders have to play even when it means making mistakes. The key for Obama is to learn and admit mistakes and move on. The challenge is whether he will be given enough time to turn things around. Remember FDR was in office almost twelve years. Will we be as patient in 2009 as people were in 1929 ?

Effective leaders are all about managing expectations, shared sacrifice, creative collaboration and caring confrontation. A shared vision and open communication style provides excitement and energy for accomplishing and overcoming the barriers to change. With a shared purpose you can achieve anything. And that’s why a central task for the Obama team is restoring confidence, emotionally connecting and inspiring others. These next few years, provide the opportunity for people to get involved and take action through empowerment and risk taking. The leader must actively help followers to reach their full leadership potential. At this point How can we judge Obamas’ leadership style?  As Max DePree once put it: “The signs of outstanding leadership appear primarily among the followers.” So one question is how do you like the people he has chosen for key political posts as he prepares to lead the country forward?