I, like many others, am struck at the coming together of President-Elect Barack Obama's cabinet members. I start each day reading the latest blogs, vlogs and online articles to find out who he has named and for which post. The observation that many pundits have made regarding his decision to select very experienced "insiders" for key positions is one that bears further investigation.
Since most of my time is spent in the world of leadership development and helping organizations establish high performing teams, I'm all over these cabinet appointments! Obama is doing exactly what I advise organizations and executives to do..."staff your weaknesses". As a leader not only do you have to have a clue about your strengths, you also need to be keenly aware of your weaknesses. It's ridiculous to think that Barack Obama possesses all of the intelligence, insight, temperance, fight, good judgment and wisdom to run this country alone. It's just as ridiculous to assume that our corporate leaders can do their jobs alone. What President-Elect Obama and successful executives have figured out is that you need to put competent people around you with diverse perspectives and who are committed to execute your vision. A cold, hard fact of establishing a team like this also means that sometimes the most qualified person to serve beside you may not be your biggest fan. Great leaders have to be willing to check their egos at the door for the sake of getting the job done. Even if your "rivals" occassionally make your job a bit frustrating, that's the price of sitting in the big chair. You're the leader....LEAD!
In an interview that aired on CNN over the weekend, Obama was asked if he was concerned that appointing so many Washington insiders after he campaigned and won on a platform of change might be seen as hypocritical? He replied that he chose experienced people who he believes will be able to execute but that the changes in vision and the direction the company must go in will come from him. In leadership both vision and the ability to execute are critically important. This is sure to be an interesting study in contemporary leadership principles. I can't wait to see how the next four years unfold!
"He that thinks himself a leader but has no one following him is simply taking a long walk." John C. Maxwell
No comments:
Post a Comment