President Obama has the unique distinction of being the only president sworn into office by a Chief Justice whose confirmation he had voted against. During Chief Justice Roberts’ confirmation process in 2005, then-Senator Barak Obama said that he opposed Roberts’ nomination because he feared what Roberts would do in the “hard cases.” He questioned what Roberts would do in those situations where “. . . the constitutional text will not be directly on point. The language of the statute will not be perfectly clear.”
I spend much of my time speaking and writing about the role that choice plays in our ability to reach our leadership potential. I often tell my clients that true leadership starts with choosing to become a leader. As with all rules, there are always exceptions. There will always be leadership roles that are thrust upon us. For me, that was the case with fatherhood. When my wife and I chose to become parents, we considered many things, but we never thought about the leadership implications. During the past fifteen and a half years, I have learned that being a father is the most important leadership role I will ever play. Even though I didn’t choose to lead when I chose to become a father, I have chosen how to grow into this vital role, and I hope fathers everywhere will do the same.
Recently, I was listening to a reporter talk about the European financial crisis. She said, “The problem is, the Europeans have borrowed too much.” For some reason, this statement just struck me as wrong. It wasn’t that it was untrue. It just missed the point. The problem isn’t the borrowing per se. The problem is the underlying reason governments borrow so much – the spending. This may seem like an insignificant or meaningless distinction. Spending, borrowing, it’s all connected. The issue here is accountability, and that is what makes the two different. It’s easy to blame nameless, faceless politicians in Washington or the capitals of Europe for the debt crises. They irresponsibly kept raising the debt limits, which got them into this mess. They’ve borrowed so much money that the prospect of paying it back seems impossible.
I used to complain a lot about Facebook. I thought it was occasionally interesting, but mostly it was just annoying. I rarely cared what people had for breakfast, and I never understood the appeal of games like Farmville. I believed that Facebook was making people lazy about building and maintaining relationships. I had a fairly selfish attitude about the whole thing. I used it to see what had happened to some old friends and to help promote my business and my book.
Senator Olympia Snowe. . .You may love her; you may hate her. And sometimes you may feel both. No matter what emotions she elicits, Senator Snowe has become the latest politician to announce her retirement because of the polarizing nature of the national political arena. After 17 years in the United States Senate, and nearly 40 years of political service to the people of Maine, Senator Snowe announced on February 28 that she would not seek reelection this year. In her announcement, she stressed her continued sense of responsibility and motivation to serve, but she said, “I do find it frustrating, however, that an atmosphere of polarization and ‘my way or the highway’ ideologies has become pervasive in campaigns and in our governing institutions.” This announcement reminds us that leadership is exhausting, and one of the most important leadership attributes is stamina.
Testimonials
Ph.D., Director, Gilliam Center for Free Enterprise and Ethical Leadership and Professor, Management Department, College of Business, James Madison University
Ph.D., Director, Gilliam Center for Free Enterprise and Ethical Leadership and Professor, Management Department, College of Business, James Madison University
President, AAISP – DC
P.Eng., President ACT Canada
President, Arneson Leadership Consulting
(Steve was named one of the country's Top 100 thought leaders on leadership in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and one of the Top 25 leadership coaches in America for 2008, 2009 and 2010 by Leadership Excellence magazine. )
Former Governor and Senator, Commonwealth of Virginia
EVP and CFO, Intersections, Inc.
(USN ret.), former POW
President, Financial Services, Capital One
CEO, Korea Exchange Bank
formerly management columnist at the FT, now Visiting Professor at the Cass Business School, London, and director of strategy at Edelman in the UK
former Commanding Officer, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, CVN-69, and recipient of the John Paul Jones 'Inspirational Leadership Award' from the Navy League of the US.
Professor Emeritus, Darden Graduate School of Business, University of Virginia
Co-author Anytime Coaching: Unleashing Employee Performance Adjunct Professor, Johns Hopkins Carey Graduate School of Business
Bishop Emeritus of Richmond
Professor Emeritus, Darden Graduate School of Business, University of Virginia.
Head Coach, Butler University Men’s Basketball Team
Managing Director, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management
Author of Be Your Own Coach, and On Becoming a Leadership Coach, and creator of the Georgetown University Leadership Coaching Program