Tag Archives: Leadership
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.
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.
When describing the design for the proposed monument honoring President Dwight Eisenhower, Washington Post cultural critic Philip Kennicott referred to it as “a relatively small representation of Eisenhower.” He went on to say that the small representation acknowledged that “there were many other men who could have done what he did, who would have risen to the occasion if they had been tapped.” When I read this in George Will’s column, Reasons to Like – and Honor – Ike, I was dumbfounded. I was struck by the naiveté and the disrespect that these words conveyed.
Why do icons and symbols so often outlast our memories of leaders who created them? This question was nagging at me for several days last week after I heard an interview with Sharon La Cruise, whose film, Daisy Bates: The First Lady of Little Rock, premiered on PBS on February 1st. Ms. La Cruise’s film tells the story of a forgotten hero of the Civil Rights Movement. The film explores the life of Daisy Bates, who helped the Little Rock Nine become the first African-American students to cross the racial divide to attend Little Rock Central High School in 1957.
Two of my heroes, Jim and Louise Mulligan, shared the following story with me. While leadership starts with knowing ourselves and what truly matters to us, this knowledge means nothing if we don’t live in a way that reflects it. That means talking about our beliefs and values and sharing them with others openly and proudly. While I value the freedoms I enjoy as an American, this story reminded me that I often take them for granted. Quang Nguyen doesn’t, and the Mulligans don’t. It makes me stop and consider what other values I might be ignoring.
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