TAKE THE LEAD BY BETSY MYERS

 

 

TAKE THE LEAD

   

(Motivate, Inspire, and Bring out the best in yourself and Everyone around you)

Author: BETSY MYERS

Who is Betsy Myers? I cannot possibly do a comprehensive review of this book without first giving you an insight into the life and background of the author.

Betsy Myers served as chief operating officer and senior adviser to Barack Obama’s 2007- 2008 presidential campaign and chaired the women for Obama organization. A senior official in the Clinton administration, she was the first director of the White house Office for Women’s initiative and Outreach. Before joining the Obama Campaign, she was executive director of Harvard’s center for public Leadership, and she currently serves as founding director of the Center for Women in Business at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Question1. ”Why is it that some people challenge us and motivate us to rise to our best abilities, while others seem to drain our energy and spirit?? What is that particular quality certain people have that causes those around them to engage fully and feel connected?”

Question2. “Why are some places such great places to work, while others feel grueling? Why does one department head or business executive inspire her people to greatness, while others evokes only apathy and disinterest from the ranks? Why is it that one Area Manager or Branch Manager is beloved by staff, while another is loathed and feared? What is that magical quality that brings out the best in people and is it a secret known only by a precious few or something available to us all?......... This book simply answers these questions and much more…

Take the lead is not a political book, although majority of her stories and the examples shared were drawn from her experiences in the 2008 Obama Campaign trail as well as her time at the White house, it is not also an academic book about the laws of leadership, but the book is personal, practical and profoundly inspiring. Take the lead is a book for anyone who wonders where all the great leaders have gone. The book simply talks about the emergence of a new leadership model where having all the right answers up front is less important than asking the right questions, where strength is derived less the from the power you wield than from how you make the people around you feel. Betsy Myers demonstrates how each of us has the opportunity to take the lead every day, and that we are all Leaders. You do not need to be in a boardroom, on a battlefield or on a ballot to have a profound impact on everyone around you. 2

 

INTRODUCTION

It is easy to view leadership as being something that relates only to the elite few. So often we see a “Leader” as someone larger than life, as if leadership were something exclusive to powerful people in distant places: the CEO’s suite or the General’s tent, the pulpit or the podium. We tend to think of leadership in terms of grand gestures and historic events: But every CEO, General, or President starts as a child, with teachers and parents, coaches and friends who supports and help shape them into the adult they will become.

A new era of leadership. There is a new kind of leadership afoot, a leadership of the mind and the heart. This new paradigm emphasized such traits as authenticity, collaboration, and caring.

The author echoed the experiences and observations and ideas she’d had over the decades about leadership, which boils down to these three fundamental beliefs:

Leadership is a function first and foremost of self-knowledge and honest self-reflection.

Secondly, leaders don’t always have all the answers. In fact the strength of their leadership comes from their willingness to ask the questions.

Finally, and most important, leaders draw their effectiveness less from what they know or what power they wield, and more from how they make people feel.

Leadership starts with ourselves. Successful leaders are those who are conscious about their behavior and the impact it has on the people around them. The toughest person you will ever lead is yourself. We can’t effectively lead others unless we can lead ourselves, which starts with knowing who we are.

Leaders don’t always have the answers – but they always have the questions.

Many of us grew up thinking that leaders and other authority figures had all the answers. But nobody can possibly know everything about every issue in the organization, business, school, or family they lead.

I have seen people shy away from leadership because they thought that to be the leader they needed to have it all figured out from the start. In reality it is very much the opposite. Effective leaders often don’t have all the answers, and they don’t pretend to. What makes them leaders is that they are willing to ask the questions. They are curious about other perspectives, of both the experts and the people in the trenches. And they are generous with what they learn and share it with others, devoting their own energies to helping others achieve success. (Old fashioned command -and-control leadership styles see’s this sort of thinking as a weakness)

Leadership is about Feelings. Advanced degrees, years of experience, an important title, or access to power do not guarantee that you will be a successful leader. Leadership is about how you make people feel – about you, about the project or work you’re doing together, and especially about themselves. Why? Because people do their best work when they feel good about themselves and what they are doing. When people feel valued, appreciated, heard, supported, acknowledged, and included, they are motivated to bring their best selves forward. This is how initiatives get launched, profits are made, and the work gets done. It’s not just about being nice, it’s about being effective. 3

 

Seven (7) core qualities of effective leadership:

1. Authenticity

2. Connection

3. Respect

4. Clarity

5. Collaboration

6. Learning

7. Courage

These seven qualities are not a magic formula or paint-by-numbers recipe, but they do provide a road map to effective leadership. We are all human and perhaps deeper than any other human need is our desire to feel that we matter. (It is in those moments of connection that people become inspired and motivated to take the lead and collaborate with you rather than remain passive observers or even struggle against you. It is in those moments of passionate engagement that we rise to our greatest abilities and proudest accomplishments, bring out the best in ourselves and everyone around us.

1. AUTHENTICITY

There is a unique, almost magnetic quality I’ve often noticed in people who wholeheartedly love what they do, and over the years I’ve come to realize that quality as authenticity.

a. There are no IDEAL leaders, only REAL leaders. People who are authentic don’t feel the need to exaggerate their story to make themselves look better, or to treat others poorly so they come out on top. They don’t put energy into trying to imitate others or pretend to be anything other than who they are.

What tipped the scales and made my decision clear as to whether to work for Senator Obama’s presidential campaign as chief operations officer was the fact Obama seemed to embody a number of key leadership traits that I felt the world needed, and especially he was authentic. He (Obama) made a statement that crystallized for me that this had been the right decision. “I know this would be a long road,” said the senator, “If I am who I am and we win, great. And if I am who I am and we lose, then so be it. But don’t ask me to change who I am to win this thing.”

After the US 2000 election former United States Vice President – Al Gore stepped squarely into his role as leading authority on the environment, which was where his heart and passion were. The respect he garnered throughout the world in the following years was remarkable. Within the few short years following his bid for the presidency, he had won an Emmy, an Academy Award, a Grammy, and a Nobel Peace Prize for his book and documentary An Inconvenient truth. Al Gore was living his authentic life, and the world opened its arms in support.

When you step into who you truly are, you access a source of inexhaustible power. People see you as real and that causes them to feel a level of trust and confidence that no amount of spin or PR can 4

 

possibly manufacture.

2. CONNECTION

Feeling connected to others is what gives our lives meaning and fuels our sense of belonging. A sense of connection can come from a shared passion, a shared experience or history, a shared goal or mission. It speaks to our desire to identify with and feel part of something bigger than ourselves. This is why we make efforts to attend school reunions and root for our favorite sports teams; it is why we can become so passionately engaged in a cause we identify with or the community we live in.

Experience shows that you can be at the top of your game, doing an excellent job at your craft or profession- but no matter how good the work itself is, if you don’t have a good relationship with your colleagues, it may not have the impact or support it should.

To add value to others we MUST first value others. Leadership is all about caring for your people. It’s about love. A good leader must care for people, just as they are. You can give without loving, but when you love, you must give.

One of the best stories I ever read that illustrated this point was told by a Nurse

“During my second year of Nursing School, our professor gave us a quiz. I breezed through the questions until I read the last one: what is the name of the woman who cleans the school? Surely this was a joke I thought. I had seen the cleaning woman several times, but how would I know her name. I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Before the class ended, one student asked if the last question would count towards our grade. “Absolutely”, the professor said.

“In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say hello. I have never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was DOROTHY”.

To succeed in life, we must learn to work with and through others. One person work alone cannot accomplish much. As John Craig points out…

“No matter how much work you can do, no matter how engaging your personality may be, you will not advance far in life/business if you cannot work through others”. That requires you to see the values that others possess.

a. How to build relationships. Relationships create the alliances and collaborations it takes to get the work done. In any organization, those people who are the most successful over the long haul are the ones who have taken the time to build the necessary relationships.

Engaging someone in conversation is about finding those things that might connect us, from knowing the same people to sharing similar interests. Conversations are opportunities to learn more about another person, share something about ourselves, and discover things we may have in common.

It really boils down to two things; curiosity and generosity – the curiosity to ask questions about others and the generosity to share things about ourselves. Being curious about others and generous with ourselves is what allows us to make genuine connections.

In fact, one key aspect of former President Bill Clinton’s leadership style was his desire to stay connected to everyday people and not become isolated. The last few years of President Clinton’s presidency were very difficult, yet he survived them because of the reservoir of goodwill he had built 5

 

up over the years. When he left the white house in 2001 he had an approval rating of 66 percent – the highest of any departing US president since World War II. How was that possible? Because of the sense of personal connection he creates with people.

3. RESPECT

Respectful leadership means keeping our eyes open to the people around us and making sure they feel truly heard. It means approaching everyone we meet from a perspective that says’s people matter. And taking time to really talk with people and become conscious of what’s going on in their lives is more than just a nice way of being: it also gets results.

Do you take care to keep your relationship alive? When you leave a job or move on to other things, take the time and care to keep your connections with former colleagues intact. You never know when you’ll be working together again. Taking the time and care to maintain past relationships is a gesture of respect for the other person, and an investment in your own reputation.

4. CLARITY

Every organization must have a larger purpose, and part of any leader’s success is the ability to communicate that purpose with vivid clarity so that it can be passed from person to person within the organization and without, much like a torch being passed from runner to runner across a continent.

Effective leaders arrive early so that they can be prepared for the meeting or event, find their place in the room and calmly go over the notes or prepared remarks for the meeting. Running in late, out of breath and with papers flying everywhere, doesn’t impress your colleagues with your busy schedule. It just creates the impression that you are disorganized and possibly incompetent.

As leaders and managers, we can never take for granted that everyone is clear and on the same page. We can’t assume that because we have mentioned it once, people are on board or will stay on board.

Too many competing goals and initiatives can kill momentum and morale. Of all your priorities, what is your number one top priority?

5. COLLABORATION – “One is too small to achieve greatness”

One of the simple truths of leadership is that we rarely get anything significant done on our own. The old command-and-control style of leadership was a model that said,”I know what needs to be done, now do what I say.” The new model of leadership appreciates the fact that no man or woman is an island, and that genuine accomplishment is the result of teamwork, not the lone feat of a single hero.

Effective leadership is about collaboration, and collaboration is about inclusion. In an atmosphere of genuine collaboration, people feel they are an integral part of the larger process.

To create the most effective collaboration, consider these three steps:

a. Listen to all the available perspectives.

b. Then, based on the insights gleaned, take decisive action.

c. Finally, clearly communicate your decisions, including why you made them and what they mean, to the team. 6

 

Nothing of significance can be achieved by an individual working alone. The glue that holds a team is the unity of purpose shared and agreed by all.

Chinese Proverb –

“To build for one year – grow wheat

To build for 10 years – grow trees

To build for 100 years – invest in people”

Eighty-seven per cent of people fail in life not because of capability but because of personality. People do not fail because they cannot do the job, but because they cannot get along with others.

6. COMMIT TO LEARNING

Effective leaders are always pushing the envelope of their knowledge and mastery of their area. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “I think, at a child’s birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift should be curiosity.”

Leadership is not an inherent skill. It, like many other skills, requires nurturing and development.

Stephen Covey, author of 7 Habits of Effective People said

“All information we have today has a 21/2 year life span, after which they either change/become obsolete. We all must be a lifelong student. Always read books. You should invest 3% of your monthly income back to yourself – inform of partial development, books, courses, training, etc.

- If you read 30 minutes a day, it’s equivalent to one book a week which translates to 52

books in a year

- Equivalent to a PHD degree in any chosen discipline. Because to obtain a PHD degree in

most disciplines, you need to read at least 50 books and above and do a citation and book

review to attain such feat.

We also spend 500–1000 hours behind wheels each year because of traffic jam.

- This is equivalent to 3–6 months (40 hours week). If you convert these hours to listen to

audio tapes in your car for this period it’s equivalent to 1 year – 2 years Full time

university attendance in University of Southern California

Learn about our customers, our industry, our products and about the world around us. You cannot give what you don’t have. As leaders if we do not develop ourselves, we cannot develop or impact on those beneath us.

7. COURAGE

I believe that fear is the number one obstacle that holds us back from doing what we truly want in life. Leaders are not necessarily fearless, but they are people who have learned how to confront and push through their fears.

Courage is about pushing through our fears to live our most authentic life and do what we believe is right. Fear turns opportunity into obstacles. It takes courage to live our convictions, to preserve, to take risks, to tell the truth, to apologize and to admit mistakes. It takes courage to live consciously, seeking the truth that may be causing pain to ourselves, the people we love, or those we work with.