President Obama and Lessons for New Leaders

Key in business: Are you opening two-way lines of communication in ways that will build strong trust? Don’t just say it, do it.

President Obama is teaching important lessons to new leaders challenged with spearheading critical change efforts. His decisive actions from the time of his November election victory until now offer great pointers for how leaders can step into power and lay a solid foundation for success.

Few people would doubt that Obama has been riding a wave of goodwill and historical precedence not typically afforded new leaders. His election was greeted with dancing in the streets. His transition was embraced heartily by an eager nation. And his inauguration drew record crowds in D.C. and parties from coast to coast.

So, where from here?

Well, get ready for our new President to disappoint us. He’s bound to, given the enormous challenges Obama has before him and the need to accomplish a lot in record time. But watch closely the leadership practices he employs in the process. They’ll tell us much about the type of leader President Obama is — and the success he’ll have.

Typical for new leaders bringing change — even wildly popular ones — President Obama will anger as many people as he'll please. And no matter how much hope, support, and brilliance he engenders, he can’t and won’t do it alone. No leader operates with unilateral expedience as the head of a big, diverse entity — like our democracy, or a typical corporation, perhaps even yours.

Four leadership practices stand out for leaders in today’s organizations who are challenged with succeeding at change. These are the four key levers that Obama has a firm hand on so far — and they're the ones to watch with any new leader:

1. Communicate Vigorously: Strong messages are critical, especially in challenging times, and ones that balance hope with realism. Obama is striking that balance so far – and new leaders everywhere need to be conscious of it.
No less a figure than FDR set an example with a brand of leadership that boosted morale and built trust, which are echoed in Obama's early actions.
Key in business: What core key messages can you narrow to and pursue vigorously, authentically, and in ways that build trust?

2. Emphasize Shared Responsibility: Organizations work best when people truly own common goals and commit to their accomplishment. The critical role for a leader, especially in difficult times, must include showing people what unity looks like. Too often, leaders avoid the voices that are doubtful, afraid, angry, reluctant. George Bush is faulted for this, even by his own supporters. Obama already has sought connections across the aisle and among conservative columnists. Indeed, there does come a day when people have to get on board or get out of the way, but sometimes leaders can’t seem to include the room for naysayers to have their legitimate feelings and doubts.
Key in business: Are you opening two-way lines of communication in ways that will build strong trust? Don’t just say it, do it.

3. Avoid Group-Think: Surround yourself with advisors capable of robust and energetic debate on the important issues central to your challenges. Obama’s doing that through his cabinet appointments and diverse staff — the so-called "team of rivals" approach as favored by President Lincoln. In fact, one of his biggest former rivals is now his Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. The critical need for a new leader is to hone practices with advisors who aren’t shy — which results in opinions that are informed, pressure-tested, and sensitized to the risks as well as the rewards involved in taking certain actions.
Key in business: Trust fades when opinions are silenced for the sake of expedient action. How are you balancing expediency with the need to balance input and hear from dissenting voices?

4. Seek Early Wins: Initial victories build momentum and sustain long-term strategy. They inspire confidence while moving a leader’s vision forward. Leaders are wise to seek early, quick successes in lighthouse projects that signal a way through treacherous waters. All eyes are on President Obama in the early days of his administration for the lighthouse projects that will turn cynics around and give him the wins he’ll need to garner strength and clarity for the bigger challenges.
Key in business: How can you achieve early wins in lighthouse projects bringing together multi-disciplinary teams that yield quick results and provide a means for people finding new ways to work together?

For all his magnetism as a political leader, President Obama has no magic wand and he — like every leader in business and beyond — will get no free pass from the people he’s challenged to lead. The groundwork he lays early on through logical and sustained leadership practices will buy him the time he needs to sort through some tough choices, which is critical to his long term success.

Stay tuned for an ongoing series of pieces like this where we at IA explore leadership challenges shaping the world around us.