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St. Louis Leaders
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STL Leaders Speak Out is a brief video by Leadership St. Louis® graduates offering insights on leadership to inform and inspire. This week, hear from Vince Hillyer, President and CEO, Great Circle. Read more
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FOCUS Blog
Mar
25
Written by:
Focus St. Louis
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 9:39 AM
By Jorie Lewis Schuckman
FOCUS St. Louis
President Obama’s appearance on the Tonight Show last week got me thinking about leaders. Obama was making a concerted effort to connect with those he leads. So often, we take leaders for granted. We know that they are there, but as long as they do what they’re supposed to do (be it running the country or keeping our co-workers in line), then we don’t really think about them all that much. That should probably change.
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Kevin at Unleashing Your Leadership Potential made an interesting point about President Obama’s comments on 60 Minutes recently: “He said that he tried to read ten letters (from the thousands he receives) each day. He talks about how those words from ‘regular people’ (my words, not his) helps him stay grounded and that hearing the voices of Americans outside of the White House bubble is important for him and his ability to lead successfully.”
He makes the point that leaders need to be connected to those they are leading in order to be effective. All too often, it seems, leaders are anything but connected. Be it staying in their corner office or behind security guards, being seen as unapproachable by subordinates or citizens, or simply - as in President Obama’s case – being too busy to respond to everyone’s concerns, leaders need to make a concerted effort to cut down on the detachment between themselves and those that they lead.
All too often, I hear or read Mayor Slay’s spokesman’s comments, rather than actually hearing from Mayor Slay. I’m sure that the Mayor is busy, but it comes across as him not caring enough to speak directly to those that he governs. When St. Louis County was advocating for the passage of Proposition M, the sales tax for Metro, voters didn’t hear from County Executive Charlie Dooley, but rather some administrative lower-level person, who, in my opinion, didn’t come across as well as he could have, and certainly turned me off regarding the issue. Had it been Mr. Dooley speaking, I would have taken notice, and perhaps cared more about the issue because I know that somebody that was on my ballot when I went to the polls was passionate about an issue, not just some middle manager that is paid to care.
St. Louis has its share of problems, and if we’re truly going to make a dent and start solving them, we need inspired leadership, from top-level executives down to community do-gooders. Take a stand, show people you care, and they might care too. Feel like you’re too busy to make event a small public comment about an issue, and the people you are trying to persuade will probably feel like they’re not connected enough to be bothered.
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4 comment(s) so far...
Re: Staying Connected To Our Leaders
Should we "hear" more about our leaders? There's something to be said for the adage, "No news is good news." If good leaders are effective, then organizations and countries run smoothly, efficiently, happily, and progressively. If we don't hear about their leaders, maybe they are doing the right thing quite often. It's when we hear about them--through the news media, typically--that we know things are either going wrong or aren't progressing.
Maybe that should change. Or maybe we already are recognizing such leaders. It seems to me, for instance, that we emphasize recognition of good but "silent" leaders in What's Right With the Region, rather than the ones that make the most noise, whether effective or not. Political leaders tend to be the people we collectively know the most, but are they the ones we should honor? I actually think we are honoring some the best leaders in WRWR, but we may not exactly be calling them leaders at the time. Great leadership empowers people and their organizations and doesn't seek extraordinary recognition of the leaders themselves.
When they obtain such recognition, it too often is because they screwed up.
By Bob Lewis on
Friday, March 27, 2009 8:33 AM
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Re: Staying Connected To Our Leaders
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Friday, October 23, 2009 1:31 AM
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Re: Staying Connected To Our Leaders
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Wednesday, October 28, 2009 12:13 AM
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Re: Staying Connected To Our Leaders
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By verlie on
Monday, October 11, 2010 4:40 PM
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