His rise to power was truly stellar. In twelve years, he went from an unknown to the most powerful person in the world. One can say that this was his destiny and perhaps that is so. It is also true that he ran an extraordinarily smart campaign. In a very short time, he created a shared ownership for change mentality among people not only in this country but abroad. Even initial dissenters melted under his cool calm.
As a coach, leadership trainer and organizational consultant, I watched the Obama campaign with extreme interest. For over ten years, I have worked with organizations providing real time large group change processes for hundreds or thousands of people in such settings as a Tennessee manufacturing company, a California domestic violence prevention program and at the Port of Singapore. What I have learned is remarkably similar to the elements Obama used in his ascent to power. Before the campaign fades in the excitement of inauguration and the coming honeymoon of his presidency, I thought it was important to pause and recall the thinking and action that got him here today. In these times of economic turmoil, massive job losses and fear, it is more important than ever for leaders to unite people in order to survive the tsunamis of change. No matter whether you are a leader in an organization, a community, a family, or a leader of your own life, there is much to be learned from the Obama’s campaign. Here are some of the lessons.
1. He accurately told the current story of America. Obama stated the current reality not just by quoting statistics but in a way the average person understood. He relayed their stories. In doing so, people felt heard. When people feel heard, they are more receptive to your message.
2. He offered a vision based on people’s current needs as well as their highest aspirations. Whereas most companies create incremental change, (e.g. the auto business) Obama tapped into people’s desire for exponential change. He offered them the audacity of hope. In doing so, he demonstrated that one wasn’t Pollyanna, uncool, or politically naïve for expressing the need for hope and for daring to reach for something better.
3. He expressed his vision in ways people could remember. Most companies create lengthy vision statements that no one can recall. Obama not only offered elements of his vision, (e.g. help for the middle class) he rallied people with emotional slogans such as “Yes We Can” that were catchy and stroked a basic human desire. Obama demonstrated the enormous power generated when a leader taps into the emotional pain, needs and hopes of people.
4. He quickly identified and enrolled his target audience. Obama recognized that the youth and Afro-American communities represented a huge voting block that had mainly been ignored. He then targeted these groups and enrolled them as volunteers. By doing so, he gave them ownership within his campaign. He recognized that when people feel invested, they contribute more. To the contrary, organizations tend to speak to the general population rather than targeting the groups within the organizations that can best understand and propagate their message. In most organizations, people do not feel invested beyond their own need to maintain employment. In most communities and in way too many families, people feel disenfranchised thus spurring them to be more interested in their own needs rather than in the good of the whole.
5. He created a blue print for change based on a strong foundation of volunteers who operated in autonomous cells. He gave them a set of values and a basic structure to operate from and then set them loose. Because his model was based on the notion of shared ownership for change, his campaign empowered his volunteers to make decisions and take action. Although it has been approximately twenty years since the philosophy of empowerment came to organizations, many leaders still lead with a ‘my way or the highway’ approach. Obama showed that empowerment works in producing high performance and results.
6. Obama used technology for fund-raising, recruitment of volunteers, organizing neighborhood parties, and the sharing of information in a larger way than any political candidate had done before. Although organizations are usually savvy when it comes to technology, they don’t often use technology to inspire and enroll people as Obmaa did. Perhaps the lesson learned here is that leaders can do far more in their use of technology to unite their workforce.
7. Obama modeled the change we sought. When in the midst of the Reverend Wright controversy, Obama didn’t immediately disown the Reverend as most politicians would have done. Instead, he spoke about the good aspects of the man and separated himself from the rhetoric that he did not believe. This showed Obama’s loyalty and character under fire. When the Reverend Wright continued his onslaught, instead of defending himself and fighting back, Obama chose the high road and elevated the conversation by addressing the nation on race relationships and discrimination. The lesson to learn here is that authentic power, which is based in love and a higher level of consciousness, is stronger than force and fear.
8. Even under pressure, Obama maintained his center. Under the toughest of circumstances, the only reaction we saw from him was a smile. The man was cool as a cucumber. Instead of taking things personally, he was skilled at keeping to the facts and coming back to his main points in a respectful way. This skill marked him as different from his opponent. In a world with so much at stake, the ability to handle pressure is paramount. Leaders in all organizations and at all levels would be wise to have an Obama makeover in this regard.
9. Although his opponents told us he was elite, he showed us aspects of himself that helped us relate. Whether in his skilled basketball moves or in the endearing way he spoke about his wife and children, Obama showed us his humanity. Thsi made him approachable, Thus, instead of discounting him because he was smarter and more masterful than most of us, he inspired us to become a better version of ourselves. Now that’s a leader!
What did you learn from the Obama campaign? How did it change you? Please add a comment and perhaps inspire someone else. And if you want to know more about how to manage change, please Google www.openmindadventures.com.
It hasn't changed me that much.
Of course I want all the things he talked about during his campaign. Those big visions got him elected.
What I am banking on with Obama, and I think he understands this from his Chicago/Illinios political background, is how to effectively work on the ground.
He knows how to organize at the street level, and he also knows how to get in politicians offices and get them engaged in discussions and compromise-making that allows the agenda to move forward.
The good thing about Obama is his campaign wasn't just all about him. He was occupying a position of being a grounding point for all the people who want to push ahead with the changes we need in the economy, in the environment, and in our foreign policy and neutralize or minimize the forces of oligarchy, greed, and media propagandists who have been hurting Americans by blocking the needed changes while they line their own pockets at our expense.
Obama has to work on a vision that is bigger than him, and he has to set in place policies that will outlast his one or two Presidential terms and help set this country on the right track of peace, prosperity, and standing for such high values as separation of church and state, and a high value on human rights and equality under a fair and just law of the land.
These are values the America I grew up in championed, but somewhere during the Reagan/Clinton/Bush years America morphed into being about greed, war, pollution, and torture.
Obama's job is to restore America's place as a leader nation. It will take more than four years, and he will have to set in place a groundwork that will last decades after his term(s) to be effective.
This is the language he was talking in. Believe you me, I take that kind of high languaging from ANY politician with BIG grains of salt.
But I realized there was no possibility of laying that bet on the GOP ticket. So that's why I voted for him.
I'll support him, but he has a tough job. It's going to take a lot more organizing, a lot more debating, a lot more diplomacy, and a lot of just plain old fighting the good fight to make the changes America needs to make.
I think the most savvy thing I heard him say was that after his election, he said it wasn't an endpoint for him, but it was, for him – and the movement he stands for – the beginning.
He has proved he's a good political soldier, now he has to be a great political general.
Unfortunately, at this point in American history, the Presidency demands either a home run or it's failure. He comes to bat with two outs, the bases loaded and his team 3 runs down.
America doesn't just need a good President. That's a recipe for failure. Today, the job demands an excellent President, and no less will do.
So a lot of people are invested in his job performance, but not all because they like him, but because the situation of America is such that we have to work with the leaders we have to get ourselves back on track. He is the one that offered a solution a majority of Americans could agree to go with for now. So he's in.
We'll see how it all shakes down.