Days before the election, comedian Jon Stewart teased candidate Barack Obama about not wanting the presidential job. After all since Obama had started running in early 2007, as Peter Baker of the New York Times noted, the job of president had become much harder in part because of the global financial meltdown as well as a rising tide of security issues. Obama shook off the joke and said that this crisis is what you want to be president for – tough times. As president-elect Obama, he certainly has what he has asked for. How he handles these issues as well as crises to arise will test his ability to lead.

There is one advantage that Obama will have -- a solid Democratic majorities both houses of Congress. These majorities will ensure favorable reception of his proposals. But that electoral supremacy could also spell doom, if Obama is perceived to put party before people. To his credit, Obama has shown more interest in bipartisanship than one party rule. As such Obama sets an example for any corporate chieftain facing big challenges. Here are some suggestions for leading when the stakes are high.

Own the problem . The problems facing the president are wide and deep. Talking about them will not make them going away. That is what candidates do; presidents act. The president must define in clear terms what the problem is and ask for solutions as well as offer some of his own. Corporate leaders too must own up to the problems in ways that demonstrate understanding as well as responsibility.

Challenge your team. Some Congressional Democrats may be tempted to act like peacocks on parade as they widen their control of Capitol Hill. It will be up to President-elect Obama to hold them in check by challenging them to come up with solutions that benefit all of the people, not simply party partisans. Likewise, senior leaders who challenge their direct reports are those who push for robust solutions, not ready-made ones.

Leverage your confidence . Obama, in part by upbringing as well as in style, is one who is confident enough in himself to reach across the aisle to seek bipartisanship. This will be critical in finding an exit strategy in Iraq and a way forward in Afghanistan. Both are thorny issues will require the best developed solutions of both parties, not to mention our coalition partners and NATO. Likewise corporate leaders can use their position to reach out to those who disagree, first making it clear that their support is vital but also making it clear that sabotage of initiatives will not be tolerated.

And there is something else the president or any successful leader must do, especially when taking charge. Select a team of dissenters. Ego gets a leader to the top, but ego alone will not ensure results. A leader needs to build a team of individuals who will support her ideas but also provide her with plenty of disagreement. When creating a team of thinkers and doers, the leader must insist on strong and healthy debate to ensure all initiatives are thoroughly considered from different points of view. You want smart people who not afraid to speak their minds. That’s good advice for any leader to keep at the ready when building a team of people who will help lead an organization out of crisis and into better times.

Big problems create big opportunities for leaders big enough to take on the challenge.

It’s never easy to fall short of a goal you have been working on for months and years. But cold hard reality tells us that we fail far more than we succeed. And for that reason, executives whose projects have failed would do well to pay attention to Senator John McCain’s concession speech delivered the night of his electoral defeat for president.

On the stump McCain can display a fierceness that can lurch into grumpiness. But Election Night, we glimpsed the John McCain that those who know and report on him have found his better side, the one capable of magnanimity and grace. For executives looking to close a project with style, here’s how to do it.

Congratulate the other side . This is pretty standard but McCain, co-author of so many books on history, courage and character, praised President-elect Obama for an outstanding campaign and a well-earned place in American history. Leaders do well when they show that they respect worthy challengers, even when the outcome brings personal disappointment.

Praise your followers . You must thank the people who helped you achieve. No leader accomplishes much by himself; leadership is about mobilizing others to your cause. This is especially true for managers. You will need your team to rise again to meet the next challenge. You cannot leave them wallowing in defeat. You must energize them.

Pledge unity . Campaigns are nasty enterprises; invectives fly fast and furious. But once the election is over, people need to come together. McCain urged his supporters to do the same; he said he regarded Barack Obama as “his president.” Leaders need to win over those who disagree with them. It is not always possible, but the effort must be extended. When people see their leader setting the right example, they may be inclined to follow suit.

Repeat your ideals . Talk up what you stood for and why you did what you did. Defeat is bitter, but from it can emerge lessons learned. It is vital to talk about what you did right and how you demonstrated positive outcomes. Shared goals are what bring people together.

John McCain also displayed a sense of character that David Brooks, speaking on PBS’s NewsHour, coverage, called “romantic.” The love that McCain has for his nation is palpable; after all he has served his nation since he was seventeen. His goal was to win the presidency but he was able to summon the gumption to put partisanship aside and pledge to work with the other side. His life in politics has been one of bipartisanship.

This is a lesson for anyone in corporate who feels passed over for a promotion. Your option may be to leave, but if you stay, you owe it to your company to be loyal. You must work for the greater good of the whole organization and put aside your own disappointment. Easy to say, and very hard to implement, but John McCain demonstrates that it can and should be done.

Source: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/vote2008/

Barack Obama and John McCain have at least one thing in common. Both are United States Senators, and now one of them will be the next president, the first sitting senator since 1960 when John Kennedy was elected.

Of late Americans have seemed to go for presidents with executive backgrounds, either as former vice presidents or governors. But the model of a senator casts a light on another kind of leadership and that is peer to peer leadership.

While most discussions of leadership naturally default to the woman or man in charge so much of the work that gets done within and throughout organizations is done peer to peer, that is persuading someone over whom you have no authority to do something. This type of leadership most often occurs across boundaries or functions. Notably this occurs with broad initiatives, be it an adoption of Six Sigma or lean manufacturing. Yes, the person on high has blessed the effort, but the day to day persuasion and implementation is done by subject matter experts, people who lack line authority but lead by virtue of their influence. If influence is to occur, it must be grounded in a few principles.

Be expert. Knowing your stuff is critical. For example in lean manufacturing, those who are schooled in its practice are referred to as senseis. To persuade someone else to adopt a new way of doing something may be one of the hardest thing any leader has to do. Before people will listen to you, you must know why your ideas are sound and how they will benefit the others. It is not enough to say, “because the boss says so.” That will get you in the door, but it will not encourage adoption.

Be open . Those who succeed influencing others pave the way for understanding by being open to the other side. They listen and they ask questions. They permit others to express their point of view. Sometimes there can be an accommodation as to resources and timelines. Even participation in the new project can be voluntary, at least until critical mass is reached when the new system must be implemented.

Be forceful . Stand up for what you believe. While you have acknowledged alternate points of view, it is necessary to move ahead. You have to make things happen. It will start small, and perhaps slowly, but it will occur. Standing along side the implementers offering encouragement, not just advice, is essential.

Influencing others to your point of view is a mark of genuine leadership. Some learn this skill as kids on the playground; others learn in competitive sports. Others learn it on the job. Watching how a leader builds a coalition, brings others to her point of view and more importantly to the point of action is critical. People who can do it with peers can readily do it with people over whom they have authority. That is, if you can lead people over whom you have no power; you can certainly lead people over whom you do have power by virtue of title and position. And so when managers are being considered for more senior positions it may be useful to see not only how they interact with peers but how they lead them.

To me the most enjoyable part of the 2008 presidential campaign was the joint appearance of John McCain and Barack Obama at the Al Smith Dinner in New York City. It was not an evening of historical significance; neither candidate said anything to make headlines. What impressed me most were the glimpses that both candidates showed of their character, more specifically their lighter side.

John McCain spoke of how even in this audience, mostly comprised of Democrats, he sensed that some were pulling for him. Then he turned and said, “Hillary, are you here?” McCain zinged former President Clinton for his tireless campaigning for Obama though McCain respected that fact that the president was knocking off for the Jewish holidays. He also mocked himself by saying that he had fired his staff and replaced staffers with Joe the Plumber.

Barack Obama who followed McCain said that he never had the opportunity to meet Al Smith, former governor of New York and the first Catholic to run for president in 1928, Senator McCain had told him what a great guy Smith was. He also punctured himself by saying that Barack was another name for “That one” and he had not been born in a manager and obviously his middle name (Hussein) was selected by someone who never dreamed he would be running for president.

Laugh wise, I would rate McCain higher; his speech had more laughs and he seemed more at ease with the schtick than Obama. Obama to his credit seemed more at ease laughing at McCain’s jabs.

Politics wise, I found the presence of the two candidates, sharing the same stage, separated by Cardinal Edward M. Eagan, a reassurance that despite the nastiness of the campaign, there is still a place where candidates can come together, not as friends but at least not as adversaries, at least for a few hours.

Character wise, seeing the two candidates lampoon themselves and their campaigns, and do it convincingly, revealed a humanity that you don’t often seen in the stage-managed political events. Oh sure, candidates love to say how they empathize with voters and how they understand their concerns. And we have the video footage of them listening patiently to voters, often hearing stories of heartfelt sadness. Those interacts matter, but somehow they always seem contrived.

Personally I want to see a leader who can laugh, and laugh at himself. One who takes himself so seriously that he can never let up for a moment is a president who is bound to consume himself in self-importance. Jimmy Carter was one such president. Carter was certainly well intentioned, but his management style was so hands-on that his urgency blended with preachy pedagogy. It doomed his presidency.

No one would advocate that a president be our comedian in chief. But it is important that an effective leader be able to relax and enjoy a joke at his own expense. That is a sign of confidence. We need our leaders to be self-assured and comfortable in their own skins. Telling a joke on oneself, and enjoying it, is welcome sign.

Source: http://wcbstv.com/campaign08/al.smith.d ... 42562.html

“It’s the economy, stupid” was the mantra that drove the campaign that put Bill Clinton into the White House in 1992. Clinton consultants James Carville and Paul Begala used their variation of “keep it simple, stupid” to keep the campaign messages on target.

This is a lesson that leaders must learn in their own communications. Simplicity is good, but when you are too simple you end up sounding paternalistic, that is, speaking down to an audience. It is as if the leader does not trust the people listening to understand his own brilliance. That is a fallacy and it has cost many a leader, particularly corporate leaders the trust of their own people. So what can you do to keep things simple?

Set the hook. Every speaker wants to get people to listen to her. But how? Speechwriters call it “setting the hook,” that is, opening with something provocative that gets people to think about what you say. That provocation is intended to pique interest and get them to listen to more. For example, a leader might say something like, “Let us focus on the future and how we will get there.” Or she might turn it into a question, “Have you considered how you will help us achieve our future and what things will be like for you?” Both are appropriate starting points, but the second one involves the listener in the process. That will get people interested and encourage them to listen for more.

Provide back up . The hook can slip out, if the speaker is not careful. You need to supply information that supports your message so that people are sufficiently informed. What might this be? It’s the meat, or as marketers call it, the freight, the supporting documentation for your message. That is, if you are calling for an increase in production, you had better back that statement up with facts, figures and data that support your message. Likewise if you are asking people to support your call to action, you had better make certain tell them that following you is the right thing to do for the company. And if possible, why it is the right them for them as individuals. That can be a tough sell, but if the issue is important speakers must deliver on it.

Tell stories. One of the best ways to make your message come alive, and keep the hook firmly embedded in your listener’s consciousness, is to surround it with stories. All of us learn from stories; it is a primal form of communications. And so stories that support your message are critical. The stories may come from the pages of your newspaper or the annals of history. Often they may come from inside the doors of your own company. Talk up the desires to do something useful, the obstacles they have overcome, and the great results they have achieved.

Keeping it simple is not simplistic; it just makes good sense.