ARTICLE
We are experiencing a paradigm shift in today’s changing world that has us wondering how we arrived at this place in time. From climate change to the unproductive policy debate in Washington DC we are moving towards uncertainty on so many fronts. I could provide a lengthy deep-dive discussion on the last decade’s political struggles at the local, state, and national level to frame the why, what and how we got here. However, that conversation would take us down a rabbit hole stuck in a political quagmire that leaves us pretty much at the same place we stand today — broken. We are forever pressed by fringe politics on both the left and right that dominate our daily news stories. The experiences of the past year paints a very odd story driven by the ideological divide. We cannot overcome the great divide in our country without change, attitude adjustment and positive reflection. To get there, we need to get away from the dysfunctional theories in our nation’s capitol and bring it home. Leadership is the critical component. On December 5, 2017, the Santa Cruz Area Chamber will launch a new series entitled Leadership in a Changing World. Leaders lead for different reasons; utilizing her/his burning passion for building programs, projects and services to the community; using innovative ideas to create new companies and inspiring workers to think boldly. Now, more than ever, we need to build bridges through an interactive conversation between the business, community, public and non-profit community. When we talk about leaders in a community, we focus on those individuals who stand above the crowd for their effectiveness in public, private and non-profit positions. Singularly, each leader has a special story to tell us about her/his career path that placed them in a leadership role. What is leadership? Do you have a hero or someone whose leadership guides your efforts? Do you have a mentor? One leader that I believe was ahead of his time was Theodore Roosevelt. His ten lessons on leadership are the cornerstone of his legacy. Leaders are created, not born His life and work is an enduring answer to the eternal question: Are leaders born—or are leaders made? Roosevelt believed that leadership is an ongoing project of self-creation. “If I have anything at all resembling genius, it is in the gift for leadership…. To tell the truth, I like to believe that, by what I have accomplished without great gifts, I may be a source of encouragement to Americans.” Courage is a foundational virtue Theodore Roosevelt was a warrior. His virtues and shortcomings are best evaluated with an eye toward the world in which he lived. Death was a constant companion. The consequences of the barbarism of the Civil War was very much in evidence in every part of American life. In this world, courage was paramount. Physical courage was prized. Moral courage, perhaps even more rare, was necessary for enduring service. He aimed for his example to stir others—indeed the nation as a whole — to undertake the same transformation. “There were all kinds of things of which I was afraid at first, ranging from grizzly bears to 'mean’ horses and gun fighters; but by acting as if I was not afraid I gradually ceased to be afraid.” Leaders believe action, action and more action Theodore Roosevelt had a consistent bias for action. He believed in the initiative. He was never comfortable or effective on defense, responding to a state of affairs set by others. Whether it was the construction of the Panama Canal, taking on J.P. Morgan, or any number of other memorable challenges, Roosevelt took the risks of action, over the greater (if sometimes less evident) risks of inaction or delay. “Whatever I think is right for me to do, I do. I do the things that I believe ought to be done. And when I make up my mind to do a thing, I act.” Put your team ahead of yourself One of Roosevelt’s formative real-time leadership experiences was leading his regiment in the Spanish-American War. He led from the front. He placed himself in undeniable danger, remaining on horseback while facing a rain of steel. He placed those he was serving before himself. As a result, many of the Rough Riders remained committed to him for the remainder of their lives. “No man has a right to ask or accept any service unless under changed conditions he would feel that he could keep his entire self-respect while rendering.” Leaders are Learners From youth, Roosevelt was a voracious reader: “Reading is a disease with me.” Roosevelt’s curiosity, his ceaseless learning, never abated. The book, the classroom, formal education, these were far from the only venues for learning. They produced many of those he called the “educated ineffectiveness.” “As soon as any man has ceased to be able to learn, his usefulness as a teacher is at an end. When he himself can’t learn, he has reached the stage where other people can’t learn from him.” Bring History to Life, Create the Future Roosevelt was first among equals, a practicing politician who was also an accomplished historian. He, along with intimates such as Senator Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts, would frequently turn to historical exemplars as they dealt with contemporary problems. “There is nothing cheaper than to sneer at and belittle the great men and great deeds and great thoughts of a bygone time—unless it is to magnify them and ascribe preposterous and impossible virtues to the period.” Maintain open channels with adversaries Many people think in all-or-nothing terms: either you’re with me, or you’re against me. That can be appropriate in some circumstances, but, at least as often, it is not. “If my virtue ever becomes so frail that it will not stand meeting men of whom I thoroughly disapprove, but who are active in official life and whom I must encounter, why I shall go out of politics and become an anchorite. Whether I see these men or do not see them, if I do for them anything improper then I am legitimately subject to criticism; but only a fool will criticize me because I see them.” Always keep your commitments Today, commitments are violated willy-nilly as they become inconvenient or undesirable. This has been even more the case among politicians. Roosevelt was notable in striving to meet commitments. He would meet commitments to his children to play, even if it meant that meetings of state would have to end. Memorably, he declined numerous entreaties to walk back his commitment, made impulsively on election night in 1904, not to seek re-election in 1908. In his reckoning, holding to his word was vital to earning and maintaining the trust of those he served.” “It is a peculiar gratification to me to have owed my election…above all to Abraham Lincoln’s 'plain people’; to the folk who worked hard on the farm, in shop, or on the railroads, or who owned little stores, little businesses which they managed themselves. I would literally, not figuratively, rather cut off my right hand than forfeit by any improper act of mine the trust and regard of these people…. I shall endeavor not to merit their disapproval by any act inconsistent with the ideal they have formed of me.” Family First Roosevelt was a dedicated family man. To a notable extent for a public figure holding great responsibility, he was an attentive father and husband. “There are many kinds of success worth having. It is exceedingly interesting and attractive to be a successful businessman, or railroad man, or farmer, or a successful lawyer or doctor; or a writer, or a President, or a ranchman, or the colonel of a fight regiment, or to kill grizzly bears and lions. But for unflagging interest and enjoyment, a household of children, if things go reasonably well, certainly makes all other forms of success and achievement lose their importance by comparison.” Be Authentic — Live Your Values Roosevelt was authentic in the true sense: he was the author of his character. He strove to live his demanding values, the better to serve a nation that could advance by the same values. “Most of all, I believe whatever value my service may have, comes even more from what I am than from what I may do.” We have leaders in Santa Cruz that set the tone and style of our community. Come join us on December 5 to hear from our line-up of speakers who will share their diversity of experiences and provide some illuminating stories, State Assembly member Mark Stone will be one of our two keynote speakers. Next week we’ll announce a slate of high energy community leaders who will participate in two panels with concurrent conversations about leadership, mentoring to their employees, business colleagues and to our youth. As you read this eNews article ask yourself who is your mentor, and where do you find your inner strength to be a better community member? Come listen, learn and understand the vision of these community leaders. Leaderships in a Changing World starts at home.
We are experiencing a paradigm shift in today’s changing world that has us wondering how we arrived at this place in time. From climate change to the unproductive policy debate in Washington DC we are moving towards uncertainty on so many fronts. I could provide a lengthy deep-dive discussion on the last decade’s political struggles at the local, state, and national level to frame the why, what and how we got here. However, that conversation would take us down a rabbit hole stuck in a political quagmire that leaves us pretty much at the same place we stand today — broken. We are forever pressed by fringe politics on both the left and right that dominate our daily news stories. The experiences of the past year paints a very odd story driven by the ideological divide. We cannot overcome the great divide in our country without change, attitude adjustment and positive reflection. To get there, we need to get away from the dysfunctional theories in our nation’s capitol and bring it home. Leadership is the critical component.
On December 5, 2017, the Santa Cruz Area Chamber will launch a new series entitled Leadership in a Changing World. Leaders lead for different reasons; utilizing her/his burning passion for building programs, projects and services to the community; using innovative ideas to create new companies and inspiring workers to think boldly. Now, more than ever, we need to build bridges through an interactive conversation between the business, community, public and non-profit community. When we talk about leaders in a community, we focus on those individuals who stand above the crowd for their effectiveness in public, private and non-profit positions. Singularly, each leader has a special story to tell us about her/his career path that placed them in a leadership role.
What is leadership? Do you have a hero or someone whose leadership guides your efforts? Do you have a mentor? One leader that I believe was ahead of his time was Theodore Roosevelt. His ten lessons on leadership are the cornerstone of his legacy.
Leaders are created, not born His life and work is an enduring answer to the eternal question: Are leaders born—or are leaders made? Roosevelt believed that leadership is an ongoing project of self-creation. “If I have anything at all resembling genius, it is in the gift for leadership…. To tell the truth, I like to believe that, by what I have accomplished without great gifts, I may be a source of encouragement to Americans.”
Courage is a foundational virtue Theodore Roosevelt was a warrior. His virtues and shortcomings are best evaluated with an eye toward the world in which he lived. Death was a constant companion. The consequences of the barbarism of the Civil War was very much in evidence in every part of American life. In this world, courage was paramount. Physical courage was prized. Moral courage, perhaps even more rare, was necessary for enduring service. He aimed for his example to stir others—indeed the nation as a whole — to undertake the same transformation. “There were all kinds of things of which I was afraid at first, ranging from grizzly bears to 'mean’ horses and gun fighters; but by acting as if I was not afraid I gradually ceased to be afraid.”
Leaders believe action, action and more action Theodore Roosevelt had a consistent bias for action. He believed in the initiative. He was never comfortable or effective on defense, responding to a state of affairs set by others. Whether it was the construction of the Panama Canal, taking on J.P. Morgan, or any number of other memorable challenges, Roosevelt took the risks of action, over the greater (if sometimes less evident) risks of inaction or delay. “Whatever I think is right for me to do, I do. I do the things that I believe ought to be done. And when I make up my mind to do a thing, I act.”
Put your team ahead of yourself One of Roosevelt’s formative real-time leadership experiences was leading his regiment in the Spanish-American War. He led from the front. He placed himself in undeniable danger, remaining on horseback while facing a rain of steel. He placed those he was serving before himself. As a result, many of the Rough Riders remained committed to him for the remainder of their lives. “No man has a right to ask or accept any service unless under changed conditions he would feel that he could keep his entire self-respect while rendering.”
Leaders are Learners From youth, Roosevelt was a voracious reader: “Reading is a disease with me.” Roosevelt’s curiosity, his ceaseless learning, never abated. The book, the classroom, formal education, these were far from the only venues for learning. They produced many of those he called the “educated ineffectiveness.” “As soon as any man has ceased to be able to learn, his usefulness as a teacher is at an end. When he himself can’t learn, he has reached the stage where other people can’t learn from him.”
Bring History to Life, Create the Future Roosevelt was first among equals, a practicing politician who was also an accomplished historian. He, along with intimates such as Senator Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts, would frequently turn to historical exemplars as they dealt with contemporary problems. “There is nothing cheaper than to sneer at and belittle the great men and great deeds and great thoughts of a bygone time—unless it is to magnify them and ascribe preposterous and impossible virtues to the period.”
Maintain open channels with adversaries Many people think in all-or-nothing terms: either you’re with me, or you’re against me. That can be appropriate in some circumstances, but, at least as often, it is not. “If my virtue ever becomes so frail that it will not stand meeting men of whom I thoroughly disapprove, but who are active in official life and whom I must encounter, why I shall go out of politics and become an anchorite. Whether I see these men or do not see them, if I do for them anything improper then I am legitimately subject to criticism; but only a fool will criticize me because I see them.”
Always keep your commitments Today, commitments are violated willy-nilly as they become inconvenient or undesirable. This has been even more the case among politicians. Roosevelt was notable in striving to meet commitments. He would meet commitments to his children to play, even if it meant that meetings of state would have to end. Memorably, he declined numerous entreaties to walk back his commitment, made impulsively on election night in 1904, not to seek re-election in 1908. In his reckoning, holding to his word was vital to earning and maintaining the trust of those he served.” “It is a peculiar gratification to me to have owed my election…above all to Abraham Lincoln’s 'plain people’; to the folk who worked hard on the farm, in shop, or on the railroads, or who owned little stores, little businesses which they managed themselves. I would literally, not figuratively, rather cut off my right hand than forfeit by any improper act of mine the trust and regard of these people…. I shall endeavor not to merit their disapproval by any act inconsistent with the ideal they have formed of me.”
Family First Roosevelt was a dedicated family man. To a notable extent for a public figure holding great responsibility, he was an attentive father and husband. “There are many kinds of success worth having. It is exceedingly interesting and attractive to be a successful businessman, or railroad man, or farmer, or a successful lawyer or doctor; or a writer, or a President, or a ranchman, or the colonel of a fight regiment, or to kill grizzly bears and lions. But for unflagging interest and enjoyment, a household of children, if things go reasonably well, certainly makes all other forms of success and achievement lose their importance by comparison.”
Be Authentic — Live Your Values Roosevelt was authentic in the true sense: he was the author of his character. He strove to live his demanding values, the better to serve a nation that could advance by the same values. “Most of all, I believe whatever value my service may have, comes even more from what I am than from what I may do.”
We have leaders in Santa Cruz that set the tone and style of our community. Come join us on December 5 to hear from our line-up of speakers who will share their diversity of experiences and provide some illuminating stories, State Assembly member Mark Stone will be one of our two keynote speakers. Next week we’ll announce a slate of high energy community leaders who will participate in two panels with concurrent conversations about leadership, mentoring to their employees, business colleagues and to our youth. As you read this eNews article ask yourself who is your mentor, and where do you find your inner strength to be a better community member? Come listen, learn and understand the vision of these community leaders.
Leaderships in a Changing World starts at home.