It takes all of us to make the CHANGE!

/ fgomez321 / 1 Comment

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It is interesting to note that the title of Ken’s blog is “How WE lead,” instead of “How THEY lead.” This clearly sends the message that we share a responsibility in leadership.

My name is Francisco Gomez and I am this month’s guest blogger. In previous posts, Ken has mentioned how important is the leadership that the new president and his team will need to exercise for positive change to occur and last, starting with the VISION that he should set for all of us. But once that vision is clear for all, it is our turn to contribute our share, it is our turn to act. President Obama also thinks this way, as can see when he said “we are the ones we have been waiting for.”

It is an important responsibility for each of us to realize that the change we want will require that WE act differently as well. We will need to unlearn some things we have adopted as habits, learn new attitudes and behaviors, and relearn some fundamentals that we forgot along the way.

I want to invite you to contribute to this discussion by selecting one change you want to see happen over the next couple of years, and then providing your responses for the following questions:

· What will I need to START DOING to help this change happen?

· What will I need to STOP DOING to help this change happen?

· What will I need to CONTINUE DOING?

To kick off the discussion, one change I would like to see is a new kind of relationship between the United States and the rest of the world, based on what is good for the world at large, not just what is good for America. This means that sometimes we would be willing to do things that are not solely in the best interest of our country, but are desirable for the greater global good.

To help make this change happen, I will:

· Get better informed about the world and the issues different countries face

· Become more tolerant of different points of view

· Accept that we, as a nation, are not immune from making mistakes

· Have renewed faith in our political leadership

· Express my views and participate in the political decision making process

What is one change YOU would like to see? How will you contribute to it? Let’s share our visions and inspire others to do the same.

Three Leadership Tips for President-Elect Barack Obama

/ Ken Blanchard / 2 Comments

In thinking about the election I came up with three leadership tips for President-Elect Obama, and they all focus on in him modeling servant leadership.  The country is in desperate need of a servant leader as President.  This is a President who thinks of the country first and himself second.

The first tip has to do with the leadership part of servant leadership.  Leadership is about going somewhere.  If people don’t know where they are headed, leadership doesn’t matter and becomes bogged down in politics and self interest.  What President-Elect Obama needs to do is develop a compelling vision that helps us as a nation know who we are (our purpose), where we are going (our picture of the future), and what will guide our journey (our values).

Once there is clear direction, my second tip has to do with the servant part of servant leadership.   Now President-Elect Obama has to move to the bottom of the hierarchy and become the cheerleader, supporter, and encourager of everyone in Washington and around the country by working on making that vision a reality.  Now it is not about him, it is about the vision.

My third tip for President-Elect Obama makes servant leadership come alive.  He has to lead with his ears.  As Abraham Lincoln did, he needs to gather around him a team of rivals who are the best thinkers; a team who can help us solve the major problems that confront us today.  We know President-Elect Obama is a great speaker, but if God wanted him to speak more than listen, he would have given him two mouths.  I hope the theme of his presidency is to listen, listen, and listen some more, and then make the best decisions possible.