Robert Reich on what it means to be a leader

Last Friday, I had the privilege to lead a workshop entitled "From Vision to Reality: Casting Your Dreams Far and Wide" and listen to a keynote speech by Robert Reich at the 9th Annual Cal Student Leadership Symposium. I was extremely impressed by the large turnout at the event - the entire Pauley Ballroom was completely packed which means there was probably somewhere close to 1,000 people or more present!

A Dartmouth graduate, Robert is a former Harvard professor. He is currently a professor at UC Berkeley's Goldman School of Public Policy. He also has a lengthy list of awards and accomplishments under his buckle such as being recognized as one of the "Ten Most Successful Cabinet Members of the century" by Time Magazine and "America's Top Ten Business Thinkers" by Wall Street Journal in 2008. On November 7, 2008, he was selected by President-elect Barack Obama to be a member of the President-elect's economic transition advisory board.

Robert also dated Hillary Clinton and openly disclosed how he discovered Hillary loves "lots of butter on her popcorn" - whatever that is supposed to mean.

But seriously, Robert's a charming and eloquent public speaker, and here's what I learned that afternoon from his keynote with some added deductions based on my personal understanding of the matter:

ON COMMON DEFINITIONS OF LEADERSHIP

The word "leader" is often cliché. It's used all the time to compliment individuals in politics, government, public service, and elected positions; anyone recognized as leaders are often immediately showered with praise and accolade. Two commonly used definitions of a leader are...

1. Someone with followers.
2. Someone elected or appointed to a position of leadership.

However, with further thought, there are problems with these simple definitions:

What if the followers are manipulated to follow? (e.g. Hitler) What if the followers are not given the choice to choose who to follow? (e.g. dictators) Are all politicians and government officials automatically leaders when they enter office - government or corporate? Martin Luther King, Jr. and were considered leaders but they did not hold any official positions of leadership.

Clearly, the definition of "leader" needs refinement, especially in the courses offered in our country's Masters in Public Administration and MBA programs that contribute to our country's future elite. But first, one must understand some context in order to deduce a more comprehensive and accurate definition for what a true leader really means...

ON IDEALS VS. REALITY

The majority of members in a civilized society often adhere to ideals such as these:

• Those that are willing to work hard should have a job opportunity.
• Those that work hard and contribute to society should be rewarded fairly.
• Those that commit acts of injustice should be punished.

In the United States, many of such ideals are written in the preamble of the U.S. Constitution by our Founding Fathers.

With the hope of preserving such ideals and ensure social order, peace, and prosperity, individuals undergo a social contract - an unwritten contract made with the government to give up some of their rights to the government and other authority in order to achieve or maintain these ideals.

However, the truth is that reality often falls short of these ideals.

For instance, not everyone in the U.S. may have the equal chance in getting the same job or admission into the same school perhaps due to their sex, sexual orientation, skin color, or socioeconomic status.

Or those that have come from more privileged families may enjoy considerably more opportunities for continued "peace and prosperity" than those from disadvantaged communities.

ON THE "FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE"

The gap between reality and the ideals has been the source of a very inconvenient truth and numerous social problems that have plagued mankind since the dawn of civilization. Moreover, man's realization of this inconvenient truth has often been the source of the following four negative human emotions or psychological phenomena that contributes to despair and apathy which Robert coins the "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse":

1. Denial
   Some people deny the existence of the gap between these social ideals and reality or the problems that have contributed to the disparity. Without acknowledging the problem, these folks will will either choose to be ignorant or constantly attempt to "research" things and other people's claims that support their state of denial (i.e. biased research).
2. Escapism
   Some may not deny the existence of the gap, but may feel that the problems are not their problem so they do not take action on it. For example, many of us have heard of the terrible genocide going on in Darfur. However, as long as we live comfortably in our homes and have electricity, running water, and the choice of more than 3 brands of cereal to choose from at the grocery store 5 minutes away, we may not have a passionate urge to save tens of thousands of innocent civilians in a distant continent.
3. Scapegoating
   Some may acknowledge the existence of the problem but will blame someone or something else such as the minority, disabled, poor, rich, undocumented workers, French, Canadians, or George W. Bush. Scapegoating blindfolds individuals from seeing the bigger picture and thus prevents them from finding comprehensive solutions to prevent history from repeating again.
   
   Robert brings up an example of scapegoating during FEMA's response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. As we know, Katrina caused a large loss of life and property in part due to a delayed response and mismangement of the relief efforts by all levels of government. Rather than investigating problems in the relief effort response chain of command that may have contributed the failures, politicians and Congress began by pointing fingers at each other which ultimately led to the firing and resignation of then-FEMA Director Michael D. Brown. Soon after, investigations into Katrina ceased. There has been no significant change to FEMA's relief response protocols.
   
   Not coincidentally, the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew in 1992 prompted similar action by FEMA. Criticisms arose. Fingers were pointed. Some people were fired. Relief response protocols were unchanged which attributed to the failures in Katrina once more. It's a fact that people and government often never learns from their mistakes when they are forced to address inconvenient truths. I hope there will be some real change in the Obama Administration.
   
4. Hopelessness and Cynicism
   Some may acknowledge the problem but will feel that nothing can be done about it so why bother? Those that feel hopeless and cynical will accept the despair and often tries to rationalize with others around them to think the same way.

ON THE DEFNITION OF A TRUE LEADER

True leaders are individuals that can mobilize those around them to overcome one or more of these "Four Horsemen of Apocalypse."

They do not need to have a "leadership title" in their job description, nor do they need to have a large, devout group of followers. In other words, leadership is not (and should not be) measured by academic or career success nor the number of followers or fans one has.

In fact, many individuals are leaders every day, and their acts of leadership are often unsung and unrecognized. True leaders are dedicated to changing the lives or lifestyles of others to help them overcome these four negative emotions of despair and apathy one person at a time, one small victory at a time. Those that are able to have a lifelong mission to carry out these everyday selfless acts of leadership, and teach others to do the same for those around them are the true leaders that are often remembered in history.

For instance, Martin Luther King, Jr. is still remembered today because he rallied Americans of all races to overcome denial and escapism of the racial inequalities that existed during the Civil Rights Movement era.

Barack Obama is a leader because he has mobilized the world to stop scapegoating "Red States or Blue States," to overcome the hopelessness and cynicism in American government, and create lasting "change."

When Robert attended Obama's President-elect economic advisory board's first meeting and witnessed Obama shaking the hands of all his advisors, he cried.

He cried not only because of joy, but he cried because America was able to select a genuine leader that does not judge by social norms and confines.

When it was finally the President-elect's turn to shake Robert's hand, only two words could come out of his mouth. "Thank God." 

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