i still can't get Thomas Friedman's last piece in the New York Times out of my head. here's where i'm stuck - Friedman quoting Dov Seidman:
“There
is nothing more powerful than inspirational leadership that unleashes
principled behavior for a great cause,” said Dov Seidman, the C.E.O. of
LRN, which helps companies build ethical cultures, and the author of
the book “How.” What makes a company or a government “sustainable,” he
added, is not when it adds more coercive rules and regulations to
control behaviors. “It is when its employees or citizens are propelled
by values and principles to do the right things, no matter how
difficult the situation,” said Seidman. “Laws tell you what you can do. Values inspire in you what you should do. It’s a leader’s job to inspire in us those values.” Right
now we have an absence of inspirational leadership. From business we
hear about institutions too big to fail — no matter how reckless. From
bankers we hear about contracts too sacred to break — no matter how
inappropriate. And from our immature elected officials we hear about
how it was all “the other guy’s fault.”
doesn't that make you pause? laws tell you want you can do - but values inspire in you what you should do. now that's quite a statement - and it fits so very nicely into my attitude towards government and law... and really, it's why i have issue with proposed legislation like the Employee Free Choice Act, or the Paycheck Fairness Act, which will probably be reintroduced this year, or on a more micro and local level, certain company policies. laws and policies don't control behavior - we can only influence behavior. and when you have leaders who can positively influence and manage their influence, then you'll get the behavior you hoped for. and yes, inspiration does equate to influence in my book.
friends and some family still ask me today if i actually voted for
Obama. i laugh... but i get where they are coming from. i am after all,
the girl who was asked on election night if i was getting misty eyed
out of sadness or joy. no one could figure out what was going on in
this head of mine (me included - what conflict that night!). but to be clear, there were two reasons i voted for our President,
the biggest reason being that i was inspired. i saw how he so clearly moved
people to act. and during the campaign i was touched by how his ability
to stir people and get them interested in politics and civil service.
it was so amazing to me how he mobilized so many people who despised or were disinterested in our political landscape. even if i didn't agree
with him completely from a values standpoint, his inspiration, and ability to influence, seemed more important. people began caring about and taking action within our communities and our country like nothing else. so that's how much inspiration matters, and that's how powerful influence is to me. what does it mean to you though?