Category: Leadership

John Adams discouraged it early on:

There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution.

George Washington spoke against it in his Farewell Address:

…the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it… A fire not to be quenched, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should consume.

And, yet, here we are.

Resolving conflict doesn’t work when it’s approached from a position of: “I’m right. You’re wrong. So I’ll take my ball and go home.” That’s third grade stuff… and it carries into adulthood. Similar people with similar capabilities tend to make similar decisions given similar data.

The key to collaboration and moving forward is for each side to – in the words of Stephen R. Covey – ‘seek first to understand, then to be understood.’ To look at issues from the perspective of the other viewpoint. To take an empathic position of truly walking in another’s shoes.

There are four steps to creating shared meaning, which is the key to shifting awareness and igniting forward movement in unison:

1) Inquiry – Actively seek to learn your beliefs
2) Advocacy – State what I believe
3) Rapport – Create shared language
4) Intention – Agree to desired outcome and actions

The way for government leaders to get past budgetary starts and stops is to seek new perspectives. As long as members of Congress are more concerned about reelection than focusing on the greater good, there will continue to be playground disagreements… and nobody gets to have fun on those days.

1966. Fort Worth. Age six.

Back then, a black woman named Geneva would ride the bus each week from – as she said – “the other part of town” and clean our home. She was always nice to me and I really loved her.

“Geneva,” I said, “Know where I got this?” as I showed her my shiny new yellow Tonka Toy dump truck.

“No,” she replied. “Tell me, David.”

“Stole it off a dead N*****.”

I can still envision the sad look on her face – and clearly recall my mother taking me into the bathroom and washing my mouth out with soap. I quickly understood how bad it was… and how much I had hurt this person who knew me since I was a baby.

Last week, the president made divisive comments about NFL players who chose to kneel during the National Anthem, suggesting team owners: “Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He’s fired. He’s fired!” This led to a strong rebuttal from players in several sports, the media and many owners. Yesterday, players stood or kneeled arm-in-arm – including with some of the men who sign their paychecks – in peaceful protest.

The president and many others turned this into respect for the flag and those who serve our country defending it. What many forget is that Colin Kaepernick took a knee to protest African American men being killed by law enforcement officers who didn’t receive punishment for their actions.

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” he told NFL Media afteward. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”

Now is when dialogue and discourse are essential. Yet so many are stuck on ‘disrespecting the flag’ that the real issue – what’s it like to be African American in today’s United States – isn’t being addressed. That needs to change. It’s time to acknowledge injustice exists and do something about it.

If we end up in a better place, while protesting may have cost Kaepernick his career, perhaps it will lead to him being remembered for something much bigger than playing quarterback in the NFL.

Epilogue: We moved to the country when I was eight and Geneva no longer came to our house. Yet she continued to help clean my father’s furniture store for many years. I would see her there often… and she always gave me big hugs. She had long forgotten the inappropriate words of a six-year-old. I never will… and I’m thankful for that.

[In 2008, Hurricane Ike took direct aim on Houston. The morning before it struck, I wrote my newsletter about awaiting a hurricane. Here we go again. In the next 12 hours, Hurricane Harvey is going to hit the Texas coast. I think now would be a good time to share my thoughts from nine years ago.]

Fluffy white clouds flow by outside my window, drifting in the breeze among brilliant blue skies. Two squirrels chase each other up and down pine trees in our front yard, playfully tossing bark onto the green lawn below. High-pitched screeching sounds emanate from their tiny mouths, the only noise from an otherwise silent cul de sac.

It’s 9:00 a.m. CDT on Friday, a beautiful September morning. A little more than 375 miles away, in the heated Gulf of Mexico the waters are surging, fueled by the swirling winds of a hurricane. In 15 hours, the center of Ike will make landfall on the Texas coast – most likely near Galveston – 80 miles from our home on the northwest side of Houston.

Residents of Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida deal with this uncertainty often, and you’ve seen the damage a hurricane can bring. In the decade we’ve lived here, only Rita three years ago this month caused as much anxiety as this storm. That time, the nation’s fourth largest city evacuated. For us, it was an 18-hour journey to travel 275 miles to family in Fort Worth. Four days later, a four-hour drive returned us to our untouched home.

This time we’re riding out the storm. Over the past two days, Ike has taken a more northern path. What was projected on Wednesday to be a direct hit Cat 3 appears to be losing strength and tailing to the right. The majority of Houston may end up on the clean and less severe side. Nevertheless, 75 mph winds could throttle our home for eight hours. It will be a long night. Power will be lost. Many will suffer damage.
. . . . . .

I provide executive coaching for several high-level leaders at the company that services electricity and gas transmission in our area. By coincidence, I had scheduled for Thursday a shadowing exercise – in which I observe the client interacting with others and provide immediate feedback.

Arriving on the 46th floor of their downtown office building, I knew it wouldn’t be my typical experience. The first thing on the agenda was a conference call in which leaders throughout the organization – from the CEO to the person in charge of catering – discussed and fine-tuned plans for Ike. They will operate with an “all hands on deck” approach until the storm passes, then things really get intense as they restore power, which could take three weeks in some places.

The key to recovering from a situation like Ike is to establish procedures far in advance. Their 2008 Emergency Operations Plan was finalized in May, weeks before the beginning of the hurricane season. There was a dry run that month and a real test a few weeks ago that resulted in no damage when tropical storm Eduordo fizzled.

As my slow-reacting neighbors scampering around to find water, non-perishable food and gasoline are experiencing, you don’t get ready for a hurricane when it’s knocking on your door. The same goes for preparedness in your business. When it comes to planning for your future – whether strategically, emergency or exit strategy – don’t wait until the moment arrives to start thinking, “What do we need to do?” The time for those thoughts is today.

I’m not sure how the next 24 hours will progress, but the sun will return soon. Residents will repair, rebuild and re-energize. Plus, I’ll finally get around to visiting the local lumberyard to buy boards for our windows. No sense worrying about winds and flying objects when the next hurricane arrives.