Posts Tagged "political leadership"
The Politics of Capitulation
This article was originally published at AlterNet Capitulate: to surrender unconditionally or on stipulated terms; to give up resistance. When it comes to surrender, just the thought of it is chilling to a political leader on the campaign trail. Campaigns are the closest thing to war most operatives and candidates will ever experience and for the majority, they approach it with the same gusto as if their lives were on-the-line—which is essentially true in their world, as success portends a future in the limelight and failure means ending up with a briefcase full of unrealized dreams and little else. So capitulating on any issue is fraught...
Read MoreCongress May Not Deserve To Be Hired Again…But You Do!
It is not news that the public’s approval of the job Congress is doing is dismally low. Up slightly from its near single digit low-point the latest Gallup poll has it at a whopping 17 percent. Despite the pathetic performance review, at least 80 percent of those currently serving will be re-elected this November, based on historic averages. Why do we keep re-electing people we don’t believe are doing a good job? Like any employee who is slacking on the job and escapes the pink slip to return another day to collect a paycheck, we can’t blame the workforce for showing-up with a lackluster work ethic for which we keep paying them. (This is not to say that...
Read MoreLet’s Move Beyond the Fear-Mongering and Power Struggles Over Immigration
This week immigration moves back into the national spotlight as the Supreme Court considers S.B. 1070, the Arizona law that encourages local law enforcement to seek out illegal immigrants, previously the purview of the federal government. Succinctly put, Peter J. Spiro, a law professor at Temple University, opines in the New York Times that Arizona “is one of several states, including Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Indiana, that, frustrated by Congress’s idling on immigration reform” have passed their own legislation. They have done so with laws which “are misguided at best, mean-spirited and racially tainted at worst,” yet “in the long run, immigrant...
Read MoreIs Work-Life Balance Really a Woman’s Issue? “Most business people want to keep people wanting more money to buy more things…”
When people go to work, they shouldn’t have to leave their hearts at home – Betty Bender The simple eloquence of a few words is often the most powerful way to describe a complex situation. As I reflected on the recent torrent of stories about the “war on women,” this quote came to mind, not because it is the antithesis of conservatives’ views, and increasingly their legislative bills, rather because it goes straight to the heart of what they most fear—a shift away the almighty dollar as the demarcation of accomplishment to a more balanced perspective on what constitutes success. The early 20th Century move to keep women from vibrant contribution outside the...
Read MoreWhat Do Health Care and the Mega Millions Lottery Have in Common?
As a lifelong student of leadership, I enjoy looking at the events that capture national attention and examining what they say about who we are as a society and how we are leading in our lives. It seems nothing is as riveting as the Affordable Care Act’s three-days at the Supreme Court. The debate over healthcare or as some have dubbed it “Obamacare” has galvanized the nation along its well-know red and blue partisan divisions. How is it that the world’s most affluent country, with the most expensive health care system still has a dismal record on health care with tens of millions of people unable to access it? While I completely conquer with the assessment by...
Read MoreAre You a 21st Century Leader?
The Occupy movement is raising questions about leaders in business and politics. Motivated by corporate excess and government blundering of our nation’s economic system “occupiers” are expressing frustration and anger by taking to the streets. With a fuzzy message fueled by personal economic challenges and years of feeling powerless against “the big guys,” the unfortunate reality is that what these protestors are for or against is impossible to achieve. There’s only one way things will change. And looking to “leaders” to fix the problem is not the answer. The challenge in the numerous crises facing our country today is that most people can...
Read MoreThe Era of Compromise is Over
by: Kathleen Schafer, Founder of Leadership Connection With the midterm elections safely behind them, elected officials now come to the most difficult part of their adventure—leading and making good on all of those campaign promises. An election is never an easy endeavor and the dirty little secret is that the real work begins after victory is declared. The challenge before the next Congress is no different from the challenges previous Congresses faced; the test will whether or not they are truly capable ofleading in a different way. If they don’t, they too might be facing unemployment in 2012. With a chagrinned Obama and an emboldened Republican Party, the talk of...
Read MoreWhat’s Wrong with Obama?
Share By: Kathleen Schafer, Founding Principal-Leadership Connection What happened to the charismatic, inspirational and visionary “leader” who rode into Washington nearly two years ago on the river of hope and an intense public desire for things to be “different?” Has this man changed from a believer in the power of individuals to make things better into a cynic, corrupted by the world’s greatest power game? Perhaps what we see in Obama now, is the stark reality of what happens when well-intentioned leaders get elected to office and start listening more to their handlers than to their authentic selves. Yes, I’ve repeatedly heard...
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