Are you following the leader or are you acting like one?

When it comes to politics in Washington, D.C. it does not matter who is in control, the majority side punishes the minority and aggressively pushes their agenda.  And, ever mindful of their situation, the minority takes the opposite side, simply in hopes of finding popular footing and potential future power there.  Whether the majority comes from the right, or the left, or the agenda is liberal or conservative it does not matter.  What goes on in Washington, D.C. demonstrates what happens to people when power becomes the ultimate goal. 

Instead of working to build a better America, our leaders in Congress spend their time pushing their agendas when in control and obstructing progress when not. This is not leadership.  This is not representation.  This is not governance of any kind.  Worse, this behavior which has gotten progressively worse over the last 30 years is dividing our country.  Even our citizens have adopted this behavior.  People cannot even talk about the issues without labeling the other side or blaming the counter opinion as having little or no merit.

Politics is the art of compromise.  It is the process of deciding who gets what, when, where, why and how.  The annals of our congressional history are filled with great orators and their debates over policy.  I am quite sure that there is not much in the way of structured debate or collaborative discourse in our Congress that will make oratorical history these days.  I am embarrassed for our leaders and even more so for those of us who act like them.

It is time to step up and act like leaders in the absence of their leadership.  In the business world we would not and could not survive in this combative environment.  Here are a few examples of business behaviors that drive results:

• In sales the key to a great client relationship is listening to the customer to understand their needs, their vision, their issues and their drivers.  Once engaged and knowledgeable a great salesperson is positioned to provide a solution that best fits the customers needs.
• Senior management leadership requires a connection to and a vision for their business.  To lead their team, executives must be empathetic, aware, in touch, and a visionary.  Great leaders motivate people to do great things.  They do not motivate obstructionist behaviors.  If businesses were run by seizing power and always having control they could succeed in the short run, but would always fail in the long run.
• One of the great components of social media is the ability to communicate and collaborate.  Engaging people in conversation to learn and understand is one of the enjoyable benefits of social media.  For the uninspired and unaware, social media is a place to generate one-way broadcasts about themselves and their business.  No one cares for those behaviors in social media.  The forums that grow and generate followers are those that encourage collaboration and idea sharing.  Fancy that.

I am not here to thrust myself on the debate as to which political platform is right or wrong.  In fact, under the current extremist approaches of either platform, they are both wrong.  Politics and policy is a matter of compromise and dialogue and constructive debate.  It is not a time for demagoguery or obstructionism or blameful tactics.  Businesses cannot survive, societies cannot survive and, our government cannot survive this type of devisive activity.  Monitor your conversations and your actions.  Are you following the leader or are you acting like one?