Creative Leadership Great and Small

Our friend, Rolland Smith, blogged recently about people who emerge in every age and make a difference (Who I Am, December 1, 2008). They are writers and scientists, politicians and composers, athletes and actors, physicians and philosophers, leaders who influence from every field and direction; and they are you and me. I'm also reminded of a musical written for, and performed by, children called The Role Model. The show's writer and director is Cara Freedman, a talented artist from San Diego. The point of her play is that everyday heroes, our next door neighbors, local teachers and emergency workers, and many other people we encounter daily, all can make an important difference in the lives of so many. Both Rolland and Cara, in their own ways, capture the spiritual dimension of how men and women of every generation influence the world that is now, whenever now happens to be. They are the great and near great and those unheralded heroes who go about their business but make us remember something important or even motivate us to act in ways that matter.

A few years ago, I wrote about John Lennon's efforts to end the Vietnam War (last on the page so scroll down after clicking this link), and mentioned that today we have celebrities who lead, too, in consequential ways that do make a difference. I've also spent the last two years engaged in academic leadership studies through the online graduate program at Gonzaga University. So the idea of leadership resonates as a very real and practical pursuit for me and should for you, during these difficult days we face.

Most troubling during the perilous times is that for every leader who represents growth and goodness we have those who promote hatred and horror. The biblical exhortation to choose life over death, and blessing over curses, reminds us that existential choices we make and influence others to make, may seem solitary or inconsequential but can ripple or even cascade far from ourselves.

President-elect Obama introduced his national security team, yesterday, and his economic team, last week. Much has been written and said about the so called "Team of Rivals" he's assembled. More important, of course, are the abilities of each team member. Each of us, including the advisers chosen by the president-elect, must serve as a follower and also as a servant to those we lead. Our next president has not chosen an easy path for himself but it is the right path. And it can set the tone for the country, accepting difficult challenges, as each of us leads, follows, and serves.

As a business, news media outlets continue to struggle. The leadership challenge is especially relevant for newsrooms of all kinds. With the technological possibilities available today, the industry ought to be thriving. Instead, the great media companies are suffering along with banks and auto makers for many of the same reasons. Aversion to innovation and a fear of failure, along with the quick fixes of easy money with no long range plans, have wreaked havoc on these businesses. With this reckoning now a reality, opportunities will emerge. The challenge will be well served if new and creative leadership is not only accepted but is also sought. Those who run our newspapers, TV stations, networks, and online enterprises, will succeed if change is not only embraced but created, before the bottom line demands more destructive solutions. More cuts and more of the same--the old "more with less" thinking-- are band aids that will not heal the wounds.