Obama’s Lesson on Engagement
October 22, 2007
Barak Obama, though happily married, is looking to get engaged. Engaged with the American people, that is. It is not clear when the formula for Presidential campaign success became developing policy ideas and plans in a closed room with a few consultants and then proclaiming to the world that if elected you already have all of the final answers to put in place. The reality is, nobody believes one person can come up with all of the answers and nobody really wants a know-it-all as a leader. So, leaders can drive enormous action and breakthroughs when they learn how to truly engage the people around them. Obama almost got it perfect and we can all learn as business leaders from him.
On September 12, 2007, Mr. Obama used the online business networking site LinkedIn to pose the following question, “How can the next president better help small business and entrepreneurs thrive?” What a fantastic way to engage such an important group in America who drive half of the overall Gross Domestic Product in the U.S. according to the Small Business Administration. Within days, there were over 1,500 responses, more than any other question ever posted on that service. People are more than ready to engage with top leaders, they want a voice, they want a President who knows how to listen to and engage them.
From my work as an advisor to corporate executives it is clear that CEOs who engage their workforce move from having a group of passive followers to people who are active in driving for a cause and willing to take personal accountability for results. Isn’t that what a Presidential hopeful needs in terms of getting out the vote and eventually leading our country? Of course it is, and it looked like Obama had hit a home run on LinkedIn.
However, engagement is not as simple as just asking for opinions. It is not the same as an opinion poll. It requires opening a dialogue and being open to generate new ideas and expand possibilities.
On September 21, 2007, a post by a staffer on Obama’s campaign site as a response to the LinkedIn question indicated, “While there were tons of great answers, the majority revolved around the subject of easing the burdens of health care costs.” Really? This felt like having a head waiter with a bright smile ask what you would like for dinner. You happily order your favorite delicacy and then are dished up a heaping plate of the mystery meat special when the food arrives. By reading the first few posts on LinkedIn, it looked to me like tax reform and simplification for small businesses was much more common of an issue. Doing a quick word count of the first three pages of responses, “tax” showed up 84 times and “health” showed up 29 times. Tax reform is what we ordered, but health care reform looks like what they already planned to serve before they even asked what we wanted.
This bureaucratic response to try and spin the feedback to match an existing priority for Obama was unfortunate. One lesson for those looking to engage people is that if you aren’t open to have your thoughts and priorities adjusted by the people around you, then don’t ask them for input. It is worse to engage and then not listen than to have never looked for engagement at all.
With a small adjustment to Obama’s strategy, he could at least look into the concerns about tax reform that a group of people who happen to drive half of the U.S. economy are dealing with. Then, he could, with the help of advisors, put a response together that acknowledges the input and either choose to do something about it or explain why it is not a priority. He could open up and allow his thoughts to be shaped by further engagements with the public both online and in person. Rather than the overly staged town hall meetings where the candidates snap out answers to every question, he could use those opportunities to learn what is needed. By showing his follow through on engagement, we would be ready to stand committed and actively support his election campaign. Why? Because at that point we would not just be voting for Obama, we would be confidently voting for someone who listens and is willing to carry our collective view into the top leadership post of this country. That would be an amazing demonstration of full engagement and is just the type of leadership that can take new BIG ideas and turn them into BIG results in both politics and business.
Picture source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/barefoot/400464879
