I just recently had a blast at an American Student Government Association Conference (ASGA) in Boston, MA.  Never have I seen so many dedicated student leaders that were really serious about SGA.  I also created a new energizer for my workshop “How to Increase Your Power and Influence in SGA”.  It is to the new song Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera.  Hope you enjoy it. If you watch the video you will learn why I chose that song.

PART 2: When is a dictator needed?

In last months blog, we talked about Joe Clark and how at some times we need an autocratic approach to leadership especially in times of crises and when you have little time to develop a consensus.

Here are some additional leadership lessons from Joe Clark as portrayed in the movie “Lean on Me.”

1. Establish authority immediately.

It was quite clear that Joe Clark had the power of his title as the principal, but he needed to establish more than that.  During his 1st meeting, he established quickly that he was the alpha male.  Nobody was allowed to talk during his meetings. He also changed the status quo at the schools by switching the various leadership positions.  Promoting some administrators and demoting others.

2. Challenge people that are receptive to teaching by creating more pain associated with the behavior you don’t want.

After Joe Clark throws out all the drug users and dealers from the school, one of the children named Sam arrives early the next morning beg Joe Clark to let him back in the school.  He then takes Sam to the roof of the building and forces him to tell the truth that he does drugs.  He takes him to the edge of the roof and starts shoving him slightly and encouraging him to jump off.  Sam doesn’t want to and Joe says “You smoke crack don’t you!  You know what that does to you, it kills your brain cells son it kills your brain cells.  That means you are killing yourself but just doing it slowly.  So if you want to kill yourself stop f**cking around and do it expeditiously!, Now jump, go ahead now and jump!”  Sam starts breaking down crying.  The message was getting across to Sam.  In the end Joe Clark gives sam one more chance to redeem himself.

If you want see the video clip click here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNHj0UAVlME&feature=related

3. Give vivid imagery to create a vision of the future.

Right before the state exam, Joe Clark  gives a motivational speech. He challenges the students by saying that the people out there think they are worthless. He then talks about how the school was built on a cemetery.  He uses the idea and imagery of the cemetery to give hope to the students. He tells students that the students are his ghosts rising from the dead.

If you want see the video clip click here:

Any person who want to learn about leadership should watch this movie.

Because it is an opportunity to see what  types of leadership is needed at different moments.

Feel free to share your thoughts.  Have you been a dictator at some point? Was it appropriate?

The movie ends with Joe Clark turning around the school. The students love him and appreciate him.  He truly cared about them and gave them the hope they desperately needed. However, he became known as “crazy joe”.

Here are just 2 lessons that you too can learn from the movie:

1. Have the courage to do something completely revolutionary that is so extreme and out of ordinary if it means it will help solve the problem.

Joe Clark did something that was never heard of and went against the education institution and culture.  Instead of trying to reform all the students, he had a meeting with all the staff and asked them to come up with a list of all the delinquent students and drug users and drug dealers in the school.  He then had all of them expelled from the school. He said “if one rotten apple spoils a bunch, how about 300 bad apples”.

2. Allow the other person to speak and vent until they have exhausted their opinion. Then if necessary give your opinion and leave on a high inspirational note.

He did this several times and it is a very effective technique and even the famous leadership expert Stephen Covey once said “First seek to understand, then be understood”.  Also this is the reason why some great speakers choose not to end with a Q and A, they want to convey an image and leave on a high note.  When Joe Clark has a meeting with the parents, he allowed them to vent at his decision to expel all the bad students. He just sat back stayed quiet and waited.  Once they were all done he gave a rousing motivational speech talking about he was on a mission from God to save these children. He said, “….and that is why I threw those bastards out and that is all I am gonna say!”

Inspirational Speech with the Parents of East Side High School

Stay tuned for Part 2 to learn more lessons from Joe Clark.

It has been a long time since I have seen a music video that has given me goosebumps just from watching it.  Katy Perry’s Firework music video did exactly that and I will tell you why.

It is a metaphor how we are all beings of light and that we shouldn’t prevent ourselves from expressing who we truly are.  Katy is acting as a leader inspiring all of us to let go of our fears, inhibitions, and shyness to allow ourselves to radiate with our light or  ignite the “firework” that is inside all of.

The video depicts the following:

• A girl going through chemo who has given up hope to live
• A girl who is overweight who is afraid to show off her body by going swimming with her friends in the pool
• A boy witnessing that abuse of his mother from his father as he tries to shield his younger sister from the violence
• A boy  afraid to socialize because he knows that he is gay and is trying to hide it

What you see in this video is their miraculous transformation when they allow themselves to cast their fears and inhibitions aside.  So as you watch this video I want you to ask yourself:

• Who are you?
• Are you expressing your true self to your friends, family and peers?
• Are you depressed?

Maybe it is time for you to change your attitude and change your behaviors and actions. Maybe it is time to let the firework shine that I know is  inside you.

Katy Perry Firework Video on YouTube

Did you know that you have several mental blocks that are holding you back from succeeding?  Today I discovered what mine was….it was my 9-6 job and my attitude when I come home after work.  For my fiancée Michelle, her recent mental block was that she couldn’t have conversations with her fellow employees about how much salary they make.

To give you a better understanding of what I am talking about, let me explain mental blocks, I will share with you a story of the elephant and the rope around its ankle.  I first heard the story from my mentor Gary Tuerack, who is the President of the National Society of Leadership and Success.  I have also heard the story from other people such as MTV Made coach Shawn Harper.  It was also in the famous book “Success Principles” by Jack Canfield, Americas #1 success coach.

The story goes like this.  One day a father and his son go to the circus.  After the circus is over they visit the animals.  The son was startled when he saw huge elephant with a tiny rope around its ankle, which was attached to a small wooden stack in the ground.  The elephant with is massive size could have easily pulled that stake out of the ground and escaped but it didn’t. Why?  Because when the elephant was a baby, the trainers tied a heavy metal chain around its ankle.  The chain was tied to a metal stake in the ground.  Whenever the elephant tried to escape, it realized it couldn’t because it had something tied around its ankle….its basic classic conditioning   So when it grows up, the elephant refuses to escape because it says to itself, “I can’t because I have something tied around my ankle.” So simple yet so profound isn’t?  What ropes do you have tied around your ankle?

I realized that my mental block was that I believed that couldn’t spend the time working on my leadership coach duties and speeches because I was working so hard for my job.  And the time I was home I said to myself,  “I am supposed to spend time with my fiancée and not work.”  However, just the other day I had a friend tell me “all big successes start with little actions steps every day.”  It is the little things that build momentum for the big things, even if it means writing down a to do list or sending out a few emails.  Even if it takes 5 minutes and you have to do it at midnight when your partner is asleep, you do it.  I then realized that I was holding myself back.

For my fiancée, she wanted to get an increase in salary with her new position at her job, but didn’t know how much she could ask for. She believed that she couldn’t ask her coworkers because discussing salary is a private issue that shouldn’t be discussed.  Well, I told her that she was partially right.  I told her she didn’t have to ask her coworkers straight up what their salary was.  I said all you have to do is hang out with your coworkers outside of work, which can create a different environment to talk about salary then at work.   Then ask them if you can ask a personal question. Therefore they can give you permission as opposed to just downright asking a inappropriate questions. Then tell them that you are not interested in what they are making now, but you just wanted to know what was their starting salary.” Most likely they would tell you.

Here are your weekly actions steps. Ask yourself:
1.    What do I want?
2.    What is the mental block or belief that is preventing me from achieving my goal?
3.    Is this belief really a big chain or is it just a really a tiny little rope that I am turning into a big chain?
4.    What small things can I do to get me closer to my goal?

Jake Sully says a famous line in the movie that I can’t forget because it could shake societies fundamental beliefs about people, human nature, and war.

Jake says: “I was a warrior who dreamed he could bring peace. Sooner or later though, you always have to wake up.” At some point peace, civil discourse, rationality are no longer options.  Are the leaders the ones who use their influence to maintain peace, or are leaders the ones who lead and rally support to fight? When is it the right time to stand up and fight?  When is it the right time to even kill someone else in the pursuit of peace?

Jake Sully believed that he could use his influence to prevent war. I believe that as a leader, everyone should use ALL of the influence he or she can muster to advocate, promote and maintain peace in this world. Leaders of non-volience have practiced this philosophy for centuries.  In some cases it has been very successful.  For example, look at Jesus, Ghandi, and Martin Luther King Jr.  All of these 3 men have changed the course of history with their message of non-violence. But humans are violent. What I find most disturbing is all of these famous leaders who believed in non-violence suffered at the hand of violence. All of them were assassinated by their enemies and turned into martyrs. There is something disturbing about this picture.

Therefore, I believe leaders must recognize the the moment when conflict IS good. When negotiations, rationality and discourse are no longer an option. When fighting is necessary and justifiable.

How do I know what circumstances justify war. For me personally it is:

1. When others seek to harm you
2. When others are being harmed who can’t protect themselves
3. When people’s lives are being taken unjustly
4. When your enemy will stop at nothing until you are destroyed

For me, the biggest question is should we kill our enemy before they kill us?  Is their really a justified war?

My grandparents always talk about WWII as the only justifiable war.  I recently watched the move Schindler’s List.  It brought me to tears.  It seems that war is sometimes necessary for the pursuit of peace, which I always found ironic.  The question is how do you know when it is the right time? How can you be sure to know that OUR war is the just war.

In the case of Avatar, pre-emptive war was portrayed as unjust.  Many times individuals will look for reasons to justify themselves in killing others.   In the case of the Sky People, they were after precious resources underneath the hometree-the navi home.  They were asked to relocate. They refused.  So they decided to launch gas bombs so that the people would flee to minimize casualties.  Then they destroyed hometree with bombs. According to sky people: “they are just blue monkeys that swing from trees right?”

Once Jake Sully and Navi people realized that the Sky People would stop at nothing. They would have taken all the resources away and destroy everything that is precious to them. Therefore Jake was forced to lead the Navi people to war. I wonder if the Native American Indians should have done this to the English when they settled her? What if the Native Americans found someone like Jake Sully, a leader to defend them and was successful?

You see, I have been week.  I have constantly tried to advocate peace.  I always have tried to be nice to other people.  I have always avoided conflict because I was taught that you can’t influence others by arguing or fighting. But I realize that I was wrong. Conflict can be good.  It is only through conflict that we get resolution. There are times when arguing and fighting is necessary to get the change we need. Even in the bible, when Jesus, the man of non-violence threw the money lenders out of the church, it was termed “righteous indignation.”  Righteous indignation is typically a reactive emotion of anger over perceived mistreatment, insult, or malice. It is akin to what is called “the sense of injustice.” In some Christian  doctrines, righteous indignation is considered the only form of anger which is not sinful, e.g., when Jesus drove the money lenders out of the temple.

It was fascinating to see the perspective of the Sky Pople as the events unfolded.  As the Na’vi raised an army to defend themselves, the general shows the satellite images of the Navi’people gathering in larger and larger number as a reason and justification to pre-emptively destroy the most sacred area for the Na’vi people.

Jake Sully says. “This is how it is done.  When people are sitting on shit you want, you make them your enemy, so that you can justify taking it”

The United States invaded Iraq in 2003 to pre-emptively defend ourselves from weapons of mass destruction from Saddam Hussein. Iraq, to no surprise, has the 2nd largest oil reserve in the world.  We now have strategic dominance of the worlds oil reserves. I think James Cameron depiction of the Sky People is clearly a depiction of United States imperialism. For example, when one of the bombs is created todestroy the most sacred area of the Na’vi people, it is named “Daisy Cutters”.  The same name of the bomb that is used in the middle east to destroy mountains with underground caves where the enemy is hiding.

What lessons can we learn from this movie:

1. Everyone doesn’t have to be accomplice to injustices and the persecution of others.  When the sky people were instructed to destroy the hometree with bombs, the character played by Michelle Rodriquez says “I didn’t sign up for this shit!” and she refuses to execute the order. You can do the same.

2. Know when to stand up to your beliefs and defend yourself. There comes a point where we can no longer pacify our enemies, and conflict can be good.  What conflict have you been avoiding in your life?

3. War is business, it can be used to acquire land or precious resources.
Just as Jake was willing to mobilize others for war against the enemy, you can do the same.  It doesn’t have to be to kill others, but it can be to mobilize others to affect political change.  That is what grassroots organizing is all about.

What are thoughts? Please comment below.

Note: If you wish to visit the Avatar official website and trailer check out: http://www.avatarmovie.com/

One of the most important themes that I loved in the movie Avatar was the reverence for nature. The Na’vi attitude and connection with nature provides all of us great insights into leadership.  I will explain below.

A fascinating aspect of each of the avatars, as well as every creature on the planet Pandora, is that they all have an appendage attached to their heads that can connects them physically to nature.  This appendage at first glance, looks like thick dark black hair tied into a ponytail.  But it isn’t a ponytail, it’s actually a tail with spaghetti-like biological fibers at the tip. These fibers act like neurons. Just as neurons build connections within the brain, these fibers are used to build connections or communicate with other living creatures on the planet Pandora when these appendages are attached to each other.  When they join, it forms a connection called “Sahelo” meaning the sacred bond with all living things. Once connected, the humanoid creatures on Pandora can control other living organisms.

Again this appendage reminded me a lot of the movie The Matrix. Remember how Neo had neural plug in the back of the head that connected him to the digital matrix world? The Avatar creatures have an appendage that connects them with the natural world. It is basically a biological USB cable attached to the back of their heads.  Instead of communicating with words, they can communicate with their thoughts.

At first glance this seems far-fetched. But is it? Humans already can control or lead other creatures without the appendage.

In my audio program “Leadership For Your Life: Getting Ahead in Your Relationships and Career”, I mention the amazing leadership ability of Ceaser Milan, the famous Dog Whisperer. Ceaser wrote a book called “Be The Pack Leader”.  He talks about how to influence your dog. You do it by changing your energy/body language.  All dogs, and other advanced creatures for that matter, can sense what you are feeling and thinking without words, meaning you already have “Sahelo” with other living creatures.  If you are excited, they sense it.  If you are scared and nervous, they sense it.  Sad, sick or depressed, they sense it.  How is that?   Maybe it is your body language that they read, maybe it is your thoughts and emotions that release certain hormones that creatures, such as dogs, can smell, as some scientist have theorized.  I can’t explain it scientifically but all I know is that they do in fact sense what we are thinking and feeling.  If you have “Sahelo” with all living creatures, then you can use this connection to be an effective leader. What does Ceaser Milan recommend? He says to be the pack leader, you must exhibit a calm-assertive energy. To be calm means that you must remove any anxiety or fear that you have.  To be assertive means that you must be confident, not timid. You must  be secure in your thoughts and ideas.

Let me ask you this question in regard to calm-assertive energy: Have you ever tried to influence someone if you or the other person is in a highly emotional state?  Chances are that your words or advice fell on deaf ears, right?  How about when you are reading a book? What is your emotional state?  Most likely you are calm.  Books are very effective at influencing changes in our behavior.  Once you read that one sentence, suddenly you are convinced that you should change your behavior.  This may be shocking considering that the sentence or advice that you just read is the exact same advice your mother or father has been nagging you about for years.  Maybe you weren’t listening or chose not to follow the advice because you were in a highly emotional state. But reading a book was successful.  That is the power of calm-assertive energy.

Here is another thought about nature and leadership.  Leadership is about influencing others for a common cause goal or purpose. Hopefully that cause is something positive that creates a better world. What is one thing that we can do to create a better world? Try protecting the environment and the creatures that live in it, like Jake Sully did.

At one point in the movie, Natiri’s mother tells Jake:”Let’s see if your insanity can be cured.” I sometimes wonder whether we as obsessive consumers can actually cure our own insanity. We have this sense of entitlement  and obsession with taking more and more, especially natural resources, with no concept of the consequences of our actions.  While many politicians and others continue to ridicule global warming and the consequences of global climate change, we must understand why they do this. To do anything to help mitigate the effects of climate change would be an inconvenience to the bottom line of many companies. It is no surprise that the most profitable corporation in 2009, Exxon Mobil, has been actively engaged in disinformation campaigns about global warming. Why? Because any legislation to mitigate the effects of global climate change would impact it and threaten its profits.

We are destined for a path of destruction unless people change.  Remember, the movie Avatar takes place in the future, 2154.  In one scene, Jake speaks to Eway, Pandora’s deity, and pleads for her help to fight the humans, aka the sky people. He says: “Look where they came from (earth), there is no green there. They killed their mother and there gonna do the same here.”  Unless we change, Avatar will no longer be a work of fiction.

Leaders, like Jake Sully, take up the fight to protect life, nature, and the planet from those that threaten to destroy it. Will you?

Action Steps

• -Maintain a calm-assertive energy in times of crisis when leading others.  You will find yourself making better decisions and you make others feel more comfortable to follow you.
• -On a daily basis, find the appropriate time, place, and environment to influence others.
• -Create a calm-assertive energy by standing up straight. Practice deep breathing when you are anxious, it will help you relax.
• -Replace fearful thoughts with empowering thoughts. For example, change the thought of “I can’t do this” to “I posses the energy and intelligence to move beyond any obstacle.”
• -Speak with confidence and minimize ambiguity.
• -Change your lifestyle to something that is more sustainable. Look for ways to reduce your ecological footprint.
• -Do what you can to lead others in protecting the environment and the creatures in it.
• -If you need to protest and create a revolution towards forces that threaten our way of life, then you have my blessing because you are a “Sahelo” leader!

Stay tuned for the final Avatar Blog Part 3 about leadership and war.  Please share you thoughts on this blog below.

(Part 1 of 3)

Part 1: Becoming a Leader Like Jake Sully

In 1999, approximately 11 years ago, I saw a famous movie called “The Matrix” that totally wowed me. I saw it with my older brother Jonathan in THX. It was unbelievable. I remember it like it was yesterday: The famous Trinity freeze frame kick, Neo’s 360 degree view of dodging bullets, and the helicopter explosion.  These images are permanently imprinted in my brain. Who knew that I would be wowed again by the movie Avatar by James Cameron, the famous Director of Titanic.  He wrote the script in 1998, a year earlier the Matrix came out. This movie has revolutionized film making using the technology of video capturing- creating digital creatures on film based entirely on human actors by recording their movements and facial expressions. I witnessed animal creatures so beautiful and majestic that my jaw dropped. Also, it was my first 3-D movie experience since Michael Jackson short film “Captain EO” at Disney land. The 3-D experience of Avatar was so real, that I felt like I was in the movie.  I never want to see another great movie without 3-D glasses again.

Another reason why Avatar moved me was because of the themes.  They all resonated with me because they are all hot topic issues that we face as a country and world right now such as: war vs. peace, preemptive war, terror, destruction of nature, our addiction to natural resources such as oil and coal, greed, reverence for nature, demonstration of true leadership in times of crisis, acceptance that energy flows through all living things, loving someone of a different race, destiny vs. free will, lack of veterans benefits for our injured soldiers, addiction and obsession with video games, Blackwater and private contractors for war, the Iraq and Afghanistan war, war profiteering, redemption, and finally the triumph of good over evil.

I don’t have the time to discuss all these themes in one blog.  But let me share with you what really stood out to me.

(Spoiler Alert:If you haven’t seen the movie yet and you don’t want to know some of what happens, watch it first before you continue reading)

Jake Sully, played by Sam Worthington, is the hero in the movie.  He is a marine who works for a corporation called RDA. He infiltrates a native group of people known as the Na’vi through the use of a avatar- a remote controlled biological body created from the DNA of the Na’vi and humans.  Underneath the land where a community of the Na’vi people live, called Hometree,  lies a large deposit of natural resources that is very valuable to the corporation.  Only through his experience living in the avatar body and with the Na’vi people does Jake discover something he never expected.  He falls in love with his Na’vi teacher, Neytiri, and embraces the Na’vi culture. The Na’vi view the world in a different way than humans do.  They have a different set of values, similar to Native Americans. Jake’s allegiance towards the corporation changes when RDA destroys one of the Na’vi’s sacred tree. The image of the trees destruction reminded me so much of the images of movies I grew up watching as a child such as the animated movie Ferngully and Medicine Man, staring Sean Connery.  Jake realizes that the corporation and its leaders can not be reasoned with and that they will stop at nothing to get what they want.

He eventually is inducted to become an official member of the Na’vi people.  Jake then warns the Na’vi people that the corporation is coming to destroy them and their land and that they would have to flee into the forest if they are to survive. Unfortunately for Jake, his words come too late. The Na’vi lose their trust in Jake and he is caste out of the community while he watches the Na’vi’s Hometree be destroyed. He finds himself all alone.

He wants to lead the Na’vi people to overthrow RDA.  But how does he do it? He does it with the help of friends who share the same vision.  They all choose to do a rebellious act and betray the corporation at great risk to themselves in order to help the Na’vi people.   Jake realized that he had to create an image that was so powerful that it would force the Na’vi to believe and trust him again.  He had to earn their trust and gather as many people as possible if they were to defeat the “Sky People”, which is the name the Na’vi people gave to humans.

Jake did what most Na’vi people were afraid to do, something so dangerous that only few people in the history of the Na’vi people have done.  He had to capture the most dangerous creature on the planet, the Leonopteryx, also known as Toruk or “last shadow”.  It was called “Last Shadow” because the creature  flies so high in the sky that when it comes to attack you from above, all you see is its shadow. Of course,  it is the last shadow that you will ever see before you die.

The “Last Shadow” is famous symbol for the Na’vi people.  It is a sacred creature that is legendary. Netyiri’s great grandfather rode the creature in a time of great crisis to unify the land.  He became known as Toruk Makto or “the one who rides the last shadow”.

Jake says his famous words “Sometimes your whole life boils down to one insane move”. So Jake flew up into the sky on another flying creature.  Once in the sky, he see’s the “Last Shadow” beneath him.  Then he dives down and jumps from his flying creature onto the top of the “Last Shadow”.  He succeeds and becomes the Toruk Makto.

Applications of the movie to your life:

1. Doing What’s Right

Do you ever find yourself, like Jake Sully, that you are asked to do something that goes against your morals and values? What do you do in those situations? If you are like most people, you will sacrifice your values and succumb to the peer pressure of others.  The fear paralyzes you and you do what is easy and convenient. However, it is only in those situations that your true character is tested and that you must hold up to your beliefs. If you are wondering how will I know what is right? There is a simple answer.  Usually, you just have to follow the powerful voice inside, your little Jiminy Cricket (your conscience). It is your gut, your instincts, your heart that will lead you to the right path. It is very easy to rationalize your wrong actions, which is precisely why you should listen to your heart so that you can do what is right.

2. Eliminating Fear

Jake Sully and his companions risked their lives to do what is right.  Are you afraid to do the same?  What are you afraid of?  Most people fear what other people think of them. You shouldn’t have to fear what others will think of you if doing what is noble, just, and virtuous.  Doing what is right sometimes means losing your job, or losing the respect of certain individuals.  Usually the moment when you have to make that choice, the stakes are so high that it becomes more difficult. Just keep in mind to do the right thing anyway. Why? Because there are more individuals that will respect you for doing the right thing than the easy and convenient. Even if it takes a lot of time. The only person whose opinion you should care about most is…yourself.  You are the one that has to live with the decision you make and remember, you have to live with that decision for the rest of your life.  Fear of other people disliking you, judging you, or criticizing you is not a big deal. Many famous leaders in history persevered even in the face of death. Compared to that, is your fear really that significant?  Jake Sully risked his life and so did his friends in the movie.  So your fear, whatever it is, is much smaller in comparison.

3. Taking the BIG Risk to Grow and Succeed.

Are you willing to take the BIG risk?  Living inside your comfort zone is only going to lead to a life full of regrets. You will not grow as a person.  Remember, a gem is a precious stone.  Before it was a gem, it was just an ugly rock.  Only through friction can it be polished to become something beautiful.  The same thing applies to you. You must face many obstacles to grow. You must not avoid confrontation.  It is only through confrontation that you are able to change.  So what risks have you been avoiding? Stop avoiding them and do what you need to do today.  Remember Jake Sully’s words “sometimes your whole life boils down to one insane move.” So make the move now.

4. Overcoming A Major Obstacle To Gain Respect of Others

What is the creature that you must control in order to become the next Toruk Makto.  Maybe it is something within you, such as a limiting belief that you have. Maybe it is something that you must do.  What must you do in order to earn your right to lead?  Is it getting an education?  Is it taking care of your responsibilities at your job or for your family? Is it writing that book or completing some project? You are more than capable to achieve whatever it is you want.  If there is a will, there is a way. You have what it takes to succeed.

Please share your thoughts on this blog and the Avatar movie below.

(Coming next Part 2: “Be A Sahelo Leader”)

The question: Has President Obama demonstrated leadership on the health care reform?  The short answer is NO.  Now let me qualify that statement. I believe that if he was rated on a scale between 1 and 10, I would give him a 4.  I will explain why in this post.

The National Society of Leadership and Success, who I serve as a National Officer and Program Coordinator, outlines 6 basic steps of leadership. They are:

1.  Clarify Your Purpose
2.  Create a Shared Vision
3.  Challenge the Status Quo
4.  Inspire Positive Action
5.  Empower Others
6.  Seek Constant Improvement

I shall rate him according to this criteria as a leader.

1. Did Obama clarify his purpose?  Well, yes he did.  President Obama’s purpose was to cover the 30 million of uninsured in America and to stop the injustices of insurance companies, such as denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions, and streaming lining and making the health care more efficient to reduce the costs.  I would say if health care achieved those purposes, then it would be a good thing.

However, the problem of health care is larger than this.  Some larger problems include understanding why we pay more for health care and yet we are sicker as people.  Why are American small and large businesses failing because they can’t afford to pay such high cost to cover employee health insurance? Why is there so much ambiguity about paying for doctors visits. The ideas of in-network, out of network, required doctor referrals to see another doctor, co-pays, reimbursements,  and HMO’s.  The list doesn’t stop there.  Don’t forget the debate between western orthodox and conventional medicine vs. complementary and alternative medicine.  And lastly, the idea of a doctor saying: “take the blue pill and all your problems will go away” instead of focusing on preventative medicine, exercise, lifestyles changes, and stress management.

Yes it is difficult to tackle all these problems but there are solutions. One solution, of many, is to provide universal health care.  Because health care should not be a privilege like driving a car.  It should be a fundamental right.  That is a vision I can wrap my head around which will lead to #2.

2. Did he create a shared vision? Well, yes, but not very well.  A vision is painting a clear picture of what we all want.  It motivates and inspires.  President Obama was clear in his vision for covering the 30 million Americans without health insurance.  Was that inspiring and motivating to millions of Americans with health insurance.  I would say that it almost had the opposite affect. I asked my coworker about the health care debate.  He was worried that with the proposed health care reform plan, the cost of his family insurance might actually go up. Creating a shared vision is something that brings all Americans to solve this problem.

Lack of quality vision and compromising on that vision resulted in the famous “Public Option”.   The Public Option was so watered down by special interest, even it was eventually dropped in exchange for a more meaningful comprise.

One way to achieve a vision of “health care as a fundamental right for all citizens” is to provide “Medicare For All”.  Medicare is one of the most effective government programs with a very high satisfaction rate.  How do I know this, if you are unfamiliar with the program, just ask your grandparents.  I don’t believe that health care is a democratic or republican issue.  If I see a republican woman or democratic woman dying in a hospital bed with her family at her side watching her as she dies because they can’t afford a treatment that could save her life, then I would be happy to have my taxes go to help that woman.  Anything less is barbaric.

3. Did he challenge the status quo? Well, yes but very little.  It is difficult to get people to change, you know this.  However, change only happens when you draw a line in the sand and say this is no longer acceptable.  One of my favorite shows is Real Time with Bill Maher.  He interviewed Michael Moore who has been a big advocate for health reform. Michael said that Obama started with a “compromised position” and what we have now going through congress is a compromise on the compromise which means less and less health care for Americans. Bill Moyers, who was also interviewed by Bill Maher said “I would rather see President Obama go down and lose, advocating for universal health care”. Mr. Moyers said that at least President Obama will have set the foundation and vision in place so that in the following years we would eventually get it.

4. Did he inspired positive action?  Not enough.

I will disclose that I was one of the thousand of you supporters of Senator Barack Obama before he became very popular, during the time when Hillary Clinton was the Democratic front runner.  I contributed automatic monthly payments to his campaign. For those conservatives reading this post, I will say that I did, in fact, like the 2000 version of Senator McCain for his personality, courage, charisma, and stance on a number of important issues, however he completely changed to a totally different person in 2008. I no longer recognized him nor the values he represented.

Several months ago Obama’s campaign sent me an email soliciting money to help promote health care reform.  Here was my response to an the email on June 24, 09:

Dear David Plouffe,
I was a monthly contributor in the campaign election for Senator Barack Obama. I did so because he is fair minded, rational, and intelligent and I believed that this country would move in a better direction. I read his book Audacity of Hope, and I felt, wow…this man thinks just like I do.  I have received your email to request funds to support the campaign for health care reform. I would contribute to the cause if it meant real health care reform like a single payer system of universal health care. Anybody who watched the documentary film Sicko knows what is wrong with our health care system. How we pay the more money than any other country and yet get very little for it.  Personally, my fiance’s mother, who is 59, is an American citizen with high blood pressure and is refusing to go see a doctor because she doesn’t have health insurance. She is a hard working woman who cleans homes for a living. Unfortunately, like many Americans, it might take a heart attack to force her to go to the emergency room and finally see a doctor.  We all know how that will certainly save the taxpayers a lot of money!  Something is terribly wrong with this country’s health care system.

I am waiting for the president to demonstrate some leadership on this issue.  I believe in compromise and reason just like anybody else, but sometimes you need to kick a little ass and create some enemies like the American Medical Association, pharmaceuticals, and insurance companies who care more about profit than the health of people. I know that the president has so much on his plate, economy, Iraq, and global warming to just name a few.  But unless he demonstrates leadership on this issue, you will not get one cent from me. If I can leave the president with one piece of wisdom, its this…and it comes from my favorite movie Braveheart, “Your title gives you claim to the throne of our country, but men don’t follow titles, they follow courage. Now our people know you. Noble, and common, they respect you. And if you would just lead them to freedom, they’d follow you. And so would I.”

I wasn’t inspired to go out in the streets and advocate for universal health care, but I would if I were motivated by a great leader to do so.

President Obama started to demonstrate some leadership late in the game with his speech to the joint session of congress in September 9, 2009. I watched the entire speech, and I will admit, I was moved by it.  When President Obama said the line “He (Ted Kennedy) never forgot the sheer terror and helplessness that any parent feels when a child is badly sick; and he was able to imagine what it must be like for those without insurance; what it would be like to have to say to a wife or a child or an aging parent – there is something that could make you better, but I just can’t afford it.”  That statement, hit me like a ton of bricks, and I started to cry.  I have a fiance who I want to have a family with someday, and somehow, I imagined myself saying those words to her.  To have to say that would be a stab to my heart and represent my complete failure as a husband and father to my children.

That one inspiring speech to a joint session of congress moved me, but unfortunately it was a little too late. I wasn’t asked to call my congressperson or write letters for universal health care.  The lack of inspiring positive action by ordinary citizens is by far the most hurtful thing President Obama has done. He redefined “HOPE” and lead millions of people to action to vote for his presidency, a unheard of grass root campaign using the latest technology.  This time, even though many people have been working hard and pushing for health care reform, I felt as if the computers were in sleep mode.

5. Empower others? He didn’t empower citizens to act as mentioned above.  However, he certainly empowered the special interest such as the insurance lobby, pharmaceuticals and others to spend 635 million dollars in the last two years on lobbying.

I understand that the special interest will lie, cheat, and spend millions of dollars misleading Americans to fight against the idea of “Medicare for all”. Why? Because it is a threat to the most important issue for our democracy….. socialism….nope….many people don’t even know what socialism means….it is about profit.

However, with all their money and lobbyist, they can be defeated if the American public demanded something more and refused to take no for an answer. Lobbyist can influence and have money, but it the voter that ultimately holds the congressperson accountable.

6. Did he seek constant improvement? Yes he did.  When the pundits were on TV blasting President Obama and the plan, it just so happened that he was planning to do his famous speech to the joint session of congress on September 9.  Again, too little to late.

As you can see, I give him a 4. What score would you give him and why?

I met one of the most amazing women in my life, her name is Alexis Jones. She is only 26 years old and has accomplished so much. Her accomplishments include: hiking Mount Everest, becoming a celebrity on the reality TV show “Survivor”, completed a master’s degree in only one year instead of the standard two at the University of Southern California, and created her own company called “I am that girl” to empower woman all over the world.

Alexis is now a motivational speaker who travels around the world spreading her message of female empowerment, resilience, and living life with passion.  I had a chance to sit down with Alexis and pick her brain on the 3 powerful tips she has used to become such a successful leader.

Tip #1: Leaders are humble

It was during her college years at USC that Alexis learned so much about leadership.  She was able to participate in a leadership program on her campus. The program involved attending a several day retreat.  It was at this retreat that she learned that nobody can appoint themselves a leader.  It is a title that must be earned with humility.

During this retreat she met a young woman by the name of Becky (not her real name of course).  Becky actually believed that she was a best leader. She was very smart, disciplined, motivated, and hard working. The problem was that nobody liked working with her.  Why? She always appointed herself the leader in any given situation.  She would try to dominate the group by constantly injecting her opinions. After several days, people loathed her.

An interesting event happened near the end of the retreat.  The students were asked to line themselves up from the strongest leader to the weakest leader with no help from any of the staff at the retreat. However, the most interesting catch was that students were allowed to move each other around if they felt that a particular student was in the wrong spot. Guess where Becky put herself? She put herself in front of the line with the strongest leaders.  Guess what the other students did, they pulled her out of the spot and put her at the end of the line with the weakest leaders.  It was a powerful lesson that Alexis never forgot.

Tip # 2: Leaders are the best followers

When Alexis was applied to be on the Show “Survivor”, her motives were good.  She wanted to use the celebrity status of the reality TV show to launch her campaign of female empowerment, because today’s youth are so influenced by the media.  The only way to be successful was to remain on the show as long as possible and not get voted off.  Only then could she get the exposure she needed.   This would prove to be extremely difficult because anybody who has seen the show “Survivor” knows that it contains some of the most competitive A-Type driven people imaginable.  Alexis had to strategize.  She asked herself “what can I do to convince people not to vote me off the island?”  One answer was to be the best follower.

Whenever the group had to make a decision, her team would have a discussion.  Alexis’ strategy was never to give her opinion on what to do right away, even if she knew deep down inside what needed to be done.  She would wait patiently.  Then someone from the group would volunteer an opinion.  If that opinion shared was the right decision, she would then speak up and agree with the person and explain why.  Alexis developed a supportive role within the group.  By constantly supporting others, she built trust.  How did the other people in the group feel when Alexis agreed with them? Good of course.  They felt that Alexis was really listening to them and they appreciated her for it.

The most interesting thing happened when Alexis continued to support others.  Eventually, when confronted with a challenge, people in the group would skip the group discussion and would go directly to Alexis and ask “Alexis, what do you think we should do?”   When studying leadership and power dynamics in groups, Alexis developed what is known as referent power.  She built loyalty and trust with others.  She held no official title or position of power.  However, people would go to her as a resource for guidance.  The lesson here is that to be a great leader, you need to be a great follower.

Tip #3: Leaders Take Initiative

While Alexis was on the show “Survivor” she still continued to ask herself the question: “what can I do to convince people not to vote me off the island?”  How could Alexis become invaluable to the group?  She found another answer.  Alexis was determined to be the first one to help the group whenever it was needed.  For example, after a long hike in the wilderness near the end of the day, everyone would be exhausted and thirsty.  When the group needed volunteers to get water, who was the first person to volunteer? Alexis.  Not only was she the first to volunteer, she would go above and beyond to help the group without even being asked to.  After a long day when it was time to get the firewood, she would have already gone out to collect the wood.  She was always willing to take the initiative.  She helped others and did so without any whining or complaining. Leaders are always the first to help others when help is needed.

Just like Alexis Jones, here are some actions steps you take to become a successful leader at your school, home, or work.

1. When in a group discussion, don’t be the first person to share what your best idea is. Be supportive to other people’s opinions by adding to what others are saying.

2. Instead of always sharing your opinion first, ask others “What do you think?”

3. Take initiative. Don’t wait to be asked to do something if you see a problem arising. Try and prevent it from happening.  From something as small as replacing the toilet paper when it is running low, to something more significant like doing something nice for a loved one because you know that they are having a rough day.