Sarah Palin: A Great Choice (Until You Look Below the Surface)

“I don’t think a Hillary person would ever move to her, based on the issues. I don’t think before today I would have ever heard someone call her a feminist.”

--Jean Craciun, a strategic research and planning consultant in Alaska who has done political polling for Democrats and Republicans.

2008 Election: Presidential Leadership Competencies, A Scorecard

Leadership: A leader exhibits behavior that 1) defines reality; 2) makes others believe in themselves; and, 3) applies leadership competencies to successfully execute a strategy.

In the business world, developing a competency model for the selection of a CEO is a best practice and standard operating procedure for many successful companies.

If we use a behavioral template as criteria for selecting a president, how would our presidential candidates compare? Read the characteristics below carefully and rate each of the candidates objectively. Though obviously open for discussion, I have rated the winner in each competency based on my observations of each in action. (x)

The Presidential Leadership Competencies are listed below:

· VISIONING (x- Advantage Obama)
Takes a long-term view and acts as a catalyst for change; builds a shared vision with others; influences others to translates vision into action; creates a compelling and inspirational picture of the future

· ACTS WITH INTEGRITY (x- Advantage Obama)
Fosters high standards for ethical behavior; behaves in a fair and ethical manner towards others; demonstrates high political and professional standards; handles situations with integrity; viewed as highly trustworthy; stands up for what is right despite potential personal consequences; demonstrates consistency between words and actions; honors commitments to others

· ACCOUNTABILITY (x- Advantage Obama)
Holds self and others accountable for laws, policies, rules and responsibilities; can be relied upon to ensure that issues within areas of responsibility are completed in a relevant and timely manner and within budget; sets high standards for self and others; assigns clear accountability backed by appropriate authority

· GETS RESULTS (x- Advantage Obama)
Achieves strategic goals; delivers measurable results, on time and within budget; translate(s ideas into concrete actions; champions initiatives beyond the scope of one’s job; mobilizes resources and removes barriers for success; anticipates potential problems and develops contingency plans to overcome them; works across political and organizational boundaries, avoiding turf issues, and eliminating unnecessary work to achieve the desired results; concentrates on outcomes rather than activities

· IDENTIFIES AND DEVELOPS TALENT (x- Advantage Obama)
Inspires, fosters, and develops leadership in others through coaching, mentoring, rewarding and guiding those under him/her; develops successors and talent pools for key positions

· TAKES INITIATIVE/RISK-TAKING (x- Advantage Obama)
Creates an environment that encourages creative thinking; designs and implements new or cutting-edge programs/processes; challenges the status quo; recognizes opportunities and takes action to achieve objectives; empowers others to take risks, supports them when things go wrong and encourages them to learn from set-backs and failures

· CHANGE MANAGEMENT (x- Advantage Obama)
Understands process and issues inherent in change management and plans accordingly; instills confidence and trust in others; coordinates resources; evaluates measures, project plans and deliverables for strategic alignment; acknowledges individual’s responses to change and helps them adjust; Adapts unit goals and work plans in response to internal and external forces that will impact the future effectiveness of the unit

· THINKING SKILLS (x- Advantage Obama)
Identifies and integrates the critical elements of a situation, making correct inferences from data; breaks complex problems into component parts and organizes the parts in a systematic way; uses innovation to develop novel solutions; can explain to others how to understand and approach complicated problems

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Knowledge/Political Acumen: Applies resources, constituency needs, and processes to make sound strategic and business decisions.

· STRATEGIC THINKING AND PLANNING (x- Advantage Obama)
Formulates effective strategies consistent with the needs of the nation; sees the big picture and holds a long-term perspective; determines objectives and sets priorities; anticipates potential threats or opportunities; aligns people to support organizational goals; drives the execution of strategic plans and monitors results

· MANAGES RESOURCES (x- Advantage Obama)
Assesses current and future staffing needs based on organizational goals and budget realties; ensures staff are appropriately selected, developed, utilized, appraised and rewarded; readily shares resources to support political initiatives; understands key financial indicators; uses cost-benefit thinking to set priorities; integrates technology into the workplace to improve effectiveness and efficiency; understands the impact of technological changes on the organization

· PROFESSIONAL AND POLITICAL KNOWLEDGE (x- Advantage Obama)
Continually enhances knowledge and skills to keep abreast of global changes, developments and emerging issues; understands what it takes to be successful; has a thorough knowledge of the nation’s mission, history, and constituencies

· PROBLEM SOLVING/DECISION MAKING (x- Advantage Obama)
Develops new insights into situations and applies innovative solutions to make improvements; exercises good judgment by making sound and well-informed decisions; is proactive; distinguishes between relevant and irrelevant information to make logical decisions; effectively analyzes potential for risk and acts decisively; makes breakthrough decisions based upon a mixture of analysis, wisdom, experience and judgment; solicits input from individuals who can add significant value to the decision-making process

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Builds Relationships/Communication: Cultivates effective relationships to create a culture that supports the national goals and strategy.

· INFLUENCING SKILLS (x- Advantage Obama)
Builds coalitions through give and take; gains cooperation from others to obtain information and accomplish goals; collaborates across boundaries; recognizes which battles are worth fighting for and when it is time to compromise; seeks to build internal and external partnerships to better accomplish goals; invites other points of view; anticipates the reactions and objections of others

· CONFLICT MANAGEMENT (x- Advantage Obama)
Identifies and takes steps to prevent potential situations that could result in confrontations; manages and resolves conflicts and disagreements in a positive and constructive manner to minimize negative impacts

· LEVERAGES DIVERSITY (x- Advantage Obama)
Recruits, develops and retains a diverse political base; leads and manages an inclusive environment that maximizes the talents of each person to achieve sound results; respects, understands, values and seeks out individual differences to achieve the vision and mission of the organization

· TEAM BUILDING (x- Advantage Obama)
Inspires and guides others toward goal accomplishments; consistently develops and sustains cooperative working relationships; fosters commitment, team spirit, pride and trust; shares leadership and helps the team become interdependent by facilitating participation and group interaction

· TREATS OTHERS WITH RESPECT (x- Advantage Obama)
Considers and responds appropriately to the needs, feelings and capabilities of different people in different situations; is tactful, compassionate and sensitive; challenges others' ideas without getting personal; follows through on commitments to others

· PRESENTS IDEAS EFFECTIVELY (x- Advantage Obama)
Makes clear and convincing presentations to individuals and groups; listens effectively and clarifies information as needed; shares relevant information and expectations openly, honestly and in a timely fashion; targets presentations to the needs and level of the audience; translates complex information into understandable, meaningful, relevant language

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Self-Management and Development: On-going development of skills and competencies to lead the nation.

· TOLERANCE FOR AMBIGUITY (x- Advantage Obama)
Takes changing priorities and new developments in stride, even in the face of ambiguity; leads with a clear sense of priorities in a climate of uncertainty and change

· FLEXIBILITY (x- Advantage Obama)
Is open to change and new information; adapts behavior and work methods in response to new information, technology, changing conditions or unexpected obstacles; adjusts rapidly to new situations warranting attention and resolution

· SELF-KNOWLEDGE AND DEVELOPMENT (x- Advantage Obama)
Recognizes own strengths and weaknesses; seeks feedback from others; extracts learning from failure

· LEARNS CONTINUOUSLY (x- Advantage Obama)
Pursues self-development and opportunities to master new knowledge; applies new knowledge; embraces new and diverse ideas; shares learning broadly

The last two elections were based on simple emotional and subjective criteria such as: our comfort level having a beer with the candidates, our fear of an intellectually superior president, and our fear of changing adminstrations during wartime.

Let's be more substantive and objective this time. Let's set our leadership requirements and make a valid decision based on the candidates' ability to meet those requirements. We deserve nothing less.

Obama: Listening and Learning

"He listened more than he talked, which is always a good thing. He clearly sees himself as a clever synthesizer of other people's ideas. And I think that is an important skill in a president."

--Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google.

"I don't think Senator Obama has an agenda for big business. He's trying to affect the overall economy, and he's got to find a way to help people who are worse off. I don't think he loses any sleep woryinig about how to craft a policy just for big business, not should he, and I say that as a former commerce secretary."

--William M. Daley, JPMorgan Chase.