Category: Digital Article

He died this week, at age 95. Nearly fabled, certainly venerated among political scientists, historians, journalists and politicians for his contributions to our collective life, he was, it happened, singular.

But he was singular not so much for what he did, however splendid, as for what he was.

My own small story:

I was a graduate student in the Department of Political Science at Yale University in the early 1970s. I stood alone for two reasons. First, to my knowledge then and now, I was the first woman in the department with children, living off campus, who had the temerity to pursue a Ph.D. (One professor was so outrageous as to ask why I was even at Yale, why I was not home taking care of my children.)  Second, I became interested in leadership, but discovered to my astonishment that political science had no literature on political leadership and, more remarkably, no apparent involvement in it either. The closest the discipline came at the time was the study of “elites” – but elites and leaders are hardly one and the same.

Of course I had no idea how to proceed – or even if it was possible. I had no idea, that is, until I came upon a prize-winning biography of Franklin Delano Roosevelt titled, The Lion and the Fox. The book was published in 1956, it had been penned by James MacGregor Burns. It was of course superb. However what struck me most was not actually the biography – but an appendage thereto. It was called “A Note on the Study of Political Leadership.”

I had found my holy grail! It was this extraordinary “Note” that, of itself, foreshadowed the contemporaneous consideration of leadership. It was this extraordinary “Note” that, of itself,  constituted proof positive that leadership was a serious subject fit for serious study by a serious person. For someone of low rank (me) to discover that someone of high rank (Burns) had determined that leadership per se was worthy of close consideration was all the affirmation I needed to decide that it, leadership, would be central to my professional life.

Let me be clear. This was not merely an abstraction, a matter of the printed page. After I read Burns’s “Note on the Study of Political Leadership” I wrote to him, at Williams College, and in time I came to meet him. At first he was my mentor, and I his mentee. But, as the years passed, I, like a number of others, transitioned from being Burns’s mentees to being Burns’s friends, his equals, or so he let us imagine ourselves. Even when, as inevitably it happened, we took issue with him, he was never critical. Disputatious yes, critical no. Argumentative yes, judgmental no.

Jim was one of America’s great 20^th century intellectuals. He was also fully, deeply engaged in public affairs. And he was founder and champion of what I believe he would be the first to admit is the still fledgling field of Leadership Studies. Above all though he was a great man. His first class character and, yes, his first class temperament will be forever remembered by those whose paths he came to cross.

Note: I am the James MacGregor Burns Lecturer in Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School.

He’s been victimized – victimized by the law of unanticipated consequences. Thinking himself in total control – as opposed to only partial control – Putin recently ramped up Russia’s investment in destabilizing Ukraine. He increased the number of Russian troops along Ukraine’s border to rather a massive 13,000, and he put new, more formidable military hardware into the hands of Ukraine’s pro-Russian separatists. The idea of course was to manage the situation from Moscow, while unsettling the government in Kiev.

But in the second decade of the 21^st century best laid plans get upended – even plans made by people in positions of power. Within Russia Putin has got his way. Through a wily combination of oppression and suppression, his political opposition has been more or less stifled.  Moreover without Russia he has also been riding high. Ever since Obama made Putin his partner in striking that Syrian chemical weapons deal, Putin has strode the world like a bit of a colossus, throwing his weight around so successfully that he calculated he could seize Crimea without firing a shot. And so he did.

What he has not always been able to accomplish, however, is to control the forces that he himself has unleashed. And so it is in Eastern Ukraine, where he has not been able always to contain pro-Russian separatists – even though it is he, of course, who since the beginning has been their enabler. Even this particular leader is not, in other words, in complete command of his followers. Ukraine’s pro-Russian separatists owe their existence to Putin, but not necessarily their allegiance.

It is impossible to know at this moment who exactly is to blame for the tragedy of Malaysian Airlines flight number 17.  What we do know is that it was shot out of the sky by a Russian made surface-to-air missile. What we do know is that some 298 people are dead as a result. And what we do know is that while Vladimir Putin might not be directly responsible, he is without doubt indirectly responsible.

Putin should have known that he cannot always count on controlling even his own people. But he did not – and so he has painted himself into a corner. He has at this moment only two choices. Either he endures an embarrassment and takes a step back. Or he ratchets up his risk by destabilizing Europe still further.

Whoopi was the name of my dog.

We had her since she was a pup – yesterday she died at the age of almost 17.

When I knew for sure that she would be gone in several hours, I lay down beside her on the floor and felt her fur.

That’s pretty much all I did until she passed.

After officially banning Hitler’s autobiographical screed Mein Kampf since the end of World II, Germany will finally, formally permit its publication in 2015. As reported in a piece by Peter Ross Range in yesterday’s New York Times, the book’s copyright expires next year, which means that from then on anyone in Germany can publish the book, whether quality publisher or a group of neo-Nazis.

Of course while for historical reasons Germany has banned the book, it has been freely available elsewhere. In fact I have assigned it, or parts of it, in one of my classes, specifically in a course I developed at the Harvard Kennedy School titled, “Leadership Literacy.”

The point of “Leadership Literacy” is to familiarize students with the great leadership literature – I mean the really great leadership literature. Literature that has stood the test of time and has come to be considered classic. Some of this literature is about leadership – for example, works by Confucius, Machiavelli, Shakespeare and, yes, Freud. Some of this literature is, itself, an act of leadership – for example, Paine’s Common Sense, Stanton’s Declaration of Sentiments, and Carson’s Silent Spring. Finally is the third major category, words penned by leaders, or spoken by leaders, that are so powerful, so memorable, that they will linger forever. Of course Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” is in this group, and so is Churchill’s “Adamant for Drift,” and so is King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”

Which returns us to Mein Kampf. For me there was never any question that Hitler’s infamous book, which ranks among the most persuasive pieces of propaganda of all time, belonged in the course. Is Mein Kampf great? The answer depends of course on how you define great.  What we can say in any case is this: in its own time, from the late 1920s to the mid-1940s, the book was a powerhouse. Even in our time the book remains fully alive, an object of continuing fascination.

Mein Kampf is best known for its virulent anti-Semitism. But if it were no more than that, no more than an anti-Semitic rant, I doubt it would it would have had the same original impact. And I similarly doubt it would be of any significant interest today. But it is more than a rant: Mein Kampf is of inherent interest for several reasons, among them Hitler’s discussion of the purposes of propaganda, and his exegesis on how to organize a political movement. I would argue in fact that anyone who wants to understand the man and his moment must take into account his manifesto.

Given my conviction that the great leadership literature should underpin all leadership learning, I edited a collection based on the canon, Leadership: Essential Selections on Power, Authority, and Influence.  When I submitted my manuscript for publication I was told it was fine, excellent in fact – with one exception. The exception was the excerpt from Mein Kampf. The publisher did not want me to include it – and I reluctantly agreed to omit it. My mistake. Mein Kampf is widely available anyway, which is just as well. It’s the ultimate cautionary document – conclusive proof that words matter.

Poor Monica Lewinsky. I don’t mean to drag her into this, really. She has long paid a price for being foolish in the ways of the young, for being vulnerable to the attractions of a much older man who was not only, in her eyes, immensely attractive, but happened also to be president of the United States.

However… Ms. Lewinsky cannot help but forever be associated with a sea change in America’s political culture. Bill Clinton was hardly the first president to engage in a dalliance outside of his marriage. But never before in American history had a dalliance been so relentlessly chronicled; never before in American history had the American people been so completely privy to what previously was considered private. Bill Clinton’s relationship with Monica Lewinsky amounted to a turning point: the office of the American presidency was so thoroughly debased, so completely reduced, it was impossible subsequently to restore it to what it was previously.

It was presumed until recently that the French were immune to this sort of scandal. In fact, they were so sophisticated, so cosmopolitan, that when they found out that their longest serving president ever (1981-1995), Francois Mitterand, had long had a mistress, with whom by the way he had a daughter they did not bat an eye.

That was then. Whatever the French were, they are no longer. In fact, the French people are rather like people in other Western democracies: they are willing no longer to tolerate obviously poor behavior by people in positions of power and authority. Ironically, recently, the French have been sorely tested, beset by a string of men in high places, all behaving badly.

First of the three most egregious examples was Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund, as well as presumed future candidate for French president, who in 2011 faced changes of sexually assaulting a hotel worker in New York City. Second was the incumbent president, Francois Hollande, who, in spite of his having the worst poll ratings of any president in the history of the Fifth Republic, or maybe because of them, saw fit earlier this year to leave his partner in the middle of the night, on a motor scooter no less, for an assignation with his secret lover, a young French actress. Finally, just this week was the particularly mortifying sight of Hollande’s immediate predecessor, former president Nicolas Sarkozy, being hauled into police custody on charges of corruption and influence-peddling. It’s all been a bit much – more even than the worldly French are willing to suck up.

France has had rather a hard time of it in recent years, or, at least, the French have been beleaguered by a sense of decline, heightened by their badly diminished status as a world power, by a seriously sluggish economy, and by a malaise that has had a serious side effect: it has increased the appeal of the party of the far right, the Front National. Ironically, the FN is led by a women, Martine Le Pen, who might just decide herself to run for president in 2017.

I like the idea of France having a woman president. Why not? Several of the men who would constitute the opposition have not exactly distinguished themselves. But this woman? At this time? No! Le Pen is not a centrist; she is perilously close to being extremist. She is in any case an ultra-nationalist, a would-be candidate for the nation’s highest office who probably would tap into some of France’s least attractive, xenophobic impulses. It’s a timely if grim reminder of how in this day and age when a leader of national consequence behaves badly, he puts at risk not only himself, but his people.

It’s supposed to be a holiday week, the week of July 4^th, Independence Day, not much going on except barbeque and beach. But no such luck. There’s news, lots of it, domestic and foreign, no rest for the weary.

Given the time of year, and given the headlines, from Iraq imploding to soccer exploding, no surprise that an otherwise big story has received scant attention, at least in the U.S. But the deal that was reached a few days ago between not only Ukraine, but also Georgia and Moldova on the one hand, and the European Union (EU) on the other, is a landmark.  It represents not only a major turning point for Europe, it is also, unmistakably, a slap in the face of Vladimir Putin.

Sure, Putin seized Crimea without firing a shot, no mean feat. But the future of Europe is a long game, not a short one, and for the moment there’s no mistaking that Putin’s Russia has suffered a serious setback. Precisely because all three countries – Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova – are still considered by (most) Russians to be in their sphere of influence, this most recent expansion of the EU’s Eastern Partnership is a major blow.

It’s improbable of course that Putin will accept this defeat lying down. He does not relish being publicly humiliated and this is just that, a public humiliation and political repudiation. Moreover, he has many arrows in his quiver, many ways he can make miserable those living in the three former Soviet Socialist Republics, from political and military destabilization to economic retaliation. But at this moment at least greater Europe has the winning hand – which raises the question of what the West will  do to sustain its advantage.

When asked what should a leader do, or how should a leader lead, or what qualities should a leader exemplify, the word “culture” is not typically at the top of the list. A leader should have a vision, a leader should be able to communicate and mobilize and make decisions, and, of course, a leader is supposed to be open and honest. No mention is made of the importance of “culture” – of the culture of the group or organization – in part, I think, because what exactly is culture is so difficult to define.

However, the importance of culture is impossible to overestimate. This is not to say that the leader is responsible for the culture of a group or organization – no individual could possibly shoulder this burden, certainly not single-handedly. Among other reasons, culture is composed in good part of intangibles, including history and ideology and values. Still, the leader’s responsibility in the realm of culture is large, even if it consists of little more than sending the same message, over and over and over again.

The consequences of an organizational culture gone bad, or simply awry, happen just now to be in ample evidence. Two cases of egregious wrongdoing or, depending on how you look at it, egregious mismanagement, are making front page news on nearly a daily basis. And, in both cases the problem is being attributed to a word long considered somewhat out of fashion – “culture.”

“How do you change the culture?” asked the “Today” show’s Matt Lauer of Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors.  “How do you go about communicating to the people who have been part of the history of this company for years that things must change?” Of course Barra herself has been “part of the history of this company for years” – which of itself is an issue. Because of her long history at the company Barra must, in my view, go. But while deposing her is necessary, it is not sufficient. Even with a new leader, one who must be from outside the company, some form of Lauer’s question will linger: How do you change a corporate culture in which lack of transparency, lack of responsibility, and lack of accountability have been endemic?

Similarly with the VA, in particular the health care system that is now revealed as woefully inadequate. This is not a problem of a few rotten apples in a barrel. Rather the barrel is so full up with deficiencies: the problem is the whole, not the parts. Which is precisely why the word “culture” reappears here. Investigative reporters for the New York Times write that certainly in the nation’s military hospitals, “mistakes and a culture of secrecy persist.” Same with a report delivered to Barack Obama by Acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson. It also invoked the word “culture” – it concluded that the VA’s health care system was characterized by a “corrosive culture.” Gibson himself concurred, saying in a summary statement, “We know that unacceptable, systemic problems and cultural issues…prevent veterans from receiving timely care. We can and must solve these problems as we work to earn back the trust of veterans.”  (Italics all mine.)

Given the evidence which, while circumstantial, is persuasive nevertheless, that culture matters, the question for experts on leadership and, for that matter on followership, is can people be taught to change culture, and if so how? Of course before this question there is one other: What exactly is culture and how does it affect how we think and what we do?

It’s relatively easy to see how hard it is for political leaders to lead. While some political leaders in 21^st century America have it easier than others, it’s obvious that from the president on down that times are tough.

What’s less obvious, relatively more difficult to determine, is that corporate leaders are in a similar situation. They too are experiencing hard times, finding it more difficult to lead now than they did just a decade or two ago. I don’t exactly pity them – among other famous, or infamous reasons, CEOs of large public companies tend to be extravagantly well compensated. But, make no mistake. Leaders in business are not immune from the same slings and arrows that are directed at leaders in government.

The similarity between the two is a hard case to make. While I’ve argued for decades that the differences between leaders in government and leaders in business – or, for that matter, among leaders anywhere else – are less powerful than the similarities, we still tend think them two different species, leaders in the public sector one thing, leaders in the private sector another. But followers, others, in both domains are more recalcitrant than they used to be, and quicker to pull the trigger on leaders who fail to make the grade. Moreover leaders everywhere are situated in the same larger context, in this case this particular country, the U.S., at this particular moment in time.

Consider this tidbit from the Financial Times (6/23/14): “The annual meeting [of publicly held companies] has become a venue for debate where campaigners… raise hundreds of proposals to challenge imperious chief executives on issues ranging from their pay to the environmental sustainability of their operations…. 2014 shows continuing elevated levels of activism, with many companies acceding to proponents’ demand before they reach the ballot.”

In the past few weeks alone, shareholders at Gannet voted against the use of golden parachutes for executives; Harley-Davidson lost its attempt to block the introduction of majority voting for directors; and over 50 percent of votes at Valero Energy demanded greater transparency in its lobbying. Moreover the breadth of citizen or investor activism seems to be widening. Whereas in the past it was mainly banks that attracted these sorts of high-profile campaigns, now contentious industries such as those in the energy sector receive an outsized proportion of investor attention. Even consumer companies have joined the fray; they and those who lead them are growing in popularity as targets of activists.

CEOs most vulnerable to punishment or even banishment if they make a major misstep are those who are new on the job – and to the job. Impatient boards are quicker to lose patience with recent hires, and quicker to push them out if they fail to perform. Nearly 21% of U.S. and Canadian CEOs of public companies forced out in 2013 had served less than three years, compared with just over 10% of those holding office longer. Moreover about 76% of top bosses departing for any reason last year were first time chief executive officers, up from 58% only a couple of years earlier.

Of course none of this is to say that private sector leaders should be pitied. It is simply to point out that they are anything but protected against the temper of the times, anything but protected from the same exogenous forces that put at risk their public sector counterparts.

As if he didn’t have enough on his plate!

Poor, beleaguered King Filipe – he’s now got an errant sister in the headlines! And I don’t just mean the tabloids! Only yesterday Princess Cristina (and also her husband) was indicted on charges of tax fraud and money laundering. If convicted, she faces up to 11 years in jail.

What can a king to do?  Filipe is like any other leader. He is vulnerable now not only to the slings and arrows of the media, but of public opinion.  In consequence  of the times in which he lives his hold on his throne is destined to be shaky – unless of course he can walk on water.

One of my first blogs ever, posted in April 2012, was about King Juan Carlos of Spain. I pointed out that though he once was a king much admired, he now was a king much reviled. He was reviled because of his own bone-headed behavior; because the royal family had been tainted by ineptitude and corruption; because his subjects, ordinary Spaniards, were fed up; and because Spain itself had been badly hit by the financial crisis. As I wrote in 2012, “The economy is near double-dip recession and the level of unemployment is frighteningly high…. So for the King to choose this moment to vacation in Africa, rifle in hand, to kill elephants, water buffaloes, and other large animals, suggests a cluelessness that is appalling.”

It did not take long for the King himself to conclude that his time had come and gone. That he would do his country a service if he abdicated the throne in favor of his son. And so last week was the formal if low key installation of the new King, Felipe VI, who subsequently paraded through the streets of Madrid, along with his attractive wife and two young daughters.

Not all European royals have functions that are only ceremonial. In fact, Spain’s 1978 constitution allots to the king an array of powers, including the right to “arbitrate and moderate” affairs of state. But, however appealing may be the new royal family, however relieved are Spaniards to be rid of the old royal family, King Felipe VI is inheriting the throne in a time when Spain is taut with tension.

For all I know, King Felipe VI is the cleverest and most politically skilled of all European royalty. Moreover, as just indicated, he has some power as well as considerable authority. But here is just a short list of what he faces: levels of unemployment that remain alarmingly high; a looming constitutional crisis because of the many Catalonians who want nothing so much as to secede from the Spanish state; an urgent need for political and institutional reform; increasing extremism, a monarchy that has been tarnished; a populace that is depressed; and a soccer team that just suffered (at the feet of Chile) and its most ignominious World Cup defeat ever!

What can any king do? What can any leader do when followers are so quick to find fault and when the context is so complex?

I am not saying that leaders are doomed to fail. I’m just pointing out that leading in a modern democracy is exceedingly hard – notwithstanding a royal mantle newly inherited and notwithstanding a royal title that actually packs a bit of punch.