The High Performance Objective –
The Team Concepts Newsletter
“Let us then, fellow citizens, unite with one heart and one mind. Let us restore to social intercourse that harmony and affection without which liberty and even life itself are but dreary things. And let us reflect that, having banished from our land that religious intolerance under which mankind so long bled and suffered, we have yet gained little if we countenance a political intolerance as despotic, as wicked, and capable of as bitter and bloody persecutions.” (Pres. Thomas Jefferson – First Inaugural Address, )
In great oratory as in great Leadership it is fundamental to paint a clear vision of the future, something to which Men and Women can aspire and connect with. In Thomas Jefferson’s First inaugural speech to the Country, he outlines his vision of the future. Its one that calls to mind the objectives of the New Republic and a call to unity after a bitter Political election. In Jefferson’s words we see how a powerful vision is painted. Its one that taps into the hearts, imagination and spirit of the American people.
After the recent tragic events in Tucson the Country is reeling and asking itself what are the reasons that led to this tragedy? Does the political discourse play a role in it? Are we too angry, quick to judge? Should there be tougher Gun laws? Has the country lost its moral center? The questions will persist and so will the rhetoric on all sides. But in Jefferson’s words as in President Obama’s remarks to the American people last night we see that same thread, that same vision of the future which has united the American people:
“We can question each other’s ideas without questioning each other’s love of country and that our task, working together, is to constantly widen the circle of our concern so that we bequeath the American Dream to future generations... And I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us.”
In our work with respect to Leadership Development we see many teams that get stuck in ‘siloed thinking’, the conviction that there is only way of looking at a problem or the World. As we move forward as a Nation through this tragedy we should ask ourselves if we’re thinking in a silo? Are we denying the possibility and ‘humility’ (as President Obama alludded to) that we might be wrong? Are we not seeing the dignity of our fellow citizen the capacity to see a solution through different eyes? Its unfortunate that tragedies such as Tucson compel us to examine these questions but they are fundamental in our understanding of leadership. Indeed these are questions that will require real Leadership, not just from our Policiticans but from all of us as citizens: from the leaders of Industry, Artists and Engineers, every facet of society will be tasked with that question: how do we live up to our High Performance objective as a Country, inspiring each other toward Greatness.
The break–down in Leadership as we’ve seen sadly over the past three years in the Financial sector had to do with a loss of vision. Wall Street investors were encouraged to sell bad investments from their Managers and betted against companies they knew would fail. They did this not in the spirit of what’s really best for their company in the long term or the Country but for their own benefit. Leadership from every facet of our society demands thoughtful, courageous, and inspiring leadership. It requires an examination of conscience, not only individually but collectively. High Performance Leadership taps into the collective potential of its people. The sad results of the crises on Wall Street paint a dire picture of a few but powerful block of investors that sought personal gain over the good of the Nation.
When we set a clear vision of the future not only for ourselves but most importantly for those we work with we display a nobility of Leadership which extends beyond the instinct to survive but to thrive, to recognize that through Inspiring Leadership we can in fact change the World.
– Stephen Lyons (Director, Business Development, Team Concepts)
