I was blown away by how much President Obama tried to empathize with his political opponents when trying to persuade them to support his policies. Over and over he talked about their objections in detail. He would then tailor his messaging to address each and every problem and show why his policies are good for his opponents. He hinted at it, but it must have been incredibly frustrating to do all that work and not be able to convince the political opposition he needed to make his policies a reality.
I wish he would have used the same amount of empathy when he was originally crafting the policies. Over and over he ran out policies that would help a group of constituents at the expense of others. He would then expend so much time and effort trying to convince the “others” that they should go along with the policy because it does so much good. Could we just work to make a policy that everyone can get behind from the start.
The reason I know it is possible is the existence and remarkable frequency of bills passing the senate and house with unanimous votes. If everyone votes to support something, then it stands a chance at being a good idea. If 49% of people hate it and do everything they can to stop it, the idea probably needs some more work.
Humility
His willingness to admit his short-comings and own his mistakes are an amazing example of how the most powerful person on earth can still remain humble. The contrast between Obama and Trump are obvious. It is much less obvious which style is more effective. There are a subset of people that will follow a leader more when they show humility but then there are others that will be turned off by it as a show of weakness. If you never admit anything is ever wrong or your fault, you will inspire the people who believe you and alienate those who know better.
The answer to which is more effective probably depends on the specific situation and the people involved. What do you think? Should leaders be more humble about their mistakes or never show any weakness?
Turning 40
I just assumed President Obama excelled at everything his whole life. His resume reads like a straight one track to the White House. I did not know he languished in professional obscurity until he turned 40ish. Being 39 myself, it gives me hope that I too may accomplish something of note.
My wife did point out that once Obama turned 40 things developed rather quickly and that I probably should not expect similar results. Sigh.
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