Leadership from the Soul of America

Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author of The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels, was a recent guest on Brené Brown’s “Dare to Lead” podcast. Brown, whom I have written about in the past, is a leading voice for our time, arguing that courage and vulnerability are intrinsically linked.

Leaders are ultimately most effective, they discussed, when they are open and honest. Winston Churchill once said, “There is no worse mistake in public leadership than to hold out false hopes that will soon be dashed away.”   

The same principles apply, I believe, to leadership of a business or even a family. It is not easy, though, to share truths that might be unpleasant. People gravitate toward comfort over courage as a default setting of human nature.

Our better angels constantly do battle against our basic instincts, Meacham observes. It is harder to sell hope than it is to exploit fear which has contributed to our present pollical conflict. Leadership is an art, not a science, Meacham argues, and I fully agree! He says that all of us can be leaders, that leadership is not just top down.

Leadership is in each of us, ready to blossom and grow if we cultivate it. We each have an extraordinary opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives, including our own. Don’t underestimate your impact!