Ray S. Leki is the director of the United States Department of State Foreign Service Institute's Transition Center. The Center enjoys a worldwide reputation for excellence and innovation in preparing diplomats, government employees and family members for assignments overseas and repatriation. Mr. Leki's has designed and conducted training programs on cross-cultural effectiveness, security, crisis management, communication skills, diplomatic protocol, and program planning for the foreign affairs community and has consulted with international development organizations and NGOs (non-governmental organizations).
Q. What are the lessons you have learned about leadership in general and global leadership specifically?
In my experience the notion and importance of leadership really matters when things are at a critical stage. The more critical the environment the more critical the leadership becomes.
Leadership is primarily an emotional skill set. Generally one can read any book on leadership and learn that leadership is about vision, the ability to communicate, and interpersonal skills; and all these things are true. However, in my experience what separates great leaders from good leaders is the ability to also connect emotionally. Those are the leaders that can capture the hearts, soul and spirit of people; in a crisis they are the ones that can give hope.
Another important aspect for me is the acute awareness that leaders are always signal senders, 24 hours a day. This can be a great asset when you want to make a point but it has to be employed very carefully. Leaders in any arena are watched all the time. How do they interact with their subordinates, how do they have an unwise exchange of comments or handle conflict? They have to be cognizant of their comments and signals at all times. You can not let a casual comment slip. Take the last president for example, he did not employ that skill very well and he made a lot of enemies because he was not aware of the signals he sent.
The best leaders are those who are always learning about leadership from their own experiences and by watching and observing others. They don’t sit around and say “I know how to do this.” They keep learning about what leadership means and how it inspires others.
Q. Can you give an example about how leaders continue to learn about leadership?
Yes, I spent most of January and February this year in Iraq. There we had two very different types of leaders: Ambassador Ryan Crocker and General David Petraeus. Both are recognized as true leaders. Petraeus as the soldier and the intellectual, Crocker as the “Lawrence of Arabia” who knows the culture and people and simply has no fear. Both men are equally driven. What distinguishes both of them as extraordinary leaders is the fact that they both make a point to learn from their peers. They literally took the time to ask each other question about how they solve problems and how they communicate with their subordinates. To observe these two men interacting at the highest level of leadership, military on one side and civil government on the other, seeking out new learning was inspiring.
Lastly, leadership is independent of personality type. It’s not about introvert versus extravert. It’s not about thinker or feeler or any other of these typical assessment divides. Leadership is the willingness to look at personal responsibility that transcends the self. Ambassador Ryan Crocker is very much what one would consider to be an introvert. He doesn’t relish being out in public, he does it as part of his competency set but it’s not where he gets his energy. He is successful because he gets his energy from within.
Q. Do you think those lessons are applicable across the globe? Why or why not?
These lessons are very applicable across the globe because the human dynamic of leadership is inherent in all cultures. There is no cultural divide. People yearn for leadership most when they are frightened or there is a threat to their safety or security.
Take the Katrina disaster for example, all people wanted was for the country’s leadership to stand up and say: “We understand your pain and we are working towards doing something about that.” But instead Bush said: “Brown, you are doing a great job.” People were suffering and needed to be assured and to know that their leaders cared. Instead they were told that things were fine. This is applicable to any disaster around the world including the Tsunami a few years ago.
When there is a crisis, leadership is what makes the difference. It becomes apparent when leadership is bad. In my opinion human dynamic and emotional intelligence are the pillars of successful leadership.
Read more about Ray Leki in Travel Wise with Ray Leki.
Britta Stromeyer Esmail - Britta is a bilingual business management professional and executive coach with extensive domestic and international experience in the ...
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