Blue Candidate Red State: What One Election Says About Leadership

October 27, 2019

These days I’m obsessed with articles on politics. (Who isn’t?) And as I read about campaigns, parallels to running for elected office and leading organizations have caught my attention. At their core they have one thing in common – winning hearts and minds. On the campaign trail this manifests in votes. In your organization it leads to motivated and productive employees.

A recent NY Times article on Daniel McReady’s near-win in North Carolina was particularly relevant. Two cornerstones of how he ran his campaign also apply to running a successful organization. Especially in highly competitive environments.

Lead with values. Decades of leadership research supports this. Your team needs to understand your core beliefs and what motivates you. This builds trust and connection and provides guidance for how team members should do their work. Your values become the fabric of the organization and energize your people. McReady went so far as to say, “Lead with the heart and the rest will follow.”

Pay attention to everyone in your organization. While McReady’s actual comment (“Don’t give up on rural voters”) doesn’t directly apply, it does remind you that everyone in your organization matters. You need to listen to your cheerleaders as well as your naysayers and devil’s advocates. To those who are just like you and those who aren’t. Doing this increases your organization’s chance of winning by building loyalty and fostering new ideas.