Leadership by Example.

There is a little bit of stress in my life. If you didn’t know, I am currently campaigning to be Oklahoma’s next U.S. Senator. So, naturally, there is a little bit of stress in my life.

Around my campaign office, employees and volunteers work long hours. They type frantically on their computers, answer phone calls by the dozen and make phone calls by the baker’s dozen.

There is a lot of work to do, and there are a lot of moving parts. Our staff has grown over the months, but back in 2007, when the office held only me and three staff members, I had to focus a lot of energy on management.

Management is not easy. It is not always fun, but it is always necessary. I have played football, worked as a missionary, been a member of advocacy groups and served as a State Senator. In all of those realms, success or failure has been determined largely by the managers — by the leaders.

Sometimes, a situation suffers from a lack of leadership, and in those situations true leaders have to step in and rise to the top. Sometimes, the leader must bring people together to find common ground and work to reach solutions for a greater good. Other times, leaders must inspire hope that goals can be achieved. Overall, a leader must work with everyone he or she represents because success lies in the many, not the one.

I have been able to lead in a few of those instances in my life, and I was prepared to do so by learning from mentors who led me. The key to good leadership is to model responsible and committed behavior yourself, i.e., lead by example.

Leading by example is a tall order, and it takes commitment to do it and time to see results.

The other key is to get people to “buy in” to a common goal and to see that we will all benefit. There has to be something in it for everyone — that is human nature.

Lastly, I believe listening remains as important a leadership ethic as anything. If you do not listen to your employees, why should they listen to you?

I try to keep an open mind in my endeavors. He who thinks he is always right is obviously wrong. One of the best ways to be a successful leader is to surround yourself with the best possible people — people who work hard and collaborate, but who also are not afraid to say what you don’t want to hear.

For leaders, attitude is everything. Most leaders have a bit of a temper, but it does far more harm than good to lose control or blow your top. It undermines the rest of your message as a leader, and it sets a poor example of how to deal with stress.

And that’s why I try to lead with some humility. People who work for me, who have given up so much of their time to support my campaign for accountable government, for energy diversity, and for major health care reform … they are under a little bit of stress, too.

So if I want them staying focused, staying positive, and staying productive, what do I need to do? I need to do exactly what I would like them to do. It’s not easy, and sometimes I slip. But I center myself on the qualities I want to embody — honesty, commitment, humility, passion and open-mindedness.

Then I try to lead by example again.
It’s the only way I know how.