Right Brain Left Brain by Barack Obama PDF

Right Brain / Left Brain
President
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Right Brain/Left Brain
President
Barack Obama’s Uncommon Leadership
Ability and How We Can Each Develop It
Mary Lou Décosterd
F OREWORD BY C HRISTOPHER C. S HOEMAKER
Contemporary Psychology
Chris E. Stout, Series Editor
Copyright 2010 by Mary Lou Décosterd
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without
prior permission in writing from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Décosterd, Mary Lou.
Right brain / left brain president : Barack Obama’s uncommon leadership
ability and how we can each develop it / Mary Lou Décosterd ; foreword
by Christopher C. Shoemaker.
p. cm. — (Contemporary psychology)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-313-38072-3 ( hard copy : alk. paper) —
ISBN 978-0-313-38073-0 (ebook ) 1. Leadership — Psychological
aspects. 2. Left and right ( Psychology) 3. Cerebral dominance.
4. Obama, Barack — Psychology. I. Title.
BF637.L4D434 2010
158'.4 — dc22 2010000525
ISBN: 978-0-313-38072-3
EISBN: 978-0-313-38073-0
14 13 12 11 10 1 2 3 4 5
This book is also available on the World Wide Web as an eBook.
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Public figures referred to in this book were not interviewed.

Descriptions of public figures are based on publicly available information.
The book contains information about health and fitness. Readers should not regard any
and all such information as a substitute for medical advice or prescription. The author and
publisher disclaim responsibility for any adverse effects arising from the application of any
health and fitness information contained in this book.
To “That One” . . . with heartfelt appreciation for
bringing leadership back into the forefront.
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Figures xi
Series Foreword xiii
Foreword xv
1 The Obama Phenomenon 1

Leading with Both Sides of His Brain 1
At First Blush 4
Intelligence Personified 5
From Intellect to Action 7
Passion and Attitude 9
Constructive Intolerance 11
His Human Side 13
Making History 15
The Phenomenon Recapped 16
2 The Nature/Nurture of Leadership 19

A Life Juxtaposed 19
The Luck of the Draw 20
Influences, Experiences, and Moments 23
Heritage Recapped 33
Leadership and the Brain 34
A Leadership-Perfect Form 36
viii Contents
3 Right- and Left-Brain Potentials 41

A Leadership Model 41
Right Brain/Left Brain: Counterintuitive 43
A Leader’s Line of SITE 45
The MEGA Mind 47
The Plus Factors 49
Model in Context 50
4 Obama: Leading from the Right? 59
Strategic Intent 59
An Innovative Approach 64
A Transformational Imperative 69
Engaging Underpinnings 73
Noting Breadth and Depth 77
5 Obama’s Vision Realized 79
Methodical: A Call to Action 79
Expressive Excellence 83
Grounded: Responsible with a “Capitol” R 88
True Assertive 91
Right Brain/Left Brain Summary 95
6 Obama and the Plus Factors: Sealing the Deal 97
Resilient Energy 97
Positive Thinking, Obama-Style 98
What He Does and How He Does It 100
Recharging the Energy Battery 103
Savvy 101 105
Fundamental Awareness 106
Power and Influence 108
Perception as Reality 110
Defining Moments 112
7 Becoming More Obama-Like 115
From Values to Actions 115
Leadership Must-Haves 116
Your Call to Action 119
Tools of the Trade 125
Contents ix
Summary Thoughts 132

Parting Inspirations 134
Acknowledgments 137
Appendix 139
Notes 145
Bibliography 155
Index 159
Figures
3.1 Guiding Behaviors Sorted by Right- and Left-Brain Ability 42
3.2 Right Brain/Left Brain Leadership Model (Complete) 51
6.1 Energy Model for Traits of RESILIENT Leadership 99
7.1 Right Brain/Left Brain Leadership Model (Partial) 120
7.2 Sample Ratings for Traits of STRATEGIC Leadership 123

Series Foreword
I feel fortunate to hold the often enviable position of being the Series Editor of
Contemporary Psychology for Praeger. It gives me a proverbial backstage pass and
often giddy first looks at what has become what you are now holding in your
hands. In some cases, it additionally affords me the chance to meet new authors
and get to know them and their work at an intimate level—resulting in deep friend-
ships and moving intellectual experiences. In the case of this project, I already have
had the very pleasurable experience of working with Dr. Décosterd in prior con-
sulting gigs and with her in her first book in this series, the popular Right Brain/Left
Brain Leadership: Shifting Style for Maximum Impact (2008).
The high-water mark reached by Dr. Décosterd in her earlier book may wind
up being eclipsed by this volume. I have previously noted that Right Brain / Left
Brain Leadership is a truly impressive effort—really the first book of its kind that
is an amalgam of neuroscience, leadership, strategy, and intuition. It is truly a major
contribution to the field. Now Right Brain/Left Brain President: Barack Obama’s Un-
common Leadership Ability and How We Can Each Develop It continues where Right
Brain/Left Brain Leadership left off. It is a masterpiece of impressively researched
writing blended with her own model of leadership into an understandable synthe-
sis that is highly readable (and enjoyable!)—regardless of your politics.
Dr. Décosterd deconstructs the complexity of politics, leadership, and human
functioning and makes it all understandable and accessible. I like how she trans-
forms her book into a tool box, filled with things such as her Ten-Point Executive
Summary, her Right and Left Brain Toolkits, her Tools of the Trade, and forms ga-
lore, all of which comprise a leadership how-to, conveniently packaged into a book!
She doesn’t stop there, either, as she helps us to make our new learning action-
able. And remember, this is in the context of a very enjoyable book. While history
will be the final judge of this president, as well as of all presidents, no president
xiv Series Foreword
has been so completely researched and considered so early on in a presidency as

Mr. Obama herein, and that makes this book historic as well.
Chris E. Stout
Kildeer, Illinois
Series Editor, Contemporary Psychology
Foreword
Dr. Mary Lou Décosterd, one of our nation’s leading experts in leadership psy-
chology, now brings her extraordinary talents and groundbreaking Right Brain/
Left Brain Model to an examination of the leadership style of President Barack
Obama in Right Brain/Left Brain President. Regardless of one’s perspectives on
Obama’s policies, there can be little doubt that he is an extraordinarily charismatic
leader, able to excite and galvanize a wide political spectrum — both in the United
States and around the world—to rally to his call. In the first year of his adminis-
tration, Obama confronted a breathtaking array of challenges—health care, climate
change, a struggling economy, and wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan. His ability
to lead a highly polarized electorate to solutions in all of these areas will be the
ultimate measure of his leadership skills.
In a broader sense, we are at the front edge of an era of great challenge and
change—when the very nature of the international community and the nation-state
are in significant flux. In such an environment, the single most important determi-
nant of success or failure will be leadership. The demand for visionary, pragmatic,
committed, and inspirational leaders has never been higher than it is in these open-
ing decades of the 21st century. Across the spectrum of human activity—from
government to the private sector—the world needs leaders who are at once strate-
gic and innovative (right brain), while at the same time methodical and grounded
(left brain). The age of petty, self-serving, narrow, jingoistic, and bigoted leaders has
long past; the world can no longer afford that sort of self-indulgence. There is
too much at stake.
In my experience in both the U.S. Army and the private sector, great right brain/
left brain leaders are not born. They are created, nurtured, and grown through
structured programs of leader development that share universal components but are
tailored to the particular institutions or governments in which individual leaders are
to serve. To design and implement such leader-development programs, however,
xvi Foreword
we must first understand the fundamentals of the psychology and physiology of

leadership. Dr. Décosterd’s seminal research and writings on leadership provide an
invaluable point of departure for understanding leadership, thereby establishing a
foundation upon which leader-development programs can be fashioned and imple-
mented. Such programs will allow the successor generation to manage their day-
to-day issues and challenges with a strategic perspective and to look across their
minds to discover untapped potentials.
Within that framework, Dr. Décosterd has undertaken a detailed and rigorous
analysis of Barack Obama and his rise to political prominence. Using her right
brain/left brain methodology, she has examined his remarkable abilities to harness
his leadership potentials—many of which are just now reaching their maturity. Right
Brain/Left Brain President is a first-class guide to 21st-century leadership through
an up-close look at the man who is at the national power epicenter. Barack Obama’s
leadership skill sets are examined through the prism of Dr. Décosterd’s model that
identifies and then applies ten key behaviors to maximum leadership impact. This
book then shows how Obama’s unique brand of leadership is the result of his abil-
ity to leverage his full brain potential in how he thinks, decides, and acts. As such,
he possesses significant right- and left-brain integrated skill sets that enable him
to address a complex array of challenges, despite his relative lack of executive
experience.
Right Brain/Left Brain President is a significant contribution to an enlightened per-
spective on leadership and will be one of a series of applications of Dr. Décosterd’s
methodology to specific leaders. Emerging leaders of all political stripes should read
this book, digest its lessons, and then apply them to their own development.
Christopher C. Shoemaker, PhD

Senior Vice President for Strategy
L-3 Communications Services Group and MPRI
Dr. Shoemaker has a PhD in political science and is a graduate of West Point and
a retired colonel in the U.S. Army. He served on the staff of the National Secu-
rity Council during the administrations of both President Reagan and President
Carter.
Chapter 1
The Obama Phenomenon
The fact that my 15 minutes of fame has extended a little longer than 15 minutes
is somewhat surprising to me and completely baffling to my wife.
—Barack Obama1
Leading with Both Sides of His Brain

The world watched in awe on November 4, 2008, when Barack Obama was elected
the next president of the United States of America. Few can recall a time when a
U.S. national election had such far-reaching impact. Certainly the existing context
shaped the moment’s intensity, what with the full weight of global economic crisis
upon us, the war on terror ever intensifying and environmental threats looming.
How would we ever get on a better track, begin to reverse the damages done and
grow in a new direction? Now, more than ever, we needed leadership, not more of
the same, or a slight tweak in the status quo. We needed a full-spectrum leader,
someone who led with intellect and vision, who could connect with all people and
yet who could stand strong. We needed a leader with a steady hand and an open
mind. The world was seeing those qualities in Barack Obama. America chose a
young, charismatic Harvard-educated African American as their political star. It
was Barack Obama who would lead us through the challenges of our time and re-
turn our nation to the very ideals upon which it was founded.
From candidate to president, we noticed in Obama a marked departure from
Washington politics as usual. His campaign, for one thing, was run like a prudent,
savvy, hi-tech business. Novel strategic outreach maximized the internet to at-
tract targeted demographic groups and the ever-chanted mantra “Yes we can” built
and held momentum. Experiencing Obama through rallies and high-profile media
appearances further reinforced that this was not typical campaigning. Something
was different about the man and his politics.
2 Right Brain/Left Brain President
Once selected, the president-elect led his transition team, a fresh, diverse group
of top thinkers and functional experts, fluidly through their orientation to the
White House. In the face of unprecedented global crisis, Obama masterfully mod-
eled the sensitive balance of power needed by an incumbent.
The inauguration was carefully crafted in a way befitting the historic event
that it was—the induction of the first African American U.S. president. President
Obama’s quintessential genuineness combined with his celebrated heritage to ex-
cite and uplift the masses. Following the gala the newly sworn in President Obama
marked his first weeks in office with a firm, fair, and decisive hand.
Upon closer examination of the Obama phenomenon we note the root of his
allure. In descriptors like prudent, savvy, fluid, genuine, masterful, engaging, up-
lifting, firm, fair, and decisive, we recognize a wide range of behaviors along with a
breadth and flexibility in both style and perspective. In President Obama we saw
an ability to be intuitive, strategic, and innovative, able to know the way while rec-
ognizing implicit opportunities and threats. We also experienced someone who
was as pragmatic and definitive as he was at relating well to others.
Put another way, in President Obama we saw someone who was leading with
both sides of his brain—able to act from a set of behaviors, some more right brain
in nature, some more left brain — and to shift smoothly between apparent brain-
style differences. More to the point, what we noted was that Obama’s brain-style
shifts occurred not as an exception, but as a rule—as a dynamic interplay between
right- and left-brain behaviors, a seemingly natural and effortless flow that made
his brand of leadership so powerful. In essence, President Obama was leveraging his
brain in the manner in which it was set up to function, through a sharing and col-
laboration of skills enabling the whole to be truly greater than the sum of its parts.
If this is the way our brains are set up to function, why don’t we all think and act
this way? While many if not all of us have the capacity for such dual-brain engage-
ment, few leverage it. Most are constricted by preferences, behavioral habits that
cause us to think and act in a more singular fashion. You may have heard it said
that we use only a small part of our brains. For most of us, regardless of our base in-
telligence or expertise, this is certainly true. Expressions like “we are creatures of
habit” and “great minds think alike” illustrate our tendencies toward what is known
and familiar.
The expression “opposites attract” refers to an emotional pull, an excitement we
feel when we are in the company of someone or something different. All too often,
though, our initial excitement soon turns sour. While we gravitate toward the dif-
ferent, we are socialized to what we already know. We sometimes say that we don’t
like to “step out of our comfort zones,” an indicator of how we unwittingly thwart
our brain’s diverse potential.2
Leaders in particular tend to gravitate toward their preferences. After all, it is
often those very preferences that made them successful in the first place. Over
the years and through their many roles and challenges they hone a leadership ap-
proach that nets results. Today, however, those who lead from controlled prefer-
The Obama Phenomenon 3
ences may find themselves vulnerable. Such vulnerability is aptly expressed by one
senior vice president interviewed who relayed that never before had he worked
harder, accomplished more, and yet felt less successful.
Today’s leadership vulnerability is evidenced in a number of ways. Some leaders
are reaching goals they never thought possible and are being asked yet for more.
Other leaders are coming into broken situations confident they can turn things
around but finding it more difficult than they thought. New leaders are given more
and more responsibility with less and less experience or training and are becoming
quickly overwhelmed. Still others feel ineffectual at addressing escalating people
challenges, like low morale. Some simply cannot keep up with the rate and pace of
change. The net result is that many of today’s solid leaders are getting the message
that they aren’t making it. Bright, capable, hardworking, well-intentioned leaders
are receiving lower performance ratings, being moved out of assignments, or are
holding their own but never really feeling on top of things. The lucky ones are suc-
ceeding but at greater personal cost.
So what is happening? Simply put, the rules have changed. In the past, it was
enough for a solid leader to leverage his or her strengths and for the most part suc-
ceed. Today, however, with intensified profitability challenges, greater workforce
complexities, new environmental and social circumstances, and the world moving
at lightning speed, it is harder for leaders to get to the goal line. In order to succeed
in today’s work climate, leaders need to act from a more complete range of busi-
ness, organizational, and interpersonal behaviors.3
Obama’s ability to extend himself and lead from a wide range of behaviors en-
abled him to ultimately win the election. Obama demonstrated a breadth and
depth in leadership ability. While his opponents were calling attention to their
well-honed strengths (preference leadership), and in fact overplaying them, Obama
called on his breadth (multiple leadership behaviors) and depth (nuance traits
within a given leadership behavior). Obama showed a facility beyond leadership as
usual. The result was that a wider audience believed presidential candidate Obama
was the best person to meet the diverse challenges of our time.
In my previous book, Right Brain / Left Brain Leadership: Shifting Style for Maxi-
mum Impact, a top ten list of right- and left-brain leadership behaviors were iden-
tified that if accessed, would enable leaders to better leverage their right and left
brain potential and thereby better address the complex issues of today. In a follow-
up to that work, Right Brain /Left Brain President will examine Barack Obama’s
broad-based leadership style through the lens of integrated right- and left-brain
thinking. More specifically, this book will present the following:
• The Obama phenomenon— aspects of Obama’s leadership that captivated so
many so quickly as compared to the status quo
• An understanding of how the brain is structured for right- and left-brain leader-
ship engagement
• An understanding of how Obama’s background enables him to engage both sides
of his brain with such ease and fluidity
• An explanation of ten core leadership behaviors that cull and integrate our full
brain ability—the right-brain/left-brain leadership model using President Obama
as exemplar
• Steps and tools for how you too can become more Obama-like in your leadership
approaches —how you can extend your brain’s leadership ability
What follows is an interpretation based on publicly available information. No

direct collaborations were sought. The book is apolitical in intent, a case-study of
a leader/exemplar as a development tool.
To begin we examine the Obama phenomenon. What was it precisely that en-
abled Obama to captivate so many so quickly? Think about it. One and a half mil-
lion people braved the January cold on Inauguration Day 2009 to be a part of
Obama’s swearing in. Record numbers around the globe tuned in to watch. Yes, it
was historic, but the appeal was as much about the man as it was about the mile-
stone. What specifically are the characteristics that enabled Obama to rise to such
heights? Seven dimensions of the Obama phenomenon will be identified, begin-
ning with Obama’s vintage quiet strength, what we notice at first blush.
At First Blush
When we first came to know Obama we noted a quiet strength. We saw a man mea-
sured in his words, polite and unassuming in demeanor, and above all, thought-
ful in his approach. It was this initial unobtrusive persona that compelled those
around him to speak while he listened. He listened, observed, and began what
would be a lengthy discovery process. Obama was no doubt taking in the host of
issues his nation, its people, and, for that matter, the world was facing. This quiet
strength is one contributor to Obama’s uncommon leadership ability. To initially
lead from an inconspicuous posture affords a unique view of the other and of that
around you. It is how to assure that information comes the leader’s way. Informa-
tion is power, and Obama’s quiet strength enables him to garner that power.
While the naysayers and pundits reacted to Obama’s reserve, questioning his
experience and resolve, Obama was in fact demonstrating a key leadership strong
suit; he was in reflective mode. Obama was no doubt gathering information. He
was leaving no stone unturned as he formulated his assessment. What such a leader
uncovers through reflective study informs the base upon which strategies are built,
strategies that are more enlightened. Such is a far better scenario than entering
into a situation with one’s mind already made up and getting blindsided.
Obama’s quiet strength is one of not only reflection, but also of patience. He
is progressive, an iterative leader, and one who moves methodically toward a goal.
He once said, “If you are walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep
walking, eventually, you’ll make progress.”4 Obama walks down his proverbial paths
assimilating information as he goes, looking for validations, problems, issues, op-
portunities, and interconnections. Such thoughtfulness ensures first and foremost
that the paths selected are the right ones. It allows for sound conclusions, effective
planning, and fertile results.
Obama has likened his progressive tact to building a house brick by brick. Such
leaders know all too well that if you start at the appropriate point and move for-
ward, from that assured place no goal is insurmountable. A segment from Obama’s
last rally of the 2008 election campaign in Manassas, Virginia, further captures his
step-by-step approach. “Here’s my point, Virginia. That’s how this thing started.
It shows you what one voice can do. That one voice can change a room. And if a
voice can change a room, it can change a city, and if it can change a city, it can
change a state, and if it change a state, it can change a nation, and if it can change
a country, it can change the world.”5
The Obama phenomenon began not with a flame, but with a spark; a gentle,
yet potent beginning. From these unassuming roots a movement took hold and
grew in astonishing fashion. Obama was in fact now well past his fifteen minutes of
fame and on his way to the journey of a lifetime.
Intelligence Personified
Obama was off and running, his direction fueled by his own brand of intellect.
Intelligence is not a discrete trait. It is multidimensional. Intelligence (IQ ) tests have
numerous scales in order to garner a full view of one’s smarts. Being regarded as
bright in IQ terms requires demonstration of ability across the intellectual spec-
trum. How quickly a person can grasp new information, how well short- and long-
term memory functions, how well you reason, problem solve, and sort through
social cues are some of the many IQ dimensions. So how bright is Obama, and
what makes his brand of intellect unique with respect to leadership?
He is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School. He was the
first African American president of the Harvard Law Review. We can make as-
sumptions that Obama must possess a more than respectable IQ based on these
accomplishments. What may be more germane, though, is his attitude about learn-
ing coupled with his ability to seek and rapidly assimilate broad-based informa-
tion. We would refer to these qualities as thriving on knowledge and being a quick
study. If you think about his tenure in politics, how he went from community or-
ganizer to Senator, presidential candidate, and then to president, managing each
expanded opportunity with impressive role command, we see that it is both his in-
tellectual ability along with his intellectual outlook that set him apart.
President Obama embraces learning. He leverages knowledge to extend an al-
ready primed intellect. Such learners make both great students and exemplary
teachers, moving with ease forth and back between scholar and educator func-
tions. Consider the following example from his first prime-time press conference
on February 9, 2009. A reporter was asking about the president’s plan to arrest the
current financial crisis and questioning an aspect of Obama’s direction. The actual
question was, “Mr. President, in your opening remarks you talked about that if
your plan works the way you want it to work it will increase consumer spending,
but isn’t consumer spending or overspending how we got into this mess and if peo-
ple get money back into their pockets, do you not want them saving it, paying down
debt first before they start spending money into the economy?”
This was Obama’s response.
Well first of all, I don’t think it’s accurate to say that consumer spending got us
into this mess. What got us into this mess initially were banks taking exorbitant
wild risks with other people’s money based on shaky assets and because of the
enormous leverage where they had one dollar’s worth of assets and they were
betting thirty dollars on that one dollar, what we had was a crisis in the financial
system. That led to a contraction of credit which in turn meant that businesses
couldn’t make payroll or inventories which meant that everybody became uncer-
tain about the future of the economy so people started making decisions accord-
ingly, reducing investments, making layoffs which in turn made things worse.
Now you are making a legitimate point that our savings rate has declined and
this economy has been driven by consumer spending for a very long time, and
that’s not going to be sustainable. If all we’re doing is spending and we’re not
making things, then over time other countries are going to get tired of lending us
money and the party’s going to be over, in fact the party now is over and so the
sequence of how we’re approaching this is as follows: Our immediate job is to
stop the downward spiral and that means putting money into consumers’ pock-
ets, it means loosening up credit, it means putting forward investments that not
only employ people immediately, but also lay the groundwork for economic
growth. And that by the way is important even if you are a fiscal conservative be-
cause the biggest problem we are going to have with our federal budget is that
if we continue a situation where there are no tax revenues because economic
growth is plummeting at the same time as we have more demands for unemploy-
ment insurance we’ve got more demands for people who have lost their health
care, more demand for food stamps, that will put enormous strains on the fed-
eral budget as well as the state budgets. So the most important thing we can do
for our budget crisis right now is to make sure the economy doesn’t continue to
tank and that’s why passing the economic recovery plan is the right thing we
should do even though I recognize that it is expensive.6
The president’s reply walked us through the query in professorial style. He put
the question into context: how and why the financial crisis began and the result-
ing snowball effect. He then conceptualized the steps to recovery. We heard, in es-
sence, a compelling, concise, and detailed perspective. Obama’s response showed
that he had done his homework, internalized his lessons, and come to sound con-
clusions.
While the preceding example shows solid comprehension and decision mak-
ing, Obama also demonstrated another intellectual quality—that of openness.
There is nothing that will limit intellectual capacity more than a closed mind, and
in Obama we see much the opposite. His eagerness to consider new possibilities
expands his intellectual potential tenfold. Obama has a genuine appreciation for
diversity in thought. In fact, he extends beyond recognizing differences, for ex-
ample, how a liberal versus a conservative would view the world. Obama also pos-
sesses an uncanny ability to truly appreciate the different or the unusual. He finds
utility where others might instead be dismissive. Reading the following statement
that he made once about hip-hop music is a simplistic yet poignant illustration
of this point: “The thing about hip-hop today is it’s smart, it’s insightful. The way
they can communicate a complex message in a very short space is remarkable.”7
Some might view this music genre as something they either like or don’t like.
Others might find it strange, perhaps even offensive. Obama thinks in more ob-
jective terms to consider that which is outside the norm. His consideration does
not necessarily imply endorsement, but he is willing, nonetheless, to think about
something by recognizing a value contained within it. While some may be uneasy
about a man in his position who contemplates with such range, Obama is any-
thing but boundary-less. He may cast a wide net of initial interest, but he seems to
then rely on proven theory, reason, and context to build parameters and caveats
upon which determinations are ultimately made. His thinking moves fluidly from
the divergent to the convergent— starting from a wide array of data points and
ultimately boiling points down to a sensible conclusion. He has the uncommon
ability to both consider vast possibilities and apply high-level scrutiny.
Considering sizable possibilities to the extent that Obama does shows acceler-
ated right-brain thinking while advanced analytics points to a pronounced left
brain at work as well. He moves seamlessly between right- and left-brain thinking
in order to glean the most that a circumstance has to offer. Obama’s intellect has
multiple distinct strong suits. Now the question becomes, can he translate his in-
tellect into action?
From Intellect to Action

On January 22, 2009, the Los Angeles Times wrote, “In a grinding first full day as
president, Barack Obama moved decisively to distance himself from the previous
administration, pushing top military leaders for a plan to withdraw combat troops
from Iraq and issuing a string of orders to make government more open.” The ar-
ticle went on to list additional day-one actions by the president addressing a range
of priorities at home and abroad.8
On January 29, 2009, the Canadian Press compared Obama’s action-oriented
start to that of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was noted for passing fifteen major
bills in three months during his first term as president. For Obama, the article
noted an impressive start ten days into his presidency, signing bills and executive
orders that countered some of the work of his predecessor, George W. Bush, de-
scribing Obama’s steps as a “burst out of the starting gate.”
Other early actions taken by President Obama that were noted in same arti-
cle included signing into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, sending his $825
billion stimulus package to Congress, granting a televised interview to the Dubai-

based Al-Arabiya news network, overturning the Bush administration’s ban on
U.S. funding to international family planning organizations, ordering the Trans-
portation Department to come up with fuel-efficiency standards, sitting down
with congressional Republicans and hosting a bipartisanship cocktail party at the
White House, freezing salaries of his staff, and even relaxing the White House
dress code.9
While Obama’s intellect was well recognized during the campaign, many feared
he was too intellectual, too theoretical. They questioned his authority, that he
would not be able to move from intellect to action. Obama demonstrated early
on that his academic nature does not preclude action. Within his first few weeks
in office we saw a flurry of activity across varied issues. From foreign policy to re-
lationships with lawmakers at home to the economics of the nation and fiscal re-
sponsibility for his very own team, Obama took a series of specific steps covering
an assortment of matters at hand.
Obama’s initial actions as president traversed multiple paths, showing that he
possessed not only diversity in thought—what he was willing to consider—but
also diversity in what he was willing to commit to, in his actions, as well. We saw a
man who thinks before he acts, one who moves through an all-encompassing dis-
covery process while entertaining divergent and even disparate views and who
then takes action across a broad plain.
In addition to acting with widened scope, how the president’s thought pro-
cess translates into action on a single issue is interesting. He seems to typically in-
corporate an action plan that is dual in nature, attacking a problem from two sides.
A second clip from Obama’s February 9, 2009, press conference illustrates this
point. When he was asked about his position on Iran, the president replied with
a two-pronged approach. The actual question was, “What is your strategy for en-
gaging Iran and when will you start to implement it? Will your timetable be af-
fected at all by the Iranian elections and are you getting any indications that Iran
is interested in a dialogue with the United States?”
Consider the president’s response:
I said during the campaign that Iran is a country that has extraordinary people,
history and traditions, but that its actions over many years now have been un-
helpful when it comes to promoting peace and prosperity both in the region,
that their financing of terrorist organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas, their
bellicose language that they’ve used towards Israel, their pursuit of a nuclear
weapon, that all those things create the possibility of destabilizing the region
and are not only contrary to our interests but are contrary to the interests of in-
ternational peace. What I’ve also said is that we should take an approach with
Iran that employs all of the resources at the United States disposal and that in-
cludes diplomacy. My national security team is currently reviewing our existing
Iran policy looking at areas where we can have constructive dialogue, where we
can directly engage with them. My expectation is in the coming months we will
be looking for openings that can be created, opportunities where we can be sit-
ting across the table, face to face diplomatic overtures that will allow us to move
our policies forward in a new direction. There’s been a lot of mistrust built up
over the years so it is not going to happen overnight and it is important that
even as we engage in this direct diplomacy that we are very clear about certain
deep concerns we have as a country. That Iran understands that we find the
funding of terrorist organizations unacceptable, that we’re clear about the fact
that a nuclear Iran could set off an arms race in the region that would be pro-
foundly destabilizing. So there are going to be a set of objectives that we have
in these conversations but I think that there’s the possibility at least that there
could be a relationship of mutual respect and progress and I think if you look
at how we’ve approached the Middle East, the appointment of George Mitchell
as a special envoy to help deal with the Arab-Israeli situation, some of the in-
terviews I’ve given, it indicates the degree to which we want to do things differ-
ently in the region, now it is time for Iran to send some signals that it wants to
act differently as well and recognize that even as it has some rights as a member
of the international community, with those rights comes responsibilities.10
Obama intellectually comes to understand the situation from all angles. He

then begins to weigh his options, quickly translating those options into measured
steps that address the situation from multiple sides. In the case of Iran, he sees the
need to both open a dialogue as well as to make clear certain expectations. This
two-pronged approach is not the usual politician flip-flopping on an issue, but
rather an insightful leader seeing the need to approach problems bilaterally.
How, though, was the new president’s approach received by the public? Did his
initial actions resonate well with the people? In a January 29–February 1, 2009,
Gallup poll, his overall job approval rating was 66 percent. Matters such as in-
stituting higher fuel-efficiency standards, limiting interrogation techniques on
prisoners, tightening ethics rules for administration officials, and naming special
envoys for the Middle East and Afghanistan and Pakistan were areas of the presi-
dent’s highest ratings.
In summary, the poll indicated that the president received respectable initial
ratings, referred to as strong overall approval, that he was initially on the right
track.11 What can be concluded from early polling regarding his presidency was
that Obama was off to a solid start in terms of the decisions he was making.
Passion and Attitude

Perhaps there is more to Obama’s high approval ratings, though, than his actions
alone. What of his passion and attitude? Given the state of the nation in February
of 2009, with Wall Street continuing to plummet, more businesses failing, and
record unemployment, for the overall optimism level to be at 61 percent seems
notable. Perhaps Obama’s passion and enduring positive attitude were an added
attraction. Likely his fervor and sheer optimism made us believe in the promise of
good things to come. Obama’s optimism can be bigger than life in what he proj-
ects can be achieved. He reminds us that “yes we can” accomplish our goals.
Like his thinking, Obama’s attitude is two-pronged. We see a man who smiles
and laughs and who relaxes the crowd. At the same time he is sure to put us on no-
tice about what we all need to do to contribute to the solution. He conveys sim-
ply and to the point what he expects, while he is sure to stress the positive and
the hopeful. Obama seems a believer in the premise that in the darkest of times,
there is always a way out and that we will be stronger for it. The following por-
tion of Obama’s inaugural address typifies the attitude and passion from which
he leads.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have
been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet,
every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At
these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision
of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the
ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at
war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is
badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some,
but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a
new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care
is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence
that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measur-
able but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land—a nag-
ging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must
lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and
they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know
this, America: They will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of pur-
pose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false
promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have
strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come
to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to
choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea,
passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal,
all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.12
In the president’s opening inaugural remarks we experience a leader coming

into his charge well aware of the challenges and intending to face those challenges
head-on. His enthusiasm excites us as he leverages the full weight of history to

stake his claim. The passion and attitude conveyed through his words unleash a
resolve and confidence born from fundamental beliefs in the power of the human
spirit. His “yes we can” persona is adopted as our own.
Constructive Intolerance
While Obama’s passion is exhilarating and his attitude instills promise, there is
still the matter of reconciling all that had gone so terribly wrong. How could we
begin to settle the personal toll and injustice that was at that time occurring?
Many had lost their jobs and homes. Others lost all or part of their life savings,
and for what? We had been swindled by those who played an unsuspecting system
for all it was worth. Passion and positive thinking alone would not suffice. Obama,
though, was also demonstrating formidability. He declared that if we were to move
from where we were to where we needed to be, certain practices could no longer
be tolerated.
Better still, Obama’s brand of limit setting was and is productive, referred to
here as constructive intolerance. Constructive intolerance is much like constructive
criticism. It is meant to build us up rather than tear us down. It is first and fore-
most a line in the sand being drawn, indicating that certain acts will no longer be
permitted to occur. We frequently heard Obama relaying some version of the
phrase “I will not tolerate this as president.” Constructive intolerance is an asser-
tive leadership action showing through both firm demarcation and rational argument
why things must and will change. Done and said in this manner, as an imposed
boundary, it is hard to argue with, even for those who are most opposed.13 Consider
the following example of Obama’s constructive intolerance as he takes a stand
on the controversial matter of executive pay, more specifically, executive pay tied
to government bailout moneys. Obama is announcing his decision for an execu-
tive salary cap.
My administration will do what it takes to restore our financial system; our re-
covery depends upon it. And so next week, Secretary Geithner will release a new
strategy to get credit moving again—a strategy that will reflect the lessons of
past mistakes while laying a foundation for the future.
But in order to restore our financial system, we’ve got to restore trust. And in
order to restore trust, we’ve got to make certain that taxpayer funds are not sub-
sidizing excessive compensation packages on Wall Street.
We all need to take responsibility. And this includes executives at major fi-
nancial firms who turned to the American people, hat in hand, when they were
in trouble, even as they paid themselves their customary lavish bonuses. As
I said last week, that’s the height of irresponsibility. That’s shameful. And that’s
exactly the kind of disregard for the costs and consequences of their actions that
brought about this crisis: a culture of narrow self-interest and short-term gain
at the expense of everything else.
This is America. We don’t disparage wealth. We don’t begrudge anybody for

achieving success. And we believe that success should be rewarded. But what
gets people upset—and rightfully so—are executives being rewarded for failure,
especially when those rewards are subsidized by U.S. taxpayers.
For top executives to award themselves these kinds of compensation pack-
ages in the midst of this economic crisis is not only in bad taste —it’s a bad
strategy — and I will not tolerate it as president. We’re going to be demanding
some restraint in exchange for federal aid—so that when firms seek new federal
dollars, we won’t find them up to the same old tricks.
As part of the reforms we are announcing today, top executives at firms re-
ceiving extraordinary help from U.S. taxpayers will have their compensation
capped at $500,000—a fraction of the salaries that have been reported recently.
And if these executives receive any additional compensation, it will come in
the form of stock that can’t be paid up until taxpayers are paid back for their
assistance.
Companies receiving federal aid are going to have to disclose publicly all the
perks and luxuries bestowed upon senior executives and provide an explanation
to the taxpayers and to shareholders as to why these expenses are justified. And
we’re putting a stop to these kinds of massive severance packages we’ve all read
about with disgust; we’re taking the air out of the golden parachute.
We’re asking these firms to take responsibility, to recognize the nature of
this crisis and their role in it. We believe that what we’ve laid out should be
viewed as fair and embraced as basic common sense.14
In this example, the president walks us through a rationale that begins with
what we need to know about the mistakes that were made and moves to the solu-
tion—in his mind the need to restore trust in our financial system as a precursor
to restoring the system itself. He calls out certain “shameful” self-serving practices
and is explicit about what makes people most disgusted, to have a select few re-
ward themselves for failure, and to do so with someone else’s money.
Obama’s position stated in this manner is fairly difficult to argue with. He
closes with a bottom line: what his administration is asking for, for these stake-
holders to be realistic and to be a part of a logical solution. Obama sets a firm
limit, provides a context and a rationale. He is clear about his bottom line. Obama’s
intent is to put the brakes on an out-of-control situation in productive fashion.
Constructive intolerance is a key component to great leadership. It instills the
fundamental accountability, fairness, and integrity necessary for bona fide suc-
cess. Without certain boundaries and, more importantly, without leaders them-
selves who are willing to properly open their eyes to issues such as these and to set
and uphold limits, we remain at risk.
Larry Bossidy, former chairman and CEO of Honeywell International, and
Ram Charan, advisor to CEOs and top executives, wrote a book called Execution:
The Discipline of Getting Things Done. The book is about driving for results, what
organizations and specifically leaders need to attend to in order to be successful.
An interesting quote from their book is, “Leaders get the behavior they exhibit
and tolerate.” 15 We see in Obama the makings of a leader who is willing to take a
stand and not tolerate that which undermines fundamental and long-term success.
Furthermore, he is willing to model in himself what he expects of others. Obama
showed his willingness to demonstrate the behaviors he expected from others
when at the outset of his term he froze pay increases for his own team.
Obama’s intent to make the White House and other government buildings
greener in support of energy conservation is another such example of his mod-
eling. Modeling seems an ingrained behavior for the president since it surfaced
in a day-to-day aspect of his personal life. You may recall the moving line from
Obama’s acceptance speech: “Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you
have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us to the White House.”16 When
first questioned about what breed of dog the Obamas were considering, the then
president-elect stated that they would like to find a rescue animal. In looking ini-
tially to find a rescue puppy Obama rather matter-of-factly exhibited the com-
munity-minded values he wants others to be thinking about.
His Human Side

On February 10, 2009, at a town hall meeting in Fort Myers, Florida, the newly
inaugurated president, Barack Obama, was with a community hit hard by the
economic downturn. A woman stepped up to the microphone declaring her fam-
ily’s desperation. She was jobless and homeless. “Please help us,” she pleaded. The
president stopped for a moment, asked the woman her name, walked over to her,
looked her in the eye, and replied, “I am going to do my best.” Then he did some-
thing more. The president, visibly moved by the moment, hugged the woman
and gently kissed her on the cheek. Momentary silence fell over the room, fol-
lowed by gracious applause.17 This was not political posturing. This was genuine
human connection. We first knew Obama as a reserved, thoughtful candidate. As
the campaign wore on and later as he assumed office, we came to know Obama as
a compassionate and committed partner in our struggles.
Slowly, we were coming to understand a number of things about our new presi-
dent. He seemingly had a firm grasp on the daunting tasks his administration
was facing. He had his initial direction sorted, and it appeared also that both his
head and his heart were in the right place. Extending from his professionally poised
intellectual persona was a genuineness, a deeper human side. Obama’s human side
enables him to transcend age, gender, race, religion, and class to relate to a mul-
titude of people. He demonstrates time and time again a capacity for empathy, not
sympathy, that distinguishes him. As he moves further into his presidency, Obama’s
accentuated human qualities will afford the opportunity to foster renewed hope
and personal accountability in the American people and to address problems at
home and abroad that until now have seemed irreconcilable.
Beyond compassion and empathy, another of Obama’s admirable human quali-

ties is his ability to admit mistakes. In early February 2009, former Democratic
leader Tom Daschle stepped down from nomination as Secretary of Health and
Human Services due to irregularities with his past tax filings. On February 3,
2009, on a CNN live interview with Anderson Cooper, when questioned about
problems with Tom Daschle’s appointment, Obama replied, “I think I screwed
up.” When was the last time we heard a prominent leader say that? The exchange
with Anderson Cooper went as follows:
Cooper: Do you feel you messed up in letting it get this far?

Obama: Yes, I think I made a mistake and I told Tom that. I take responsibility
for the appointees.
Cooper: What was your mistake —letting it get this far or should you have pulled
it earlier?
Obama: I think my mistake is not in selecting Tom originally because I think no-
body was better qualified to deal with both the substance and policy of health
care. He understands it well as anybody, but also the politics which is going to
be required to actually get it done. But I think ultimately I campaigned on
changing Washington and bottom up politics and I don’t want to send a mes-
sage to the American people that there are two sets of standards, one for power-
ful people and one for the ordinary folks who are working every day and paying
their taxes.
Cooper: Do you think you’ve lost some of your moral high ground you set for
yourself on Day 1?
Obama: Well I think this was a mistake. I think I screwed up and I take responsi-
bility for it and we’re gonna make sure we fix it so it doesn’t happen again.18
Stated simply and directly, no defensiveness or excuses, the president took full
responsibility, admitted his mistake, and walked us through his learning. With
respect to Obama’s human side we see a man who possesses empathy and com-
passion, one who is genuine in his commitment to help. We also see a man who
sees mistakes as an opportunity to learn, as a fact of life, as something we need to
own up to.
What we see overall in terms of Obama’s human side is that he is grounded
in morality and reason, in the difference between right and wrong, and in what
works and what doesn’t. Some examples of Obama’s moral imperative include
the following:
• Obama points to the distortion and erosion in values in America’s governing

systems and processes, calling Washington politics badly broken. “What Wash-
ington needs is adult supervision”19 was one joking, yet nonetheless revealing
reference Obama made to how he would characterize this circumstance.
• Obama has described the difference between what he sees as free versus fair trade.
• Obama notes the inhumanity in health care as a privilege rather than a right.
• Obama asserts that the questionable treatment of prisoners of war is an inhu-
manity that cannot be justified.
While many may agree with these ideals in theory, Obama makes them the plat-
form from which his policies will develop.
George Lakoff, professor of cognitive science and linguistics at the Univer-
sity of California at Berkeley, writes of Obama’s moral imperative. Lakoff frames
it around what he calls the Obama code, how Obama communicates his moral
vision. Lakoff writes, “Like other self-aware and highly articulate speakers, he con-
nects with his audience using what cognitive scientists call the ‘cognitive uncon-
scious.’ Speaking naturally, he lets his deepest ideas simply structure what he is
saying. If you follow him, the deep ideas are communicated unconsciously and
automatically. The Code is his most effective way to bring the country together
around fundamental American values.” The Lakoff article, titled “The Seven In-
tellectual Underpinnings of the Obama Code,” is an important read that helps
shed light on the president’s moral grounding.20
To sum up Obama’s human side we first would say that he is a sound and pol-
ished professional who also leads through true emotional connection. Added to
that one-two punch is someone who leads by example and owns up to his own
mistakes. Lastly, Obama’s human side is punctuated by morality, making him
someone we should be able to count on to do the right thing. In many ways we see
in Obama quintessential human qualities that when melded with his core leader-
ship skills equate to fundamental greatness. As such Obama represents a signifi-
cant step change from usual high-level authorities, those whose qualities equate
more with power. Power as an aspect of leadership is far more impactful in the
long run than power as leadership in and of itself.
Making History
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all
things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive
in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your
answer.
It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in
numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four
hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this
time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.
It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Re-
publican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled
and not disabled—Americans who sent a message to the world that we have
never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be,
the United States of America.
It’s the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be
cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on
the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this
day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.21
Those infamous words were spoken by the first African American president
of the United States in Chicago, Illinois, on November 4, 2008. Obama, rising
up against all odds to win the 2008 presidential election, is the crowning glory
on his leadership allure. Obama’s election marked a dramatic step change in our
civil rights movement, sparking moving commentary from a man who had until
that moment held the highest-ranking position in the United States for an Afri-
can American. Colin Powell was the first African American member of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff and the first African American Secretary of State, to name two of
his distinguished accomplishments. General Powell had this to say on a CNN tele-
vised interview: “It hit me hard. I was expecting it, I supported him, but it was
still an electric shock. I was sitting in my chair, my kids were crying and I thought,
we did it. What a great country America is.”22
In his interview General Powell recounted memories of the army as a place
where he was treated as an equal and thereby able to excel. He recalled his com-
manders telling him that they didn’t care about his background or race, they cared
only that he did what was expected of him and did it well. Think of the civil rights
milestones Powell saw in his lifetime. Just forty-some years ago James Meredith,
Powell’s contemporary, was the first African American student to attend the
University of Mississippi. Meredith’s admission was far from routine; in fact it
was a monumental civil rights event.
Meredith was denied admission twice, and on October 1, 1962, he was barred
from entering Ole Miss. Riots ensued, and President John F. Kennedy sent in fed-
eral troops and U.S. Marshals to restore order. The violence resulted in two peo-
ple dead, forty-eight soldiers injured, and twenty-eight U.S. Marshals wounded
by gunfire. Meredith went on to complete his education, graduating in 1963 with
a degree in political science.23
There have been countless Meredith-like instances in our lifetime — stories of
inequality, based on race, gender, lifestyle, that have scarred our lives. The elec-
tion of Barack Hussein Obama, an African American with an unusual name, gave
healing impetus to the ongoing fight for equality. It is a magnificent accomplish-
ment and, as such, a moving element of Obama’s remarkable appeal. Obama
commented, “My parents shared not only an improbable love, they shared an
abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation. They would give me an African
name, Barack, or blessed, believing that in a tolerant America your name is no
barrier to success.”24
History was made as an important milestone barrier in human existence was
broken.
The Phenomenon Recapped

There are seven distinct aspects of Obama’s appeal, and now, early into his presi-
dency, he is holding onto and in fact growing that allure:
• An unassuming beginning—Obama came to us with a quiet strength. He was

measured in his words, polite and unassuming in demeanor, and, above all,
thoughtful in his approach. It was this initial unobtrusive persona that allowed
those around him to speak and him to listen. He took note and began a lengthy
discovery process of the complex issues his nation was facing.
• The nature of his intelligence—Obama’s eagerness to consider new possibili-
ties expands his intellectual potential tenfold. He possesses a genuine apprecia-
tion for diversity. He not only sees things from different perspectives but has an
uncanny ability to appreciate the unusual.
• Actions we can support—Obama intellectually comes to understand situations
from all angles. He weighs his options and quickly translates those options into
measured steps that attack an issue from multiple sides.
• His passion and positive attitude—The passion and attitude Obama conveys
unleash a resolve and confidence born from fundamental beliefs in the power of
the human spirit.
• His formidability—Obama demonstrated early on in his presidency that he was
formidable. He showed that if we were to move from where we were to where
we wanted to go, certain actions could no longer be tolerated. Better still, Obama’s
brand of limit setting is productive, referred to as constructive intolerance.
• His human qualities—Obama’s human side juxtaposes sound and polished
professionalism with true emotional connection, a powerful one-two punch.
Added to that one-two punch is someone we can count on who is grounded in
what’s right, leading by example, and who accepts and admits to his own mis-
takes.
• He made history—The election of Barack Hussein Obama, an African Ameri-
can with an unusual name, gave great impetus to our ongoing global fight for
equality. It is a magnificent accomplishment and as such a moving element of
Obama’s remarkable appeal.
How then did Obama become who he is today? What is attributable to his
makeup and what to his experiences? Why is Obama able to leverage his brain
differently than perhaps the typical leader, to act beyond behavioral preferences
with such facility? These are the questions to be answered next.
Chapter 2
The Nature / Nurture

of Leadership
As it was, I learned to slip back and forth between my black and white worlds, under-
standing that each possessed its own language and customs and structures of meaning,
convinced that with a bit of translation on my part the two worlds would eventually
cohere.
— Barack Obama1
A Life Juxtaposed
In understanding how Barack Obama became the leader he is today there is much
to sort through, beginning with the complexities of his background. As the preced-
ing quote reflects, he was from two worlds. Yet as far apart as those worlds were,
there was also much in his lineage that was shared. In exploring the interplay of his
heredity, what is referred to as nature, with his life experiences, what is referred to
as nurture, the disparities and constants will be revealed.
Obama’s biracial background was his most defining contrast, yet there were
many others. In fact, his was a life juxtaposed, one of kindred links and vast distinc-
tions. Certain stabilities were ever present while contradictions were posed to him
at nearly every life juncture. This very milieu, one requiring continuous reconcilia-
tion of what remained constant in his life with that which diverged, appears to have
been a rich breeding ground for his unique leadership traits.
In terms of the consistencies in Obama’s life, the most pronounced is the fixed
and central role his mother and her parents played. Distinctions and incongruities,
on the other hand, came from the more striking multifarious life circumstances sur-
rounding his familial path. His mother was a white woman born in the Midwest.
She was an only child from a middle-class home. Obama’s father was a black man
from a prominent Kenyan family. The two met, fell in love, and married while
both were students at the University of Hawaii. Each parent was notable in ability
and perspective. Barack grew up exposed to the nuances of culture from this very
beginning. He was exposed further to diversity growing up in Hawaii amid mixed
ethnic and social groups and living for four years as a young boy in Indonesia with
his mother and Indonesian stepfather.
Obama attended public, private, and international schools and was for a time
homeschooled by his mother as a supplement to his Indonesian education. He at-
tended college in California, New York, and Boston, each locale and experience
distinct. Throughout Obama ’s life he had only brief contact with his father and
little connection to his father’s family. Following his father’s death he journeyed to
Kenya hoping to settle his heritage.
His career was an outgrowth of his own existence, reaching across communi-
ties, peoples, and political parties with the aim of building unity. His life with wife,
Michelle, and daughters, Sasha and Malia, is punctuated by the traditional family
stability he himself had not experienced. He was exposed to varied faiths and reli-
gions and came ultimately to his own spiritual choice. As Obama’s life evolved he
was faced with the isolation and inhumanity of racism along with the embrace and
adoration of millions.2
Looking back over Barack Obama’s composite existence, five categories of in-
fluence are considered. They are as follows:
• What he inherited from and experienced through his parents

• The influences of his maternal grandparents
• The impact of his stepfather and experiences in Indonesia
• Education, career, and faith
• Life with wife Michelle and their children
The distinct configuration of these impacts allowed Obama to in fact coalesce a

potent result. While some individuals may have been lost in the complexities of such
an uncharacteristic life, Obama had extraordinary inspirations to provide guidance
and to feed his compelling potentials. Understanding both who Obama is and how
he came to be engenders reverence for his uncommon brand of leadership. To be-
gin, basic background information may prove helpful. How do genetics and our
environment work in consort to determine behavioral outcomes?
The Luck of the Draw

The precise formula for how much of our makeup is attributable to genetics versus
the environment remains under debate. Theorists can agree, though, for example,
that our intelligence is to a great extent the result of our genes. The extent to which
our environment can impact our intellectual propensity is part of the larger de-
liberation. In Obama ’s case, strong suits in what he inherited (intelligence-wise)
and how his mind was encouraged make for nature/nurture conclusions to be
more readily drawn.
The Nature/Nurture of Leadership 21
With respect to our genetic inheritance we each possess a still undetermined

number of genes. Estimates range as low as 20,000 and as high as 100,000. With
each step closer to understanding our full genome, the estimate adjusts up or down.
The sheer variation in numeric guesswork points out the complexities of it all. Our
genetic makeup is part of an intricate code to our traits. Our genes are carried on
chromosomes in pairs, one pair part from one parent and one pair part from the
other, but the random nature of splitting that occurs during conception nets infi-
nite trait possibilities.
Some traits are dominant and some recessive, making it more or less likely that
a trait will be passed on. Moments before actual conception, genetic configurations
shuffle again in a dancelike process called crossing over. Crossing over makes it vir-
tually impossible for any two individuals, with the exception of identical twins, to
be genetically the same. This is why siblings possess as many disparities as they do
likenesses.
Our genotype is our actual genetic composition, while our phenotype represents
our observable characteristics. We could carry a trait that is unexpressed in us per
se, but remains a part of our makeup and therefore passes along to future genera-
tions. As a result Obama may share certain traits with his parents and some per-
haps with his grandparents. As he is an only child but has several half-siblings, he
will share fewer traits with them. Still, in all, his genetic code represents a one-of-
a-kind constellation, the luck of the draw.
A Sociocultural Context
One’s makeup can be further configured based on the nature of traits them-
selves. Certain characteristics are influenced by a single gene pair. Such is the case
for many physical traits — eye and hair color, for example, and for certain illnesses
as well. Behaviors and abilities are not as straightforward. They are the result of
multiple gene pairs and multifactorial traits, those influenced by both genes and
the environment. Intelligence is one such trait. Intelligence is first of all multi-
faceted. Varied abilities make up one’s intelligence quotient (IQ); therefore, it is
actually a collection of traits with multiple genes involved in its formulation. Intel-
ligence is thought to be at least to some extent influenced by one’s environment.
Opportunities afforded us along with the values and expectations of key figures can
impact academic performance.3 Which factors may have contributed to Obama ’ s
brain power, and what is the nature of his varied mental abilities? These are two
interesting queries to probe.
Ethology, the study of behavior in the context of environment, examines inter-
weaving aspects of one’s biological, functional, and cultural heritage. An ethologi-
cal perspective is important when examining Obama’s development. Ethology takes
into account all aspects of one’s life while also striving to find not so much how we
are different from one another, but that which is common across cultures as a result
of our overarching biological heritage.4 Ethology provides an interesting perspec-

tive when examining someone with Obama’ s diverse roots and encounters. The
ethological perspective would factor into his genetic inheritance the adjustments
he had to make in the context of a cross-cultural existence. It would acknowledge
the struggles of a biracial existence. Most importantly, ethology would zero in on
commonality across Obama’s human experience.
Such a theoretical view could help explain the ultimate professional vision
Obama came to both for his country and for the world. Obama ’ s outlook, that
from unity we find salvation, reflects an ethological inclination. Through his per-
sonal life path he had come to know the shared aims of people. Someone with a
more homogenous existence would have had less opportunity to develop such in-
sights as intimately as he. In the following words spoken repeatedly during his cam-
paign for the presidency, Obama makes the case for that which we all share:
We have a stake in one another . . . what binds us together is greater than what
drives us apart, and . . . if enough people believe in the truth of that proposition
and act on it, then we might not solve every problem, but we can get something
meaningful done for the people with whom we share this Earth . . . There is not
a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America;
there ’s the United States of America.5
Ethology looks also at certain times, called sensitive periods, when the environ-
ment has greater impact on our learning than at other times. Learning language is
one such example. It is easier for a child to learn language at certain times, perhaps
coinciding with specific aspects of physical maturation, for example, the devel-
opment of muscles in the larynx enables greater ease in the formation of uttered
sounds. Many social behaviors are also considered to be influenced by sensitive pe-
riods.6 It will be interesting to investigate which of Obama’s behaviors may have
been impacted by such sensitive periods.
Nature / Nurture Simplified

How then does the nature/nurture equation boil down to straightforward terms?
As a child I spent summers at a beach community with many arcades and board-
walk entertainment venues nearby. One arcade game stands out as an applicable
analogy. Using this game will more simply illustrates how nature /nurture dynamics
occur. This example is presented as a visualization exercise ( good too for brain
development), so be patient and play along. Picture a large square machine with
glass windows at eye level on all four sides. Through the windows you are staring
with fascination at three tiered steps piled with coins — quarters, to be exact. The
steps move back and forth independently, pushing the coins closer and closer to
an edge. As coins pass over the edge they fall into a collection bucket as a player’ s
winnings.
To play the game you insert quarters one at a time. The quarters fall randomly
onto one of the steps. As your coins are added in, the configuration shifts and you
stand a chance of winning some money. To increase the likelihood of a win, inter-
mittent exaggerated movements are programmed in, changing the configuration
further, moving coins closer still to the promised land. Eventually quarters do fall
over the edge, and your prize is realized.
Think of one of these machines brand new, stocked with quarters, as represen-
tative of your genetic makeup. The coins this machine came equipped with are in
essence your single-gene expressed traits and multiple gene propensities. Some
quarters are bright and shiny ( representing positive traits) while others are dull or
marred (representing negative traits). Think of the movement of the steps as your
normal maturational process, your development unfolding from birth through
adulthood. Each time you play (adding in coins) it represents a life experience
and/or a key influence (some good, some bad). Accelerated jolts symbolize sensi-
tive periods —opportune life moments. Quarters that fall over the edge become the
manifestation of your behaviors and abilities. As play goes on and more coins drop,
they represent your behaviors and abilities evolving in the context of culture and
the environment.
Exceptional behavioral qualities, such as what we see from Obama’ s brand of
leadership, come from precise and improbable combinations of strong innate mark-
ers/good genes (vast numbers of bright and shiny coins lined up close to the edge)
along with frequent and diverse prompting from the environment (continuous plays
combined with frequent accelerated jolts). Obama’s life was such that his innate ro-
bust markers were complemented by key influences, experiences, and moments.
Influences, Experiences, and Moments

We come now to Obama ’s five key influences — his parents; his maternal grand-
parents; his stepfather and time in Indonesia; his education, career, and faith; and
finally, Obama’s life with wife, Michelle, and their children. Each will be exam-
ined as related to an ultimate leadership impact whether from individuals, circum-
stances, or timing. We begin first with Obama’s key orchestrator, his mother.
(Stanley) Ann Dunham

In my daughters I see her every day, her joy, her capacity for wonder. I won’t try to
describe how deeply I mourn her passing still. I know that she was the kindest, most
generous spirit I have ever known, and that what is best in me I owe to her.
—Barack Obama 7
Barack and his mother shared an enduring bond born from love, shared quali-
ties, and no doubt the challenge one faces growing up with an unusual name.
Obama’s mother was named after her father, Stanley. Her middle name was Ann,
as most everyone came to call her. Stanley Senior was apparently expecting a boy.
Stanley Ann’s challenge was compounded by the number of times she and her fam-
ily moved, requiring introductions to a new group of snickering peers each time.
She lived twice each in Kansas and Washington and in California, Oklahoma,
Texas, and Hawaii.
Ann’s name was far from her only distinction. She was seen by her peers as a
forward thinker well beyond her years and time. Her intellect, compassion, and
quest for justice set her apart. Hers were not the usual teenage preoccupations.
Ann’s interests were less about her immediate social sphere and more about the is-
sues facing humanity. Her perspective and concerns would ultimately take her to
a life that transcended typical borders. Not surprising that such a woman gave rise
to a son whose vision was to change the world.
She studied at the University of Hawaii and earned a PhD in anthropology.
Son Barack was born during the early part of her education, after her marriage to
Barack Obama Senior. Years later, following a divorce from Barack’s father, Ann
and then six-year-old Barack moved to Indonesia, where she remarried and had
a second child, Maya. Though her second marriage ended in divorce as well, her
career remained centered in Asia. She worked in the field of rural development
supporting human rights and the rights of women.8
Of his mother, Obama relays that she taught him the following values:
• Honesty — plainly and simply, do not lie.

• Fairness — what is good for one is good for all.
• Straight talk — be direct, say what you mean.
• Independent judgment — be your own person, form your own impressions.9
In addition to her basic values, Obama’s mother possessed a quiet strength,

marked compassion, and interminable resolve. While Ann was gentle at heart and
viewed the world through an open lens, she was also forthright in her convictions.
Her colleagues and influences transcended race, class, and perspective. She was both
intellectually disposed and learning driven. She worked hard to pass her academic
ethic on to her son, even tutoring him for a time while they lived in Indonesia.
Obama describes being awakened by his mother every morning at 4:00 a.m.
for his lessons. In his autobiography, Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and In-
heritance, Obama references his mother ’s unwavering determination and rebut to
her son’s objections as she worked with him tirelessly day in and day out to enhance
his Indonesian education. He recalls that she was tenacious in her approach, unfazed
by the resistance of an opposed youngster. She provided disciplined instruction, re-
laying a potent and charming defense: “This is no picnic for me either, buster.”10
Ann’s tact was notably effective, as we often heard Obama reference the mo-
ment along with his mother ’s direct quote in public addresses on the campaign
trail. She seemingly impressed her son with her passion and her perseverance, not
to mention her love and commitment.
In his second book, The Audacity of Hope, Obama speaks more of the cherished
role his mother played in who he had become. He spoke of her unending compas-
sion and thoughtfulness for others, almost to a fault. Obama described her values-
centric approach to life, her basic commitment to understand the plight of others,
her benevolence, honesty, and integrity. He relayed how committed and determined
she was to meet her goals and how passionately she approached her causes. Obama’s
appreciation of the unusual no doubt was born from his mother’s wonderment.
She was both full of life and fascinated with its intricacies.11 When reading Obama’s
recollections of his mother one can’ t help but feel her as an inspiring presence. It
would be difficult to not be stirred by such a person.
From his mother ’s intellect, magnanimous spirit, and unfaltering love would
spring crucial aspects of Obama’s character, worldview, and transformational per-
spective. From mother Ann, Obama would receive the necessary orientation to it-
eratively face and come to terms with the inconsistencies of his being. As a result of
her maternal brand—that of a tender soul mate, a protector, a teacher, and a cham-
pion both of him and for the world’s injustices, Obama grew from a solid founda-
tion and could ultimately chart a meaningful course.
His mother maintained amicable relationships with both former husbands. She
sought to instill in her children enduring, positive impressions of their fathers. In
doing so she paved the way for son Barack to assimilate that which his father and
stepfather could offer and pass on, traits and perspectives that from a missing fa-
ther or his stand-in are more typically thwarted. From Stanley Ann ’s acceptance
and tolerance her son’ s own empathic lens was roused, opening many doors, the
first of which was to his father’s world.
Barack Senior
Barack Senior was described as a mischievous child and confident adult. He
was the son of a tribal elder and prominent farmer, a man noted for being clear in
his beliefs and able to hold true to them. Barack Senior ’s mother left her husband
and children, so he himself was abandoned and raised by his stepmother.
Barack Senior was a capable student chosen by his country’s government to
study in the United States. At the University of Hawaii he was their first African
student. A leader at heart, he was the first president of the International Students
Association. He graduated in three years at the top of his class and was inducted
into the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa society. He was later accepted with scholar-
ships to both Harvard University and New York’s New School. He left his wife
and two-year-old son Barack in Hawaii to attend Harvard, where he earned a
PhD. He returned to Kenya following his studies to support his country ’ s devel-
opment. He and Barack’s mother were by then divorced but maintained a friend-
ship and bond.12
A defining account of his father’s demeanor was relayed in Obama’s autobiog-

raphy. Obama detailed a story about his father’s handling of racist comments at a
local Waikiki bar. This was a tale told to Obama by his grandparents and coinci-
dentally confirmed by another source later on. As such, Obama came to believe
the account was accurate. The instance took place one evening when Barack Se-
nior joined his father-in-law and some friends for a quiet social respite. While most
patrons were enjoying themselves, one man blurted out his disgust with having to
share his evening with a black man. This man’s exact words were far cruder than my
rendering. To everyone’ s surprise, Barack Senior quietly and politely approached
the man in question and attempted to preach to him about the evils of his think-
ing and of what good can come when we respect one another.13
From this portrayal we picture a man who influences through knowledge, one
able to express himself well in the moment. Barack Senior used this encounter to
positively sway rather than to avenge. Over time, this story would repeat in mem-
ory and meaning for his son, perhaps helping to shape a context and propensity
for how discourse could be addressed. It was an interesting illustration if nothing
else for how to keep your cool and take a leadership high road.
When Obama was ten years old his father came to Hawaii for a brief stay. Du-
ring that visit a particular event stood out in Obama’s recount, this time not a story
he heard but an event Obama himself witnessed. Told also in his memoirs, Obama
described that his teacher, knowing his father was in the area, requested that he
come and speak at his class about life in Kenya. Obama was then attending prep
school Punahou Academy. His adjustment to the school had been difficult amid
social, class, and race distinctions, not to mention his classmates’ reactions to his
unfamiliar name. Anticipating his father’s appearance caused great angst for the
young Obama, fearing it would worsen the existing divide with his peers. Instead,
however, the event proved to be surprisingly interventional. Obama referenced how
his father seemed able to quickly captivate his classmates through his presence,
words, and gestures, with talk of lions, tribes, and the like, the students’ imaginations
were roused. Their sense of wonder was heightened. Barack Senior was able to
draw in his listeners, to teach them of Kenyan culture and African landscapes and
to interest them in the plight of his people. Obama described further how his fa-
ther ended with a unifying perspective, speaking directly and, one can assume, pas-
sionately about what all people have in common.14 Interesting facts appeared to
be carefully interwoven with dramatic appeal, sincerity, and analogous logic. We
can envision a speaker of impressive wisdom, confidence, and fervor, yet some-
one also gentle in spirit.
Through his father’s fluidly expressed perspectives, commanding presence, and
positive ease, a power was perhaps sparked in his son. The eloquence and mag-
netism we see in Obama today may in fact emanate from distinct paternal traits
kindled in this sensitive moment. The origin of Obama’s own inner spokesperson
was being fashioned. Obama and his father would have only occasional writ-
ten contact in the years to come. Yet, through the additional recollections of his
mother and grandparents Barack Senior’s favorable attributes would continue to

be reinforced.
What else was known was that Barack Senior worked as an economist, even-
tually becoming senior economist in the Kenyan Ministry of Finance. He published
various papers, some of which were controversial and as such hampered his ca-
reer. He married three times, first to a Kenyan woman, then to Obama ’s mother,
and then to an American he met while attending Harvard. He had eight children,
and son Barack Obama was his only namesake. Barack Senior’s tragic 1982 death
followed a series of misfortunes in his later life.15
Upon hearing of his father’s death Obama made plans to journey to Kenya. In
a chronicle from that time Obama describes an urgency he felt to unify the pieces
of his life, to complete his own story by once and for all confronting both the void
of his father’s neglect and the nature of Obama’s own ultimate ties. He points to
a need to face his circumstance and to find closure, a defining moment with re-
spect to one’s personal honesty, nerve, and insight.16 From a leadership perspec-
tive it speaks to Obama’s ability to confront and to reconcile trying circumstances.
More poignantly, moving through such a chasm and emerging resolved, better able
to press on, speaks to leadership courage.
Obama’s father, it seems, was a brilliant man. He could be poised, articulate, and
charismatic. He was likely a serious student and a man of convictions. We can see
many of these positives in his son. His merits, though, existed within the confines
of perhaps a restless discontent, not the least of which is evident in the abandon-
ment of his son. Barack Senior’s ultimate personal and professional success was
compromised, his namesake left to contend with a father’s convoluted legacy. Presi-
dent Obama’s handling of this most personal struggle is a testament to his resolve
and an indicator perhaps of his present-day ability to constructively and ably man-
age those who cross the line.
Gramps and Toot

Obama’s maternal grandparents, whom he called Gramps and Toot, were con-
stant, loving figures in his life. Stanley and Madeline Dunham appeared to be com-
pletely committed to their grandson. Obama’s grandfather had a gregarious nature,
while his grandmother’s cornerstones were steadfastness and good old-fashioned
common sense. His grandfather was a salesman, and his grandmother painstak-
ingly worked her way up from secretary to first woman vice president of a local
bank. One was adventurous, the other tried and true. They raised Obama for a
time while his mother and half sister remained in Indonesia. His grandparents’
lives reflected in so many ways what is good and basic about Americans. They were
hardworking, placed family first, respected those around them, led decent lives,
and tried to set a good example for their daughter and grandchildren.
Theirs became the story of rather typical parents whose only child embarked on
an atypical life. As basic as they were in most respects, they each possessed certain
distinctions. Obama’s grandfather wrote poetry and had a great sense of wonder.
His grandmother hailed that small part of her own Native American heritage, Chero-
kee to be exact, that her family rebuffed. Their collective nuances took hold in
their daughter, giving way to Ann’s defining characteristics. Theirs was a fascinating
testament to both the intricacies of genetics and the power of close familial rela-
tionships. It was Ann’s parents’ support of who she was and the life she chose that
would act as a safety net of sorts for both her and her son. As Obama walked the
tightrope of his own reconciliatory process, Gramps and Toot seemed there to catch
him if he fell.
Obama’s grandparents also told stories that inadvertently provided answers to
many of his unasked questions. This in and of itself must have been of great com-
fort. Questions like, “Who was my father, what was he like, why did he and Mom
get married?” may have filled a young Obama’s mind, and through casual conversa-
tions with Gramps and Toot, certain of life’s confusions were clarified. Their unob-
trusive company over the course of Obama’s childhood may have braced periods of
inner void. They were a gentle push when he was apprehensive and a buffer against
his overwhelming existential truths.17
Special Man / Special Place

Obama lived for several years with his mother and Indonesian stepfather, Lolo
Soetoro. Indonesia itself, a faraway place, was an extraordinary playground for a
young boy. Young Barack (or Barry, as he was called) had his mother by his side to
brace the experience. He also had his stepfather, Lolo, as interpreter and guide. Lolo
was the youngest of ten children. He met Barack’s mother while studying for his
master’s degree at the University of Hawaii. He was described by Obama as a caring
and committed presence. For several years, when Barack was about age six to age
ten, Lolo taught his stepson how to pragmatically navigate life with an extraordinary
cultural context as backdrop. In comparison to Obama’s U.S. existence, Indonesia
was raw, unfiltered, primal, and even treacherous.
Lolo himself had a traumatic past. His father and brother were killed during the
Indonesian national revolution, their family home was destroyed, and his mother
was left to flee with her nine remaining children. From this origin, Lolo had first-
hand experience with the stark realities of life. While Obama lived with his mother
and Lolo in Indonesia he himself witnessed certain forms of harshness and expe-
rienced unusual customs, rituals, and habits. He saw immense poverty and depri-
vation. Perhaps the fact that Obama was so young afforded him a more palpable
view of the experience. He could take in much of Indonesia’s strife, sheltered some-
what from the scrutiny someone older would possess.18
Of equal bearing, though, was Obama’s mother’s complementary support. What
his mother had to offer in terms of nurturing and hope for how the world could be
was coupled with Lolo’s insistence on how in fact it was. Obama’s time with Lolo
and his mother in Indonesia may also have been important in another respect. It
afforded Obama his only approximation to traditional family life as he lived with a
mother and father and, for a time, with his new baby half sister, Maya.
Obama returned to Hawaii around his tenth birthday, his mother wanting him
to have the benefit of continued U.S. education. He took with him a responsible
and respectable father figure’s perspective of the importance of inner strength. In
Lolo’s words, “If you can’t be strong, be clever and make peace with someone who
is strong. But always better to be strong yourself. Always.”19
On Education
From his initial educational experiences in Indonesia to his postgraduate school-
ing at Harvard, each learning chapter chronicled Obama’s development as a stu-
dent, a leader, and a man. Obama is in fact a student of life. Knowledge forced the
difficult questions and provided the critical answers. A most striking account of
his educational process is shown in how he first came to understand racism. He had
been living in Indonesia for three years when the epiphany occurred. Obama de-
scribes that he and his mother were at her place of work and he was left to occupy
himself in the library. He stumbled onto a Life magazine and was looking at the
photographs. Interested by one photo in particular, he began reading what he
thought would be an article about a man who was gravely ill.
Obama contemplated the various maladies the man may have had. He was
shocked to discover that the man was black and had undergone botched skin treat-
ments to make himself appear white! The thought of such a process, or, more to the
point, such a need, shook Obama’s world. Certainly the picture of blacks and whites
depicted by his family did not match up with this horrifying fact. Though he kept
his fears to himself he described the experience as forever changing his perspec-
tive. While he respected his mother’s worldview, how she saw people, he couldn’t
help wondering why that position now seemed so incomplete.20
From this harsh reality Obama was forced to think about learning in a different
light, how perhaps you need to be empowered in your own learning process. Con-
fronted with a startling reality, he would come to realize the limitations of his
current knowledge base. He found out the hard way that facts could be skewed,
even by those with the best of intentions. Obama’s then kindled critical thinking
would prove to be his hardwired approach to life’s complexities.
While his mother’s embracing perspective could set foundational knowledge, it
would be up to him to ensure that the subject matter was both fully exposed and
amply dissected. And while his mother’s perspective may have been subjective, her
support, along with Lolo’s shoring of Obama’s fortitude, perhaps readied Obama
for life’s later challenges. Obama’s initial discovery of prejudice may have shaken
him in the moment, but the significant forces looking out for him ensured a foun-
dation solid enough to withstand the inner quake.
Responding favorably when seemingly prompted or pushed is what learning
theorists refer to as readiness. Readiness is about the circumstances under which
someone is able to take in knowledge. More specifically, Obama was at a critical

maturational point when he discovered the provocative Life magazine article, that
which learning theorist Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky referred to as a Zone of Proxi-
mal Development. Vygotsky believed that under the right circumstances learning
can hasten development, nudging one toward further knowledge when the matter
under consideration is aimed just beyond one’s current scope.21 Though it may not
have felt like it at the time, Obama was primed to handle this realization. More
importantly, it would become the basis for his evolution into the consummate
thinker he is today.
Obama’s rich educational experiences in all included foreign, homeschooled,
and private settings for elementary and secondary school and competitive colleges
and universities. His preparatory experience at Punahou Academy would serve not
only to enrich his mind but also to bring his social and racial challenges to the fore-
front. One of only a few other black students, he found his time there painfully
crystallizing. Obama reports a period later on at Punahou Academy when he with-
drew socially. Though his mother and perhaps by Obama himself saw it as a low
point, it may actually have been a time of healthy detachment and reflection as he
continued sorting through the maze of his existence. Perhaps this moment was the
beginning of his reflective nature, a leadership cornerstone of his today.22
Obama’s undergraduate years would mark two notable leadership milestones.
He would connect directly with a passion for public speaking, and he would frame
his professional positioning, how he would make his life contribution. His father’s
influence, that of a captivating speaker, would come to bear in Obama’s finding his
own voice, while his mother’s humanitarian plight would contribute to Obama’s
newfound direction.
Upon entering Occidental College in Los Angeles, California, Obama had his
first foray into public speaking. He was participating in a student rally and found
himself front and center, speaking before a crowd for the first time. Perhaps at his
disposal was the memory of his father’s address to Obama’s classmates long ago at
Punahou. Obama himself now readily engaged his audience just as his father once
did. Through the words chosen, the passion in his voice, and the emotional connec-
tion to his fellow students, Obama unleashed his own brand of expressive facility,
the first of many defining speaking engagements to follow.
A young person’s college existence is a time for sorting a direction. When you
are on your own for the first time, academic and social experiences fuel personal
and professional growth. Obama would draw from the potent combination of past
influences and present opportunities to begin to shape his future. Until then he
had felt constrained but was slowly evolving to see possibilities before him. Obama
relays this key moment as an awakening, confirmed while listening to an admired
blues artist’s recording. Previously, when listening to the singer, he had heard de-
spair and vulnerability in her voice. Now he heard an inner strength. He heard
promise. His exact reference was this: “Her voice sounded different to me now. Be-
neath the layers of hurt, beneath the ragged laughter, I heard a willingness to en-
dure. Endure—and make music that wasn’t there before.”23
For Obama, it was time to rise above his immediate scope and shed past lament.
Instead, he would consider an outlook more future focused, born of prospects and
fortitude. The varying brands of determination, learned first from his mother and
reinforced from each key familial influence, in their own unique way would pave a
fresh path forward. He had come from a long line of individuals steeped in convic-
tions. Now was his time to leverage those forces into his own personal brand.
A Career Path
Obama’s work as a community organizer would eventually follow. In commu-
nity organizing he would choose, as did his mother, a grassroots direction. Obama
opted to work in a setting where he could have direct impact on the people them-
selves, to live where they lived and, through that connection, impact their lives.
Community organizing is far from a glamorous line of work. It doesn’t pay par-
ticularly well. It carries with it little if any direct hierarchical authority, yet it is ac-
tually a substantive vehicle for developing and exercising broad-based leadership
skills. Community organizing is atypically challenging in the intricacies of how one
actually makes an impact, beginning with its resource constraints. To get anything
accomplished you must be able to leverage marked networking and consensus-
building skill. You must be able to inspire and engage, to fit in and to redirect. It
is work that in many respects requires you to act from a wider leadership platform
than if you had positional authority.
As a community organizer Obama had to influence without rank, relying instead
on multiple forms of interpersonal and functional impact. He had to become a
role model, someone others trusted and would aspire to be like. He had to demon-
strate an understanding of the people’s circumstances and provide knowledge in a
way that was accepted. He had to work with little to no infrastructure and deliver
results in spite of those limitations in order to establish basic credibility.
It was through the role of community organizer that Obama would begin to,
in effect, coalesce his primed right- and left-brain abilities into leadership strong
suits. Through this work, Obama was able to explore the bounds of his purpose
and test his ability to inspire and make an impact. Obama would drive change in in-
grained systems and mindsets and leverage the expanse of his knowledge base into
plausible solutions.
Obama began his work as a community organizer in Chicago, and after a time,
deciding he wanted additional education, he left to attend Harvard Law School.
Many he worked with in Chicago thought he wouldn’t return, but he completed
his degree, and with limitless opportunities to choose from he came back to Chi-
cago to continue the work he had begun there.24
On Faith
Going back for a moment to the period just before Obama was to enter Harvard,
another developmental milestone would occur. That event was Obama’s formal
engagement in a religious faith. As part of his community organizing work, he was

reaching out to local churches. In his life history Obama describes one Sunday
morning when he attended a particular church service. As the service unfolded he
found himself touched in a deeply personal way by the experience. He relays that
through the preacher’s poignant message and the congregation’s moving embrace,
Obama found what he realized to be a missing element of his life.
He had been raised to understand and appreciate all religions but not to sub-
scribe to any one set of formal beliefs. He referred to his mother as one of the most
spiritual people he knew, though she herself did not experience her spirituality
through formal religion. Instead, she in essence practiced her faith through her
values. Obama came to understand that unlike his mother, he sought a communal
connection, an affiliation. So on that Sunday and in a specific church Obama em-
braced his faith. Within a formal religious tradition he would find kinship. Obama
was soon after baptized into the Christian religion. He was a part of a community
and he would in fact belong.25
Michelle Robinson
Obama was coming into his own. He seemed clear in his desire to be connected,
in work, in faith, and now in his personal life. Not surprising that within the same
time frame he fell in love with Michelle Robinson. Obama met Michelle the sum-
mer after his first year of law school while interning at the Chicago firm Michelle
worked for. She represented everything he had come to cherish and appreciate. He
has described the First Lady as the love of his life, as possessing deep beauty through
and through. Obama revels at her appeal, how everyone seems to take to his wife
so readily. He respects her as an intellectual partner, as a wife and mother, and as an
accomplished individual.26
Early in her tenure as First Lady, Michelle Obama demonstrated her character
depth and broad appeal. Newscasters have commented on First Lady Michelle as col-
lectively possessing traits of several former White House matriarchs. She has been
said to have the allure of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the compassion of Rosalynn
Carter, the candor of Betty Ford, and the work /life ethic of Hillary Clinton. These
likenesses indicate that Michelle Obama in fact epitomizes a modern-day feminine
force. She is comfortable in her beauty, her soft side, and equally at ease as an ac-
complished professional. Above all, one sees in the First Lady integrity, a honed in-
ternal compass, and a genuine sense of commitment to all that she does.
The definitive grounding we see in Michelle Robinson Obama emanates from
her family. She frequently references the impact her family life had on her. She grew
up in a traditional household, her parents committed to their marriage and chil-
dren. The Robinson family lived a decent, humble life, endured tough times, and
through it all stayed true to each other.27
It is thought that you can judge the self-worth of an individual from the stability
of the partner they commit to. From that perspective Obama’s esteem seems in a
very good place. Barack and Michelle Obama joined to build a family of their
own. With daughters Sasha and Malia they would carve out their future together,
and Barack Obama’s life would be complete.
Heritage Recapped
Obama has had a less than ordinary life journey. His ancestry and exposures are
remarkably atypical as each significant influence presented a conundrum. Obama’s
mother and he had an unbreakable bond, yet she herself was a free spirit. Stepfa-
ther Lolo Soetoro took on the role of a typically committed stepdad but did so in
the context of his distinct culture. Obama’s maternal grandparents were rock solid
in how they cared for their grandson. While they led an average life, they themselves
possessed certain distinctions. Obama’s father may have made a significant impres-
sion through relayed family stories and on his lone visit; however, Barack Senior’s
lifelong absence left his son to reconcile a primal loss. All in all, Obama was stretched
developmentally, but by virtue of the continuous and devoted supports he could
draw from, his ultimate inner strength was brought to life and his integrated right-
and left-brain style thrived.
In addition to Obama’s primary influences there is also the timing of events to
consider. Experiences came into play through sensitive periods and readiness. Living
in Indonesia with a loving family as a very young boy afforded him unique exposures
through a palpable lens. Learning as he did about racism and from the context of
his mother’s life perspectives set the tone for how he would become empowered
in his own learning. As a young college student he drew from his father ’s past
image as he took his first foray into public speaking. His mother’s humanitarian-
ism would move him to a world of potential contribution. Obama’s work in com-
munity organizing helped not only to bring out his influencing skills, but also to
affirm his plight. Obama embraced faith at a propitious moment. All in all, a chro-
nology unfolded that led him to where he is today. His marriage to Michelle and
his resulting fatherhood was his personal affirmation. His push to the presidency
validated his professional reach as Obama became the next of history ’s ground-
breaking leaders.
Overall, Obama’s childhood, schooling, professional life, and eventual spiritual
and family connections moved him through his self-discovery. Added to what were
exceptional hardwired traits, he progressively built a leadership base from which
to test and hone his values, behaviors, and abilities. Grounded in learning, driven
through work, and comforted by faith and family, he was able to firmly establish
his identity and sort an ultimate life direction. Everything he came from and all he
came to know pointed to the promise of renowned contribution. This is where he
would seat himself, in contributing substantively and in legendary fashion. What
follows shows how Obama’s unusual life collage enables his brain to work pre-
cisely as it was intended to.
Leadership and the Brain

There is much to understanding the human brain, but what do we need to know
about how the brain functions and develops that is specific to leadership, or, more
to the point, particular to leadership Obama-style? For simplicity, the information
on the brain is broken down into ten basic facts. The following executive sum-
mary relays that knowledge: what leaders need to know about how our brain func-
tions; the brain’s tie-ins to leadership; and, most importantly, the connection of each
of these ten points to how our exemplar came to be.
TEN-POINT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. Interrelationships—While our brain is organized into specific structures,

each with areas of primary responsibility, our behavior is the result of
a complex interplay among those constructs. Our brain’s structure and
function stresses interrelationships.28 Obama’s life was one of inter-
relationships.
2. Hemispheres of our mind—The brain is divided into two hemispheres:
the left and the right. Each brain hemisphere controls specialized pre-
ferences in thinking and behaving. A network of fibers connects one
hemisphere to the other, allowing for an interplay between both sides
of the brain. While certain preferences are rooted in one hemisphere or
the other, full brain engagement comes through a cross-pollination of
right- and left-brain perspectives rather than through the cultivation of
polarized camps.29 Obama’s is a perspective of unity and commonality.
He is open to disparate viewpoints and seeks ultimately to leverage di-
versity by bringing camps together to fully integrate thoughts.
3. Left brain —The left hemisphere or left brain is our grounded tactician,
able to plan, reason, and execute in the moment. The left brain con-
trols sequential and linear thought. It is where our verbal and analytical
abilities come from. It helps us see things as they are. It is ordered, quan-
titative, logical, realistic, and practical. The left brain reasons from part
to whole and communicates in names and labels. It is concerned with
facts, discrete parts, verbal expression, careful scrutiny, and closure.30
Obama is adept at left-brain logic, expression, order, and analysis. He
is very much attuned to the realities of the present.
4. Right brain —The right hemisphere or right brain is our strategist, in-
novator, and visionary. It controls intuitive and emotional thought. The
right hemisphere is imaginative, nonverbal, and holistic. It reasons from
whole to parts, is reflective, and thinks of the world as it could be. The
right brain is concerned with future possibilities, with creativity, with
change, and with our interpersonal connections.31 Obama leads from
right-brain vision, from a transformational perspective and from inter-
personal connections.
5. Multidominance—We have the ability to develop strengths in both left- and
right-brain characteristics, to become multidominant. Multidominance
grows out of continuous exposure to right- and left-brain interplay —
through diversity in experiences and actions.32 The diversity in Obama,
hardwired and gained through distinct influences, experiences, and mo-

ments, lends to his extraordinary multidominant facilities.
6. Alter-brain behaviors — Leaders can develop their multidominance by
engaging in alter-brain (diverse) behaviors and experiences. An alter-
brain behavior or experience is one that stretches your brain’s existing
reach. More specifically, an alter-brain behavior is defined as a style shift
resulting in a new action that, when accessed, can give either greater depth
to a preferred style or complementary breadth to your overall approach.33
Obama has been engaged in a continuous alter-brain workout through-
out the course of his life, sometimes encouraged by those around him
and often out of sheer necessity.
7. Novel learning —An alter-brain experience is referred to as novel learning.
Novel learning stimulates the brain to develop greater overall poten-
tials. Novel learning, exposure to newness and diversity, encourages the
brain’s natural synergistic process. It has been suggested that when we
use our brains to do new and different things, we increase its own pro-
cessing options, thereby making us more able to deal with change. Con-
versely, our brain being locked in habitual patterns makes it harder for
the brain to embrace novelty.34 Novel learning was propelled by
Obama’s mother’s intellectual wonder. She engendered in her son a
passion for learning and a sense of marvel in the nuances of life. Addi-
tionally, the many changes Obama encountered further propelled ex-
posure to novelty in a most accelerated fashion.
8. Stepping out of your comfort zone — An alter-brain behavior, trying a
new way of responding, pushes us beyond our habitual ways of doing
things and as such is equally brain enhancing.35 Obama’s life contin-
uously forced him to stretch himself beyond his comfort zone.
9. Reflection and self-control —Stress and high-intensity moments can cur-
tail our natural ability to extend beyond our preferences while also caus-
ing overreactions in the moment. Introspection and reflection can enable
us to stay grounded during emotionally triggering life events and can
help us turn a critical moment from a potential threat to a development
opportunity.36 Obama’s reflective nature affords him a grounded, stable
presence in the face of turmoil.
10. Social/emotional brain—Recent findings about our social/emotional brain
suggest just how pivotal our interactions are to a leader’s success. Spe-
cifically, since we are designed to be social creatures, the degree to
which empathy informs our resulting communications and actions is
what others are relating to. It is not enough to have good intent or to
think you know what is best for those around you. You must demon-
strate your understanding through both words and actions to excel in
our very social world.37 Obama’s heritage and upbringing fostered well-
honed empathy that reinforces his social/emotional success. His acu-
men with the work required of him in community organizing was the
first true demonstration of his socio-emotional adeptness. His rise to the
very top of the leadership hill further reinforces how socio-emotionally
adept he is.
Based on the ten-point list of what leaders need to know about the brain, we
see potentials in Obama’s style and approach. We also begin to recognize how his
developmental conundrum actually poised him for leadership success. From a de-
finitive set of strong, varied passed-on traits to a myriad of life encounters, his was
a brain in constant expansion. Delicately timed events and solid supports rein-
forced his brain’s enhancements, allowing left- and right-brain preferences to de-
velop more fully and in consort. The result was a blend of driven resolve, reflective
inner strength, and social facility. Obama is a leader who is both grounded in the
present and able to see the path forward.
A Leadership-Perfect Form
If we put a positive spin on the popularized phrase perfect storm, changing it to
perfect form, we could say that what we see in Obama is a rare convergence of
several distinct factions that received its potency because they came together all at
once, not to exacerbate (as is the case in a perfect storm) but rather to embellish
(leaving us a perfect form). The result is full-force leadership. When reading over
the information on nature and nurture, on Obama’s five key influences, and mar-
rying that to the ten-point summary of the brain, you begin to see that Obama’s
particular chance nature/nurture combination lent itself to the brain’s optimal de-
velopment. The human brain is structured to be synergistic, to work in a collab-
orative manner, and to strengthen its own distinctions through collaboration.
The brain can do this because the two sides of the brain, the left and right hemi-
sphere, are not simply two factions connected by fibers enabling them to share.
Rather, each side of the brain has commonality —each contains facets of the oth-
er’s. When we encourage the development of a weaker area, that is, for example,
intuitive thinking in someone driven more by logic, not only does the non-intuit
become more intuitive, but other mental abilities improve as well.38
Obama’s perfect leadership form comes from the constant synergies exerting force
on his development along with the commonality contained within them. As dif-
ferent as his parents were, each had certain common qualities—their intellect, for
example, and their passion for human rights. So was true of his grandparents, his
stepfather, and, no doubt, if we came to know them further, members of his Afri-
can ancestry. As different as they were from each other in so many ways, each shared
certain values, beliefs, and traits with others in Obama’s immediate circle.
We can see evidence of Obama’s aligned brain functioning in his approach
to conflict. When Obama faces conflict he is quick to call attention to common
ground. Note the following excerpt from his February 24, 2009, address to Con-
gress. The address centered on the global economic crisis. The president was out-
lining his initial plans and ended with an appeal to work together:
Look, I know that we haven’t agreed on every issue thus far. There are surely
times in the future where we will part ways. But I also know that every Ameri-
can who is sitting here tonight loves this country and wants it to succeed. I
know that. That must be the starting point for every debate we have in the com-
ing months, and where we return after those debates are done. That is the foun-
dation on which the American people expect us to build common ground. And
if we do — if we come together and lift this nation from the depths of this cri-
sis; if we put our people back to work and restart the engine of our prosperity;
if we confront without fear the challenges of our time and summon that en-
during spirit of an America that does not quit, then someday years from now
our children can tell their children that this was the time when we performed,
in the words that are carved into this very chamber, “something worthy to be re-
membered.”39
The president concluded his address stating that common ground would be the
ultimate driver for this group in reaching its goal. Obama’s approach to conflict
also involves inviting differing opinions. He is often heard saying that he welcomes
opposing views and that “we must learn to disagree without being disagreeable.”40
Obama clearly has a natural ease with discourse, his brain well able to process dis-
parate thoughts and to look for ways to collaborate and reconcile. His brain and
his outlook support a position of shared capability.
Ultimately, though, what truly sets Obama apart is his apparent complete com-
pliment of multidominant behaviors as applied directly to the way he leads. His is
a fully integrated right- and left-brain approach. While high-level leaders can be
adept at certain right- and left-brain abilities, the point was made at the book’s
outset that you will instead find that leaders get caught up in their preferences.
Talented leaders certainly possess both right- and left-brain leadership abilities but
are seldom adept across the full right- and left-brain behavioral spectrum. More
to the point, a leader is less likely to shift style from right- to left-brain thinking
or vice versa with the ease that Obama does. His most unusual life brain workout
enables him to do what others seemingly don’t. When under stress this becomes
even more apparent. Leaders under stress tend to constrict their posture. Under
stress is precisely when Obama seems to expand his.
Former president William Jefferson Clinton could be described as extraordi-
narily visionary, charismatic, and transformational, possessing exceptional right-
brain strong suits. He was a strategist and an innovator. He was intuitive and
holistic and thought of the world as it could be. He also had distinct left-brain
talents. He was verbal and analytical, concerned with facts and scrutiny. He was
determined. Clinton was in many ways a brilliant leader; however, certain gaps
can be noted, especially when his presidency faced its ultimate crisis, the threat of
impeachment. Clinton drew more from his right-brain mystique. Would added
left-brain grounding have been more to his benefit?
In contrast to former president Clinton’s right-brain orientation, former pres-
ident George W. Bush could be characterized as left-brain driven. He was more
entrenched in the moment. He tended to reason from part to whole and to com-
municate through labels. Possibly his Achilles heel was that in the face of pervasive
criticisms he became more steadfast in his beliefs. Was his myopic stance the work
of an overplayed left brain?
A risk run by many if not most high-level leaders is to allow certain preferences
to become their cornerstones. In essence they are acting from a set of identified
strengths to excess (too much of a good thing ), rather than drawing upon a broader
sphere of full-brain leadership attributes. In times of stress we are all inclined to
act out of habit. Leaders in particular will dig in rather than engage their brain
power more fluidly.
Another case in point could be seen in Senator John McCain’s tactics during
the 2008 presidential campaign. His campaign cornerstone was his “maverick” style.
From that vantage point he vowed to fix a broken Washington, D.C. When the
election intensified he stepped up references to a maverick approach. He selected
a running mate, Sarah Palin, who was touted as a fellow maverick. Obama, on the
other hand, chose a counterbalance in Joe Biden.
The race continued while concurrently, impending economic catastrophe was
upon us. The public became unnerved. McCain continued to lead from his pre-
ference, intensifying his promise to fight for every American, maverick style. Obama,
on the other hand, while continuing the engaging style that was his hallmark,
added grounding and formidability. Obama’s extended stable and serious overtones
afforded the opportunity for voters to experience him beyond charismatic. He was
seen as calm in the face of crisis and willing to step up during difficult times. A re-
solve was heard in his voice, and solutions specific to new demands were added to
his platform.
McCain’s approach, though intensified, was nonetheless unchanged in breadth.
Obama appeared more diverse in ability. Alter-brain style shifts and additional
traits poised him for broader appeal, engendering greater respect for who he was.
Obama positioned himself to be seen as a leader able to make needed accommo-
dations in response to unusual circumstances.
In today’s world challenges are intensifying in complexity. Acting solely from
one’s preferences will leave a leader coming up short. Leaders must possess fur-
ther flexibility to draw from, the ability to shift style not as an exception but as
a rule, to move forth and back from right- and left-brain preferences with ease
and agility. Leaders today are also more exposed. Everything a high-profile leader
does and says can be easily broadcast for the world to see. Your appeal and your
ability to connect takes place on a twenty-four/seven world stage, a new-age jour-
nalism, if you will.
Decisions and actions are therefore scrutinized minute by minute. Greater sen-
sitivities apply with respect to communications and cultural contexts. There are
countless ways to be judged at any given moment. In effect, we live in a different
world, a world that is more demanding, more interconnected, and operating with
faster and faster cycle times. What we have gained from the internet in conve-
nience and opportunity has boomeranged back at leaders who must be ready to
react. Leaders must operate with greater bandwidth in our high-tech/high-speed
fishbowl of an existence.
Obama comes to his position with diversity not simply by virtue of his name
and race, but in his fundamental leadership operating style. He is primed to ad-
dress a multitude of issues from the intricate to the nefarious and to do so in our
new-age interactive context. His unusual leadership ability is a blend of expansive
social, behavioral, and intellectual reach. To lead the United States of America at
precisely this moment in its history requires full-blown right- and left-brain lead-
ership skill sets like we see in Obama. That is Obama’s leadership-perfect form.
The remaining chapters will present a model for right brain/left brain leader-
ship, identifying ten guiding behaviors along with specific corresponding traits.
President Obama’s leadership style will be examined relative to this right brain/left
brain model, demonstrating his abilities within each of its ten guiding behaviors.
More importantly, the fluidity with which Obama transitions between right-
and left-brain abilities will be highlighted. His style represents a working model
for the dynamic interplay today’s leaders should aspire in order to meet the chal-
lenges of our time. Following the review of behaviors and traits as they relate to
President Obama, the book will give specific steps for how you too can become
more Obama-like in your leadership approaches. We move next to the Right
Brain/Left Brain Leadership Model, its format, behaviors, and traits as backdrop
for the complete review of our exemplar.
Chapter 3
Right- and Left-Brain

Potentials
It ’s not just enough to change the players. We ’ve gotta change the game.
—Barack Obama1
A Leadership Model
Aptly put in the preceding Obama quote, the leadership game has changed and
leaders must change with it. While it is important to lead based on your particu-
lar style, such proclivities can no longer reflect your entire playbook. Instead you
must see your inclinations as a foundation to build upon. You must be able to rou-
tinely extend from that foundation with diversity in both mindset and action.
A model to help frame such a full-spectrum leadership approach is one that draws
from right- and left-brain propensities. Translated into the language of leadership,
the Right Brain/Left Brain Leadership Model identifies ten guiding leadership be-
haviors, four of right-brain ability, four of left-brain ability, and two additional sup-
port behaviors. The Right Brain/Left Brain Leadership Model was first proposed
in my book Right Brain/Left Brain Leadership: Shifting Style for Maximum Impact
and is explained in its entirety in that text. This chapter will review the model’s high-
lights and set the stage for a detailed review of President Obama’s right brain/left
brain leadership.2
A model that focuses on a leader’s behaviors forces consideration beyond what
a leader is doing—goals and objectives—to how a leader enacts such targets. Typi-
cally the behavioral side of leadership is seen as a personal style separate from what
one sets out to accomplish. In reality the most effective leaders consider behavior
as integral to success. The what and how should ideally work in tandem, with equal
consideration given to both.
Figure 3.1 shows the model’s guiding behaviors sorted by right and left abili-
ties along with the two auxiliary behaviors.
Figure 3.1
Guiding Behaviors Sorted by Right- and Left-Brain Ability
When leading from the right brain, behaviors are strategic, innovative, transfor-
mational, and engaging. When leading from the left, behaviors are methodical,
expressive, grounded, and assertive. Resilient and savvy are auxiliary behaviors.
They are right- and left-brain enhancing, supporting your leadership ability by tend-
ing to you personally. Resilient contributes to your health, well-being, and staying
power. Savvy speaks to your image and to your ability to negotiate the ever-so-
crucial cultural landscape that you work from. Each behavior is defined as fol-
lows:
Strategic: To be proactive and visionary; to have the long-range view

Innovative: To have an open mind and to be able to think creatively without restraint
Transformational: To drive change in cultures, teams, and individuals relative to values,
thoughts, and actions
Engaging: To understand and work well with others, to validate, to involve, and to rec-
ognize others, and to help them take on responsibility
Methodical: To plan well, to be systematic and effectual in your approach to initiatives
Expressive: To clearly communicate your thoughts both formally and informally while
providing the necessary context
Grounded: To act with integrity, consistency, and stability; to be the steward and the
gauge
Assertive: To be upfront, direct, and determined to get the desired results
Right- and Left-Brain Potentials 43
Resilient: To possess the optimal physical and mental functioning, stamina, and mind-
set—your internal fortitude
Savvy: To sense and respond appropriately to cultural climates; to get things done in a
way that advances both you and those organizations you are affiliated with—your
external influence
Looking at the ten guiding leadership behaviors, where are your typical behav-
ioral strengths? Which, if any behaviors reflect your hard-core preferences? Do
you tend to lead more from the left or the right, or are you more multidominant?
Thinking back to the last difficult leadership situation you had to address, would
any of the behaviors that are not part of your usual way of functioning have helped
you achieve a better result? These are the questions to consider as we continue our
exploration.
Right Brain / Left Brain: Counterintuitive

As you begin to familiarize yourself with the model and how it can help direct you
to broader impact, first consider the model’s title. As the title reflects, the model is
built around our right- and left-brain abilities, drawing on our brain’s dualistic and
synergistic nature. But why right brain/left brain leadership and not the other way
around? Surely President Obama himself would prefer a model that leads from
the left!
Politics aside, the orientation of the model seem counterintuitive—that’s inten-
tional. While we would orient from the left, say, in reading, for example, we need
to lead from the right. Obama’s leftist label reflects his political party affiliation.
When it comes to Obama’s leadership he tends to initiate from the right—the brain
right, that is. Effective leadership begins on the right-brain side of the thinking and
acting equation.
The right brain in essence focuses on the future, while the left brain hones in
on present realities. From a leadership perspective, leaders need to first look for-
ward to the desired state in order to then tend effectively to the day-to-day. We see
this right-brain orientation in Obama as he began his presidency. He took office
during the most tumultuous of economic times. The need during a crisis is to deal
with that which is most pressing.
To Obama’s credit, he did so. He acted in the moment to ensure that the imme-
diate crisis was well addressed; however, he also applied right-brain thinking to ex-
amine not merely how to arrest the present crisis, but to think through what it
would take to ensure our ultimate financial solvency—how to not let this happen
again. He projected years ahead to how the nation would have to be structured and
function across a broad set of measures to truly secure our interests. By turning his
attention to the long term he envisioned what it would look like for us to be safe
and, more importantly, to thrive. While he tended to the immediate he framed
his actions from a right-brain transformational perspective.
Though he came under criticism from some for being too farsighted during
trying times, he showed clear multidominant leadership ability by shifting in an
integrated fashion between right-brain future prospects and left-brain present re-
alities. He worked from an accurate perception of the present as it related to the
ultimate desired state. His right-brain long-range view informed his immediate
crisis response. Consider the following passage from his April 14, 2009, address at
Georgetown University as Obama reflected on the first several months of his ad-
ministration’s work:
It has now been twelve weeks since my administration began. And I think even
our critics would agree that at the very least, we’ve been busy. In just under three
months, we have responded to an extraordinary set of economic challenges with
extraordinary action—action that has been unprecedented in both its scale and
its speed.
I know that some have accused us of taking on too much at once. Others be-
lieve we haven’t done enough. And many Americans are simply wondering how
all of our different programs and policies fit together in a single, overarching
strategy that will move this economy from recession to recovery and ultimately
to prosperity.
So today, I want to step back for a moment and explain our strategy as clearly
as I can. I want to talk about what we’ve done, why we’ve done it, and what we
have left to do. I want to update you on the progress we’ve made, and be honest
about the pitfalls that may lay ahead.
And most of all, I want every American to know that each action we take and
each policy we pursue is driven by a larger vision of America’s future—a fu-
ture where sustained economic growth creates good jobs and rising incomes; a
future where prosperity is fueled not by excessive debt, reckless speculation, and
fleeing profit, but is instead built by skilled, productive workers; by sound in-
vestments that will spread opportunity at home and allow this nation to lead the
world in the technologies, innovations, and discoveries that will shape the 21st
century. That is the America I see. That is the future I know we can have.3
The president’s long-range view, his right-brain thinking, was informing his
here-and-now (left-brain) actions. In the remainder of his address he spelled out
how the nation came to its present catastrophe and how precisely his strategy
would take the nation where it needed to be. He detailed three key responses to
address the then current economic crisis along with five strategic pillars for long-
range prosperity. The president concluded his address with the following state-
ments:
This brings up one final point I’d like to make today. I’ve talked a lot about the
fundamental weakness in our economy that led us to this day of reckoning.
But we also arrived here because of a fundamental weakness in our political
system.
For too long, too many in Washington put off hard decisions for some other
time on some other day. There’s been a tendency to score political points in-
stead of rolling up sleeves to solve real problems. There is also an impatience
that characterizes this town—an attention span that has only grown shorter
with the twenty-four-hour news cycle, and insists on instant gratification in the
form of immediate results or higher poll numbers. When a crisis hits, there’s all
too often a lurch from shock to trance, with everyone responding to the tem-
pest of the moment until the furor has died away and the media coverage has
moved on, instead of confronting the major challenges that will shape our fu-
ture in a sustained and focused way.
This can’t be one of those times. The challenges are too great. The stakes are
too high. I know how difficult it is for members of Congress in both parties to
grapple with some of the big decisions we face right now. It’s more than most
congresses and most presidents have to deal with in a lifetime.
But we have been called to govern in extraordinary times. And that requires
an extraordinary sense of responsibility—to ourselves, to the men and women
who sent us here, and to the many generations whose lives will be affected for
good or for ill because of what we do here.4
Consider in this brief address the numerous right- and left-brain leadership
behaviors exhibited by the president. Surely he demonstrated the ability to be
strategic, to take the long-range view. He began his address from that perspective,
leading from the right. His plans reflected innovation. They were fresh and pro-
gressive. The manner in which he constructed his address was transformational
as he sought to drive change in values, thoughts, and actions. His overall tone was
engaging, reaching out directly to his audience. His right-brain behaviors are
well in motion.
We also saw decided left-brain shifts. Woven into his strategies were the me-
thodical specifics of his plans—a three-pronged immediate response tied to five
long-term strategies. The left-brain behavior expressive was reflected in the clar-
ity and detail with which he spoke. He was grounded, acting with consistency,
stability, and transparency, noting possible pitfalls or problems to come. Lastly,
he was assertive, confronting the flawed mindsets that his administration is com-
mitted to eliminating. This one excerpt is consistent with the demeanor and tenor
Obama showed throughout the early stages of his presidency. He demonstrated
depth and breadth of ability across the brain-behavior spectrum.
A Leader’s Line of SITE

Looking more closely at the ten guiding leadership behaviors we begin with the
right-brain behaviors. Right-brain guiding leadership behaviors are facilitators of
a leader’s desired state. The right-brain behaviors are for a leader, looking out to
possibilities. From those possibilities opportunities for change are identified and
buy-in is sought. The acronym for the right-brain behaviors is SITE (Strategic,
Innovative, Transformational, and Engaging). Think, then, of right-brain be-

haviors as a leader’s Line of SITE. Represented by the icon of a binocular, Line
of SITE behaviors enable the leader the view of looking out over the horizon to
see the potentials as well as eminent threats. They allow a leader to imagine a vi-
sion for the future.5
Obama has a keen ability to project ahead, using both past successes and fail-
ures to inform his thinking. He can extend beyond what has occurred to what we
should aspire toward. Obama’s scholarly penchants takes him to the study of rele-
vant knowledge, to past presidents’ reigns, positions, accomplishments, and missed
prospects, for example. He verses himself in a broad historic context and grounds
himself in present truths. He solicits differing and expert opinions, but still in
all, he himself possesses the intuition to take the final strategic leap. As such he
is well able to then formulate transformation perspectives—how to effect needed
change. Finally, he possesses the interpersonal ability to engage.
Chapter 4 will further and precisely detail Obama’s Line of SITE abilities. For
now, Line of SITE behaviors are defined again below, this time with the corre-
sponding traits that detail each leadership behavior’s nuances. Ten traits are pro-
vided for each of the leadership behaviors to show a complete range of qualities
possible for a given behavior. Through mastery of behavioral nuances the leader
can attain depth competence. As you examine overall behaviors and more specific
component traits you can begin to get an appreciation for the full scope of each
behavior’s potential impact. Ideally, you will also come to see the complexities of
leveraging a particular leadership behavior.
Strategic:
To be proactive and visionary; to have the long-range view. Strategic behavioral
traits are:
• Intuitive—knowing things instinctively
• Thoughtful—giving careful consideration
• Insightful—seeing clearly into the nature of complex subject matter
• Anticipatory—aware of the eminent
• Shrewd—clever and preemptive
• Big-picture oriented—taking extended aspects of a situation into account
• Global—seeking input that generates a worldwide perspective and application
• Holistic—taking all aspects of a situation into account
• Theoretical—able to speculate
• Conceptual—able to form parts into a whole
Innovative:
To have an open mind and to be able to think creatively without restraint. In-
novative behavioral traits are:
• Pioneering—forging new ground
• Risk-taking—taking a chance
• Playful—fun-loving
• Creative –able to generate original ideas or concepts
• Novelty-seeking—interested in the new or unknown
• Imaginative—able to visualize and think about the unlikely
• Experimental—interested in trial and error
• Curious—eager to know
• Spontaneous—living in the moment
• Unconventional—willing to consider the unusual
Transformational:
To drive change in cultures, teams, and individuals relative to values, thoughts,
and actions. Transformational behavioral traits are:
• Open to learning—interested in knowledge
• Assimilative—bringing people and constructs together
• Attuned—keyed into current realities
• Ambiguity-allowing—able to deal with the uncertainties of change
• Facilitative—operating as a catalyst
• Opportunity-conscious—looking for appropriate prospects
• Incremental—working progressively, in small steps
• Adaptive—able to change
• Mentoring—able to teach and coach
• Alignment-driven—helping to unify others around directions and goals
Engaging:
To understand and work well with others, to validate, to involve, and to recog-
nize others and to help them take on responsibility. Engaging behavioral traits are:
• Inquisitive—probing further, especially into others’ thoughts
• Listening—paying attention for accurate understanding
• Respectful—having consideration for others
• Responsive—addressing the concerns of others
• Inclusive—involving everyone
• Collaborative—working along with others
• Empathic—understanding others’ perspectives
• Empowering—giving responsibility to others
• Charismatic—enthusing others through personal magnetism
• Motivational—inspiring others in positive action6
The MEGA Mind

Represented by the icon of a magnifying glass, the left-brain skill sets assume the
view of looking over your world. When you are looking over you are organizing,
monitoring, and driving the work in progress. You are communicating about the
work and providing appropriate updates and specifics. While looking over your
charge you are concerned with present realities, the near term. Left-brain leadership
targets the sheer volume of a leader’s day-to-day tactical demands. Left-brain lead-
ership is about your in-the-moment planning. It is about what you say and how
you say it. Left-brain skill sets help you to stabilize situations and reach ascribed
goals.
The acronym for these behaviors is MEGA (Methodical, Expressive, Grounded,
and Assertive). Left-brain behaviors are your MEGA Mind. Along with his right-
brain strong suits Obama has specific left-brain leadership abilities as well. He is
able to move from vision to plan. He is analytical and able to work at the detail
level. His communication abilities are a trademark. His ability to act from stabil-
ity and integrity are acknowledged pluses, especially at this moment in time when
public trust had been severely eroded. Obama’s resolve was tested a number of
times early in his presidency, and he seemed to pass these first-round confron-
tations.
Chapter 5 will further and precisely detail Obama’s left-brain MEGA Mind.
The MEGA Mind behaviors and corresponding traits are shown in their entirety
as follows:
Methodical:
To plan well, to be systematic and effectual in your approach to initiatives. Me-
thodical behavioral traits are:
• Task oriented—attentive to assignments

• Detail oriented—attentive to discrete parts of assignments
• Organized—orderly and systematic
• Effective—producing workable solutions and results
• Focused—able to establish and attend to priorities
• Procedural—using systems and processes
• Sequential—cognizant of the likely order of things
• Logical—rational and reasonable, recognizing what makes the best sense
• Analytical—breaking an entity into its parts
• Factual—basing assertions on tangible data and evidence
Expressive:
To clearly communicate your thoughts both formally and informally while
providing the necessary context. Expressive behavioral traits are:
• Prepared—giving the necessary forethought to formal and informal messages

• Articulate—able to write and speak with clarity
• Coherent—able to write and speak logically
• Concise—able to write and speak succinctly
• Erudite—able to express yourself from the basis of scholarly knowledge
• Presentable—having a professional presence and demeanor
• Passionate—having intensity and/or enthusiasm with respect to your subject
matter
• Personable—having an appropriately favorable demeanor
• Persuasive—able to make a compelling point

• Interesting—provoking thought and/or holding others’ attention
Grounded:
To act with integrity, consistency, and stability; to be the steward and the gauge.
Grounded behavioral traits are:
• Composed –able to control your emotions

• Approachable—having a manner that allows others to reach out to you
• Genuine—sincere
• Pragmatic—practical and realistic
• Cautious—sensible and careful
• Questioning—seeking assurances and/or getting to the bottom of issues
• Stable—steady and consistent in your views and approaches
• Loyal—committed to your people and responsibilities
• Established —having proven competence
• Trustworthy—able to be counted on
Assertive:
To be upfront, direct, and determined to get the desired results. Assertive be-
havioral traits are:
• Purposeful—determined and definite in your goals

• Confident—assured about your capability to reach desired goals
• Tenacious—unrelenting
• Driven—staying determined to reach goals and get results
• Delegating—able to assign and resource the work appropriately
• Decisive—able to make sound decisions
• Courageous—willing to face challenges and difficulties
• Candid—upfront and direct
• Confrontational—able to work through a conflict
• Closure-seeking—seeing things through and pushing for conclusions7
The Plus Factors

The final two guiding leadership behaviors are called the Plus Factors. The Plus
Factors, resilient and savvy, have an inward focus. They assume the view of look-
ing in at one’s own fortitude and influence as represented by the icon of a mirror.
When properly leveraged, the Plus Factors are right-and left-brain enhancing. As
you become more resilient you are more able to act from a broader range of leader-
ship styles, while acting with greater savvy enables you to understand which style
shifts are required in any given situation.
Obama’s generally calm and encouraging demeanor, his acceptance of differ-
ences, and attention to a greater good poise him well for certain resilient strong
suits. His swift ascent to the very top of the political ladder along with his historic
success speaks to his savvy. Obama’s Plus Factor abilities will be examined fully
in Chapter 6 of this book. The Plus Factors along with their corresponding traits
are described as follows:
Resilient:
To possess the optimal physical and mental functioning, stamina, and mind-
set—your internal fortitude. Resilient behavioral traits are:
• Positive—having constructive focus on opportunities and possibilities
• Emotionally sound—able to cope with stress and difficulties as demonstrated by
your behavior
• Clear thinking—able to sort through confusions, block out distractions, and
think freely
• Tolerant—accepting of differences
• Flexible—able to adjust or accommodate when necessary
• Spiritual—seeing beyond yourself to how you contribute in a broader sense,
accountable to a greater good
• Physically fit—practicing sound lifestyle habits; aware of and managing your
health
• Fulfilled—feeling a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction about your life
• Relaxed—able to decompress from stress
• Environmental—making nature a part of your personal and professional devel-
opment
Savvy:
To sense and respond appropriately to cultural climates; to get things done in
a way that advances both you and those organizations you are affiliated with—
your external influence. Savvy behavioral traits are:
• Astute—perceptive concerning people and circumstances
• Diplomatic—using tact in your sensitive interactions
• Timely—aware of the right moment to make a point or deal with an issue
• Subtle—able to work indirectly to influence people and situations
• Culturally oriented—grounded in the culture of your group or organization and
acting from that knowledge in how you influence those within that culture
• Networking—developing personal and professional relationships that are mutu-
ally beneficial
• Coalition-building—bringing together those who share your causes, views, or
involvements
• Promotive—effectively lobbying for your and others’ issues and recognition
• Assimilating—able to integrate into groups, teams, or cultures
• Visible—being regularly seen8
Model in Context
The full model is displayed in Figure 3.2. There you see four key processes rep-
resenting the what of leading as follows:
• Visioning—where you are headed

• Operationalizing—your plan
• Implementing—getting the desired results
• Declaring—reflecting on outcomes
These key processes reflect the context of the leader’s work. Obama assumed office
during a global economic crisis that required aggressive and immediate attention
along with multilevel collaboration at home and abroad. His context was one of
extreme urgency and unprecedented potential fallout. Such a circumstance required
rapid incremental cycling through the key processes, doing enough to keep the sit-
uation from worsening while acting with enough impact to begin to reverse loom-
ing threats.
From the model you can now see, along with the four key processes, the ten
guiding leadership behaviors sorted by positioning: looking out, looking over, and
looking in. While the key processes represent the what of leadership, the guiding
behaviors point us to the how. Dotted lines from right- to left-brain abilities illus-
trate some of the limitless possibilities for shifting style from right- to left-brain
actions or vice versa to achieve maximum leadership impact.
Figure 3.2
Right Brain/Left Brain Leadership Model (Complete)
Dynamic Interplays
Referred to as a dynamic interplay, when a leader is based in his preferred style
and able to access alternative means of impact, an enhancement occurs. He can
influence a wider audience, meet more unconventional challenges, and as a result
achieve groundbreaking results. A dynamic interplay is created when you shift
your style from right brain to left or vice versa. Dynamic interplays are motiva-
tional, psychologically interesting to those around you. Others feel energized by a
leader with diverse, yin and yang behavioral reach. Individual contributors find en-
couragement and added opportunities from varied orientations of a leader rather
than leaders who are predictably monotonous in approach. A dynamic interplay
is a well-executed balancing act that generates healthy tension for others to re-
spond to. A typically assertive leader, for example, who accesses certain engaging
traits as well can ultimately expect more from those she is holding accountable
since she is now involving and recognizing them as well.
When you shift style to access one of the model’s behaviors that is outside your
usual mode of operating or seek to access traits not before part of your leadership
repertoire, you are accessing what is defined in the model as an alter-brain behav-
ior. An alter-brain behavior is a style shift resulting in a new action that, when ac-
cessed, can give either greater depth to a preferred style or complementary breadth
to your overall approach.9 Think of alter-brain behaviors as making you more in-
teresting to work with and as positively provocative of those around you.
One could see, for example, Obama’s preferences in the behaviors strategic, ex-
pressive, transformational, and engaging. He is a visionary, an adept communi-
cator, able to drive change and to draw others in. The breadth of his leadership is
seen as he extends from his primary inclinations to act from a second tier of alter-
brain behaviors. Obama shifts his style often and with ease to be methodical (to
detail a plan), grounded (to act with stability), and assertive (to be upfront, di-
rect, and determined). Obama’s easy access between first- and second-tier behaviors
can be seen in his initial handling of the H1N1 flu virus outbreak.
On April 29, 2009, at his 100th-day press conference Obama was asked, “With
the flu outbreak spreading and worsening, can you talk about whether you think
it’s time to close the border with Mexico, and whether—under what conditions
you might consider quarantining, when that might be appropriate.” Notice the
range of behaviors demonstrated in his response.
Well, first of all, as I said, this is a cause for deep concern, but not panic. And I
think that we have to make sure that we recognize that how we respond—intel-
ligently, systematically, based on science, and what public health officials have to
say—will determine in large part what happens.
I’ve consulted with our public health officials extensively, on a day-to-day
basis, in some cases an hour—hour-to-hour basis.
At this point they have not recommended a border closing. From their per-
spective, it would be akin to closing the barn door after the horses are out, be-
cause we already have cases here in the United States.
We have ramped up screening efforts, as well as made sure that additional

supplies are there on the border, so that we can prepare in the eventuality that
we have to do more than we’re doing currently.
But the most important thing right now that public health officials have
indicated is that we treat this the same way that we would treat other flu out-
breaks, just understanding that because this is a new strain, we don’t yet know
how it will respond to that. So we have to take additional precautions, essen-
tially take out some additional insurance.
Now that ’s why I asked for an additional $1.5 billion so that we can make
sure that everything is in place, should a worst-case scenario play out.
I do want to compliment Democrats and Republicans who worked dili-
gently back in 2005 when the bird flu came up.
I was part of a group of legislators who worked, with the Bush administra-
tion, to make sure that we had beefed up our infrastructure and our stockpiles
of antiviral drugs, like Tamiflu. And I think the Bush administration did a good
job of creating the infrastructure so that we can respond.
For example, we’ve got 50 million courses of antiviral drugs, in the event
that they ’re needed. So the government is going to be doing everything that we
can. We’re coordinating closely with state and local officials.
Secretary Napolitano at Department of Homeland Security, newly installed
Secretary Sebelius of Health and Human Services, our acting CDC director,
they are all on the phone, on a daily basis, with all public-health officials across
the states, to coordinate and make sure that there’s timely reporting, that as new
cases come up, that we are able track them effectively, that we’re allocating re-
sources, so that they ’re in place.
The key now, I think, is to make sure that we are maintaining great vigi-
lance, that everybody responds appropriately when cases do come up, and in-
dividual families start taking very sensible precautions that—that can make a
huge difference. So wash your hands when you shake hands; cover your mouth
when you cough. I know it sounds trivial, but it makes a huge difference.
If you are sick, stay home. If your child is sick, keep them out of school. If
you are feeling certain flu symptoms, don’t get on an airplane, don’t get on a—
any system of public transportation where you’re confined and you could po-
tentially spread the virus.
So those are the steps that I think we need to take right now. But understand
that because this is a new strain, we have to be cautious. If this was a strain
that we were familiar with, then we might have to—then I think we wouldn’t
see the kind of alert levels that we’re seeing, for example, with the World Health
Organization.10
In his opening first few statements, Obama was grounded—noting a seri-

ous but not catastrophic circumstance and providing assurances of the vigilance
with which the issue was being addressed. He used clear expressive analogies and
straightforward statements. He spoke to methodical details, plans, and precau-
tions. He showed assertive determination. Obama’s decisions and proactive mea-
sures reflect strategic prudence. His acknowledgments of those whose previous
efforts advanced our present-day cause along with his requests to citizens to take
specific precautions reflect an engaging posture. Responding to the tumultuous

climate at the outset of his presidency, whether regarding the potential pandemic
or any one of a number of equally paramount issues, Obama continuously drew
upon a wide range of guiding leadership behaviors and did so with seamless in-
tegration.
Interesting to note was that there were relatively moderate criticisms of the
president during his first 100 days, in spite of the array of issues. Certainly there
were policy disagreements, but in terms of his leadership persona, many seemed at
ease with Obama. Controversies concerning the president were typically centered
on proposed government spending and the level of government involvement in
business. The public’s overall yardstick on the president’s success, however, seemed
more focused on the multiple facets to his leadership ability than on agreement
or disagreement with specific decisions.
Conversely, the Republican Party’s leadership was at that same time falling
under pointed criticism, criticism that seemed to center on Republicans’ contin-
uing to act from an ingrained position. The party was viewed by many as mired
in their defeat and polarized in position. Times required greater breadth in per-
spective, greater fluidity in thought and approach, along with the ability to lead
in the face of complex ambiguities. The Republicans’ entrenched stance was not
boding well for them. They were being called upon to redefine their values and
approaches. The culture of their party—what they stood for, how they would con-
tinue to make an impact—was called into question.
Born from Culture

Upon further examination of the Right Brain/Left Brain Model you see a pyr-
amid at the center. This pyramid reflects the various audiences a leader must at-
tend to and influence. A leader’s primal audience is the cultural perspective from
which he leads. While the Republicans were being asked to reinvent the party’s
culture, Obama was concerned about cultural matters in a different manner. In
Obama’s view the United States had strayed from its founding cultural principles.
It needed to return to those principles. As he set his policies, you could see inten-
tions that were aimed directly at our cultural disconnects. Culture is tied to val-
ues, and we as a nation were straying from ours. Consider Obama’s response to a
second question asked at his 100th-day press conference regarding the practice of
torture, albeit enhanced interrogation techniques such as waterboarding.
What I’ve said—and I will repeat—is that waterboarding violates our ideals and
our values. I do believe that it is torture. I don’t think that’s just my opinion;
that ’s the opinion of many who’ve examined the topic. And that’s why I put an
end to these practices.
I am absolutely convinced that it was the right thing to do—not because
there might not have been information that was yielded by these various de-
tainees who were subjected to this treatment, but because we could have gotten
this information in other ways—in ways that were consistent with our values,
in ways that were consistent with who we are.
I was struck by an article that I was reading the other day talking about the
fact that the British, during World War II, when London was being bombed to
smithereens, had 200 or so detainees. And Churchill said, “We don’t torture,”
when the—the entire British—all of the British people were being subjected to
unimaginable risk and threat. And—and—and the reason was that Churchill
understood, you start taking shortcuts, and over time, that corrodes what ’s-
what’s best in a people.
It corrodes the character of a country.
And—and so I strongly believe that the steps that we’ve taken to prevent
these kind of enhanced interrogation techniques will make us stronger over the
long term, and make us safer over the long term, because it will put us in a—in
a position where we can still get information. In some cases, it may be harder.
But part of what makes us, I think, still a beacon to the world is that we are will-
ing to hold true to our ideals, even when it’s hard, not just when it’s easy.
At the same time, it takes away a critical recruitment tool that al Qaeda and
other terrorist organizations have used to try to demonize the United States and
justify the killing of civilians. And it makes us—it puts us in a much stronger
position to work with our allies in the kind of international coordinated intel-
ligence activity that can shut down these networks.
So this is a decision that I am very comfortable with, and I think the Ameri-
can people over time will recognize that it is better for us to stick to who we
are, even when we’re taking on an unscrupulous enemy.11
The president’s fundamental right-brain strategic intent and complementary

left-brain assertive confrontation of the matter of torture is tied directly to the
cultural realignment he is seeking. Leaders who tend to their audiences know full
well that culture is primal to the work at hand. Organizational cultures are most ef-
fective when they emanate from a single and unified point. The culture of a nation
is no different. While the United States is made up of numerous cultural factions,
there must be alignment with originating cultural premises. Self-serving perspec-
tives in direct opposition to any lead culture undermine the fabric of its society.
It’s not surprising that public opinion of our Congress has steadily declined over
the past several years. Party differences are one thing, but failing to align through
an overarching cultural imperative is another. The public saw the lack of cultural
grounding and reacted. Obama’s intent to place culture front and center is an at-
tempt to reright the ship.
Teams and Individuals

At the next level of the pyramid is the word teams. The president’s teams in-
clude all branches of government, from his own staff to Congress and federal
and state government agencies, offices, and bodies. Obama must also work with
teams of international leaders as he did at the 2009 G-20 Economic Summit.

Obama’s nature is fundamentally collaborative. He is able to work with diverse
groups, to learn from and reconcile discrepant views. These qualities bode well for
someone who has complex teams to lead. Obama’s response to a third question
asked at his 100th-day press conference speaks poignantly to his perspective on
teams. He was asked what had troubled him most in his first 100 days in office.
Here is his reply.
I’d say less troubled but, you know, sobered by the fact that change in Washing-
ton comes slow. That there is still a certain quotient of political posturing and
bickering that takes place even when we’re in the middle of really big crises.
I would like to think that everybody would say, you know what, let’s take a
timeout on some of the political games, focus our attention for at least this
year, and then we can start running for something next year. And that hasn’t
happened as much as I would have liked.12
Leaders like Obama who are committed stewards are inclined to work through
their teams. From his response we see that there is more work to be done engag-
ing Team D.C.
The top level of the pyramid represents the individuals a leader impacts. For
Obama, individuals range from the array of people he interfaces with one-on-one
along with the collective body of U.S. citizens. Obama’s position with respect to
individuals, whether an individual is one of his own staff, a foreign leader, or one
of us sitting at home watching him on television, is to be clear about what we can
expect from him and equally clear about what he expects from us. This is a re-
freshingly upfront perspective, one that fosters personal responsibility and ac-
countability both of the leader and of the individuals a leader serves. Obama’s tie
to his citizens comes across in a follow-up to the question about what troubled
him. The same reporter asked him what humbled him. Here is his response.
Humbled by the—humbled by the fact that the presidency is extraordinarily

powerful, but we are just part of a much broader tapestry of American life
and there are a lot of different power centers. And so I can’t just press a but-
ton and suddenly have the bankers do exactly what I want—(laughter)—or—
(chuckles)—or, you know, turn on a switch and suddenly, you know, Congress
falls in line. And so, you know, what you do is to make your best arguments,
listen hard to what other people have to say and coax folks in the right direction.
This metaphor has been used before, but this—the ship of state is an ocean
liner; it’s not a speedboat. And so the way we are constantly thinking about this
issue of how to bring about the changes that the American people need is to—
is to say, if we can move this big battleship a few degrees in a different direc-
tion, we may not see all the consequences of that change a week from now or
three months from now, but ten years from now, or twenty years from now, our
kids will be able to look back and say that was when we started getting serious
about clean energy, that’s when health care started to become more efficient
and affordable, that’s when we became serious about raising our standards in
education.
And—and so—I—I have a much longer time horizon than I think you do
when you’re a candidate or if you’re listening, I think, to the media reportage on
a day-to-day basis.
And I’m—I ’m humbled, last, by the American people who have shown ex-
traordinary patience and, I think, a recognition that we’re not going to solve all
these problems overnight.13
Whether he is asking for our patience with the problems the nation is facing
or asking us to cover our mouths when we cough to prevent the spread of the flu,
Obama is clearly reaching out and connected to the individuals he leads in a more
direct manner than others before him.
Obama well tends to the model’s cascading audiences. He places cultural mat-
ters front and center, works to build productive teams, and ultimately attempts to
engage individuals. Through this chapter’s cursory explanation of the model’s com-
ponents and premises we see that Obama is overall on target in his leadership ap-
proach.
Turning specifically to Obama’s right-brain inclinations, Chapter four4 will
examine in greater depth Obama’s Line of SITE leadership—which traits he em-
ploys to be strategic, innovative, transformational, and engaging.
Chapter 4
Obama: Leading
from the Right?
Strategic Intent
Americans . . . still believe in an America where anything’s possible—they just don’t
think their leaders do.
—Barack Obama1
A leader with a well developed Line of SITE is inclined to think in terms of possi-
bilities. To be driven by what could be, what we should aspire toward, is the right
brain at work. When a leader’s thought process is born of possibilities, a broad net
of potential is cast. Such a leader can take us to an expanded future state, one much
better than we had before. Think of the impetus such great strategic moments and
minds have afforded us. There was Christopher Columbus’s discovery of the new
world. Sir Isaac Newton gave us fundamental bases in mathematics, motion, and
light. Gandhi reframed human rights reform with the power of peaceful protest.
More recently, innovators like Michael Dell, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs drove the
creation of technologies that have forever altered the way we think and live. What
other visionaries stand out in your mind?
Obama’s right-brain Line of SITE is well developed, beginning with his honed
strategic perspective. Obama has keen vision and foresight. He can see the way for-
ward. He can picture the possibilities. Such a leader works to chart his course in the
most forward-thinking of directions.
Adept strategic thinkers also rely on a sixth sense to know the realities of the
present. They are not likely to misread the tea leaves or to underestimate obstacles
and threats. They are perceptive and instinctive, aware of their surroundings. From
that sagacity comes comprehensive understanding and ultimately sound judgments
about both the current and desired state.
In the quote at the outset of this chapter, we see an important insight, a sign of the
times as referenced by Obama. He notes that the people themselves had not given
up. The people, according to Obama, were not standing in the way of the future;
those they empowered to represent them were. From that insight Obama recognized
that while working toward next steps he must, in parallel path, work to settle the
present. If he was to move the country from where it was toward change, toward
the greater possibilities, he needed to reinstill faith in government. Obama’s stra-
tegic mindset was initially shaped by this foundational imperative, for our nation’s
leaders to redeem themselves in the eyes of the people.
It is interesting to be writing about this president’s leadership ability as he sets
out on his leadership journey, and at such a complicated and troubled time in our
nation’s history. Each day it seems different circumstances are unfolding and Obama
is being tested. One such sign of the time is health care, a matter that has brought
heated debates to the forefront. People are becoming unnerved. In fact, there are
concerns that the Obama administration is taking on too much. The super-harged
political machines are preying on those insecurities, playing them for all they are
worth.
What we are uncovering, though, about Obama’s strategic compass is that it
will guide him aptly. He will keep his eye on the present as he considers the fu-
ture and will right the ship as he goes. He will not likely sway in reactive fashion,
even in the face of an unnerved public. He will instead continue to push on after
his vision. He will thoughtfully examine the circumstances around him, deliber-
ate over impacts, and decide accordingly. As some criticize him for taking on too
much and others for not moving fast enough, he will stay the course. To accom-
plish what he seems to be setting out after, to simultaneously realign our culture,
rebuild faith in government, and tend to the plethora of pressing policy matters,
he will need time to work these interrelated urgencies in consort. He is not work-
ing in laundry list fashion, but through a matrix that takes time, strategy and pa-
tience. Obama should not be expected to ram things past the opposition. He would
be more inclined to work progressively, carefully, and systematically. This is the kind
of leader you want in these most challenging times.
As we move through this section on strategic leadership you will come to see
how the ten traits of this critical initiating leadership behavior are a natural part
of Obama’s persona. Obama is well rooted in that which is strategic. He leverages
his strategic strong suits to accurately know the present and to progressively aspire
toward an advanced state.
To be strategic a leader must think in a proactive rather than reactive manner,
be visionary, and have a long-range view. Specifically, she must draw from the fol-
lowing strategic leadership traits:
• Intuitive—knowing things instinctively

• Thoughtful—giving careful consideration
• Insightful—seeing clearly into the nature of complex subject matter
• Anticipatory—aware of the eminent
• Shrewd—clever and preemptive
• Big-picture-oriented—taking extended aspects of a situation into account
Obama 61
• Global—seeking input that generates a worldwide perspective and application

• Holistic—taking all aspects of a situation into account
• Theoretical—able to speculate
• Conceptual—able to form parts into a whole
Going back to the very start of Obama’s presidency, consider the following state-
ment the new president made in his February 24, 2009. address to Congress:
We have lived through an era where too often short-term gains were prized over
long-term prosperity; where we failed to look beyond the next payment, the next
quarter, or the next election. A surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the
wealthy instead of an opportunity to invest in our future. Regulations were gut-
ted for the sake of a quick profit at the expense of a healthy market. People bought
homes they knew they couldn’t afford from banks and lenders who pushed those
bad loans anyway. And all the while, critical debates and difficult decisions were
put off for some other time on some other day.
Well that day of reckoning has arrived, and the time to take charge of our fu-
ture is here.
Now is the time to act boldly and wisely—to not only revive this economy, but
to build a new foundation for lasting prosperity.
We can’t afford to ignore our long-term challenges. I reject the view that says
our problems will simply take care of themselves; that says government has no
role in laying the foundation for our common prosperity.
For history tells a different story. History reminds us that at every moment
of economic upheaval and transformation, this nation has responded with bold
action and big ideas. In the midst of civil war, we laid railroad tracks from one
coast to another that spurred commerce and industry. From the turmoil of the
Industrial Revolution came a system of public high schools that prepared our
citizens for a new age. In the wake of war and depression, the GI Bill sent a gen-
eration to college and created the largest middle class in history. And a twilight
struggle for freedom led to a nation of highways, an American on the moon, and
an explosion of technology that still shapes our world.
In each case, government didn’t supplant private enterprise; it catalyzed pri-
vate enterprise. It created the conditions for thousands of entrepreneurs and new
businesses to adapt and to thrive.
We are a nation that has seen promise amid peril, and claimed opportunity
from ordeal. Now we must be that nation again. That is why, even as it cuts back
on programs we don’t need, the budget I submit will invest in the three areas
that are absolutely critical to our economic future: energy, health care, and ed-
ucation.2
In this excerpt we see several strategic traits in Obama. He is thoughtful, giv-

ing careful consideration to both how the country came to its current crisis and how
our past approaches took us beyond our challenges to next levels of success. He is
insightful, able to see clearly into the nature of complex subject matter. He is ho-
listic and conceptual, landing on a strategy that is multipronged, to address the
environment, health care, and education in tandem. Rather than moving through
the current economic crisis with a quick-fix or singular solution, Obama looks with
vigilance at the whole of the nation, at interrelated parts that must come together
uniformly to secure future solvency.
In a second example Obama continues to explain his overarching strategy for
economic recovery with big-picture orientation. Obama addresses members of the
Business Roundtable on March 12, 2009.
The truth is that these problems in the financial market, as acute and urgent as
they are, are only part of what threatens our economy. And we must not use the
need to confront them as an excuse to keep ignoring the long-term threats to our
prosperity: the cost of our health care and our oil addiction; our education defi-
cit and our fiscal deficit.
Now, I’m not choosing to address these additional challenges just because I
feel like it, or because I’m a glutton for punishment. I’m doing so because they’re
fundamental to our economic growth, and ensuring that we don’t have more
crises like this in the future.
You see, we cannot go back to endless cycles of bubble and bust. We can’t
continue to base our economy on reckless speculation and spending beyond our
means; on bad credit and inflated home prices and over-leveraged banks. This
crisis teaches us that such activity is not the creation of lasting wealth—it’s the
illusion of prosperity, and it hurts us all in the end.
Instead, we must build this recovery on a foundation that lasts—on a 21st-
century infrastructure and a green economy with lower health care costs that
create millions of new jobs and new industries; on schools that prepare our chil-
dren to compete and thrive; on businesses that are free to invest in the next big
idea or breakthrough discovery.
We cannot wait to build this foundation. Putting off these investments for
another four years or eight years or twelve years or twenty years would be to con-
tinue the same irresponsibility that led us to this point. It would be exactly what
Washington has done for decades. And it will make our recovery more fragile
and our future less secure.
And that’s a future I don’t accept—not for my children, and not for yours.
I did not come here to pass our problems on to the next president or the next
generation—I’m here to solve them. I’m here to start building an economy and
a prosperity that lasts.3
In his speech to this key business audience, Obama communicates a direction

that takes multiple aspects of the current economic situation into account—a three-
legged stool, if you will. One leg represents intent to decrease our dependence on
foreign oil while also tending more directly to our environmental problems. The
second leg seeks to reform an inefficient and financially burdensome health-care
system while ensuring inclusion of all citizens. The final leg—education—aims to
build and sustain our intellectual might while securing the growth, independence,
and viable contributions of our young people.
Obama 63
Moving from the economy, in the next example we see additional nuances of
Obama’s strategic thinking, this time with respect to a national security matter. This
next example comes from a March 22, 2009, interview on the television program
60 Minutes, when Obama was asked about his decision to shut down the Guantan-
amo prison and change the way prisoners are handled there.
Interviewer: A few weeks ago Vice President Cheney said essentially that your
willingness to shut down Guantanamo and to change the way prisoners are treated
and interrogated was making America weaker and more vulnerable to attack.
President: I fundamentally disagree with Dick Cheney, not surprising you know,
I think that the Vice President has been at the head of a movement whose no-
tion is somehow that we can’t somehow reconcile our core values—our consti-
tution—our belief that we don’t torture with our national security interests. The
facts don’t marry him out. It hasn’t made us safer. What it has been is a great ad-
vertisement for anti-American sentiment which means there is constant effective
recruitment of Arab fighters and Muslim fighters against us and our interests
around the world.
Interviewer: Some of it being organized by at least a few people who have been re-
leased from Guantanamo.
President: Well there is no doubt that we have not done a particularly effective job
in sorting through who are truly dangerous individuals and who are swept up
and we never did a good job of sorting through that. Now do these folks deserve
Miranda rights—do they deserve to be treated like a shoplifter down the block?
Of course not. But are we going to have to make a series of careful, deliberate,
responsible decisions about how we approach the closing of Guantanamo? Abso-
lutely. That’s why I said it’s going to take us a year.4
Here you see more of Obama’s thoughtful consideration and insightful scru-
tiny. He looks at the situation carefully, seeing beyond its discrete components to
the nature and essence of the matter. With intuitive sense Obama notes probable
fallout from staying the present course. From his intuitive awareness Obama is able
to be anticipatory, seeing imminent favorable consequences of new actions—
closing one aspect of anti-American sentiment. He is theoretical and global—
speculating how a change to our current practices can positively impact our posi-
tion at home and abroad.
He is decidedly shrewd, clever and preemptive in attempting to reverse the tide
of negative perceptions as it relates to United States’s image and safety.
In a final example we see Obama once again leading from the strategic right. He
was questioned during a March 24, 2009, televised press conference about the im-
pact of the Obama tax plan on charitable contributions from the wealthy—would
the plan curtail giving?
Obama replied, “I’ll tell you what has a significant impact on charitable giv-
ing, is a financial crisis in an economy that’s contracting. And so the most impor-
tant thing that I can do for charitable giving is to fix the economy; to get banks
lending again, to get businesses opening their doors again, and to get people back
to work again. Then I think charities will do just fine.”5
Here we see another approach that extends beyond the immediate. We see root
cause thinking, a trending away from surface remediation. Instead of looking at one
aspect of his tax plan he looks more broadly to the economy overall as the driver
of discrete impacts. In each case in point Obama is able to read into a situation, not
merely attend to its facade. His strategic purpose can then guide the path chosen.
An Innovative Approach
A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was con-
nected by our own science and imagination . . . Yes we can.
—Barack Obama6
To think from one’s imagination is the hallmark of a right-brain innovative ap-

proach. Obama pushes beyond his present existence to imagine what could be. Pro-
pelled by vision and armed with a creative spirit all his own, he is a true innovator.
Most of us are typically socialized out of our creative sense. We are often taught
discipline at the expense of ingenuity. Traditional education favors structure over
inventiveness. While we come into the world wide-eyed, bursting with childlike
wonder, we are encouraged to conform. Pablo Picasso once said, “Every child is an
artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”7 As adults, tan-
gible accomplishment is rewarded. We are expected to fit in, be serious, and get our
work done. As leaders when we come up against a challenge or an obstacle we are
often expected to push past it, to overcome it rather than to reinvent our approach.
How many times throughout your life can you recall being encouraged to forge
new ground, to be playful or creative, to experiment, to be curious, spontaneous,
or unconventional? These are not the typical adult emphases.
Obama, on the other hand, through his unusual life experiences and from the
free-spirited character of his mother, was socialized to innovate. He grew up expe-
riencing side by side the need to be both convergent and divergent in his thinking.
He learned the importance of structure and discipline and also when it was time to
stop and take in all that was around him. He learned to open his mind up to a world
waiting to be understood. He learned how to suppose, to dream, and to invent.
In short, Obama grew up encouraged to produce and to play—to accomplish
and to marvel. More than most of us, his innovative sense was kept in the fore-
front and as a result, his artistic side remained. When Obama encounters a prob-
lem, a dead end, or an obstacle, his first response is to ponder it—to consider it in
the broadest sense. He is phenomenological—seeking to comprehend the nature
of an experience. He is less inclined to react and more likely to seek alternative or
novel solutions. When he finds himself lacking the wherewithal to push the cre-
ative envelope and/or when urgency is a factor he will bring in others who can get
through the issue more fully and with efficiency. Obama will call upon experts, co-
alescing high-powered think tanks to drive needed innovation. The key point here
is that he is both disposed to innovative thought and sees it as a valued step in one’s
thinking process.
Obama 65
The right-brain innovative behavior means to have an open mind and to be

able to think creatively without restraint. Creativity author Stephen Nachmano-
vitch said, “The most potent muse is that of our own inner child.”8Obama’s inner
child has been continuously nurtured throughout his life and taught to coexist with
and to enhance his adult executive brain.
The traits of innovative leadership are:
• Pioneering—forging new ground

• Risk taking—taking a chance
• Playful—fun-loving
• Creative—able to generate original ideas or concepts
• Novelty seeking—interested in the new or unknown
• Imaginative—able to visualize and think about the unlikely
• Experimental—interested in trial and error
• Curious—eager to know
• Spontaneous—living in the moment
• Unconventional—willing to consider the unusual
To begin to know Obama’s innovative nature we can look to certain aspects of

his everyday actions. What we find is evidence of several innovative traits in how
he interacts with others. We see it in what comes across at times as a genuinely play-
ful interpersonal style; he will joke with the media or poke fun at himself in inter-
views. This boylike quality is reflective of his innovative brain, his inner child, if
you will. Some could question whether such an attribute is presidential. In Obama’s
case it is an endearing aspect of his relational depth. When coupled with his other,
more leaderly attributes, Obama’s playful side adds a good-humored quality that
is refreshing in someone of his stature. More importantly, his lightheartedness keeps
his brain flexible, more fully and broadly engaged.
We also see that he is curious—he is eager to know and to understand. His in-
quisitiveness is fundamental to his personality. He is novelty seeking, interested
in the new and uncommon, as well as unconventional, willing to consider the
unusual as evidenced by his openness to people, views, and ideas that are differ-
ent from his own.
He is spontaneous, less in the sense that he takes life as it comes (not some-
thing remotely possible for one in his position), but more from the standpoint of his
ability to be fully engaged in the moment. If you watch Obama he will seldom seem
preoccupied. He is completely focused on the situation at hand. Whether talking
to a concerned citizen at a town hall meeting, participating in a heated political de-
bate, or getting to know Bo, the new Obama family pet, Obama can shift his at-
tention on impulse. His right-brain intensity fosters an absorbed concentration
indicative of spontaneous, in-the-moment thinking.
In a sense, these five ingrained innovative traits, playful, curious, novelty seek-
ing, unconventional, and spontaneous, poise Obama for two more innovative
traits, that of being pioneering and risk taking. We saw evidence of Obama’s
groundbreaking and venturesome sides surface as he took office. His approach to
the myriad of issues he was facing was to work these challenges in consort, in ma-
trixlike fashion, rather than work unilaterally, taking on each as a discrete matter.
He opted to forge new ground in tackling long-standing issues such as the environ-
ment, health care, and education, along with the ever-pressing economic matters.
He took a calculated risk by adopting this integrated approach, the risk that some
would see it as moving too quickly or having too much on the proverbial plate. It
appears that he did so because he saw the interrelationships of the issues and there-
fore the potential for solutions on one front to impact another. Creativity was in play
as well as fresh ideas, and solutions were sought while delving for cross-pollination
of impacts.
Of the remaining traits of innovative leadership, the ability to be experimental
and imaginative, we see Obama’s willingness to employ calculated trials to iden-
tify the most effective means of addressing never-before-seen economic threats.
He balances trial and error with fierce left-brain scrutiny, ensuring that adequate
monitoring and safety nets are in place. Still, he is willing to attempt the untried.
He is imaginative in his ability to visualize the unlikely, to let his mind wonder
what is possible. We see his imagination at play when we listen to him consider, for
example, alternate energy sources. He will throw out “for instances,” leaving the
true innovation to the scientists. Obama’s ability to suppose demonstrates his in-
novative spirit. Obama’s mandates to push the discovery envelope exhibits his com-
mitment to innovation overall.
We see in Obama more of an innovative intent than one would typically find
in a politician, or in any high-level leader, for that matter. Even more unusual is his
ability to integrate right- and left-brain thinking, to generate novelty and original
direction while scrutinizing such prospects every step of the way. Obama pushes for
advancement while keeping a safe tether. With such leadership he will progressively
get to the change he so intently campaigned on but at no time be endangered by
it. Change will be an evolution, not a revolution. While we could feel at times as
if we are gesturing out into the abyss, we should also know that Obama is equally
intent on guarding our safety.
When looking for an example to use for this section on innovation, I found it
interesting to land on one concerning a national security matter. Ironically, Obama’s
position on the aspect of national security you are about to read is relevant to both
his innovative intent and to the interplay of his right- and left-brain thinking herein.
You will see how his right-brain innovative strong suits pave the way and how his
left-brain prudence secures him.
This example was first introduced in the previous section on strategic leadership,
showing Obama’s opposition to advanced interrogation techniques. On May 21,
2009, this national security issue was again at the forefront of the news as President
Obama and former vice president Dick Cheney battled through separate prime-
time televised addresses on the subject. Obama’s stance demonstrates his innovative
intent and right brain/left brain interplay. In an excerpt from his speech Obama had
this to say:
Obama 67
My single most important responsibility as president is to keep the American

people safe . . . For the first time since 2002, we are providing the necessary re-
sources and strategic direction to take the fight to the extremists who attacked
us on 9/11 in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We are investing in the 21st-century mili-
tary and intelligence capabilities that will allow us to stay one step ahead of a nim-
ble enemy. We have reenergized a global nonproliferation regime to deny the
world’s most dangerous people access to the world’s deadliest weapons, and
launched an effort to secure all loose nuclear materials within four years. We are
better protecting our border, and increasing our preparedness for any future at-
tack or natural disaster. We are building new partnerships around the world to
disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda and its affiliates. And we have renewed
American diplomacy so that we once again have the strength and standing to
truly lead the world . . .
These steps are all critical to keeping America secure. But I believe with every
fiber of my being that in the long run we also cannot keep this country safe un-
less we enlist the power of our most fundamental values. The documents that
we hold in this very hall—the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution,
the Bill of Rights—are not simply words written into aging parchment. They are
the foundation of liberty and justice in this country, and a light that shines for
all who seek freedom, fairness, equality and dignity in the world . . .
Now let me be clear: we are indeed at war with al Qaeda and its affiliates. We
do need to update our institutions to deal with this threat. But we must do so
with an abiding confidence in the rule of law and due process; in checks and bal-
ances and accountability. For reasons that I will explain, the decisions that were
made over the last eight years established an ad hoc legal approach for fighting
terrorism that was neither effective nor sustainable—a framework that failed to
rely on our legal traditions and time-tested institutions; that failed to use our
values as a compass. And that is why I took several steps upon taking office to bet-
ter protect the American people.
First, I banned the use of so-called enhanced interrogation techniques by the
United States of America.
The second decision that I made was to order the closing of the prison camp
at Guantanamo Bay.
The third decision that I made was to order a review of all the pending cases
at Guantanamo.
Finally, there remains the question of detainees at Guantanamo who cannot
be prosecuted yet who pose a clear danger to the American people. I want to be
honest: this is the toughest issue we will face. We are going to exhaust every av-
enue that we have to prosecute those at Guantanamo who pose a danger to our
country. . . . As I said, I am not going to release individuals who endanger the
American people. Al Qaeda terrorists and their affiliates are at war with the United
States, and those that we capture—like other prisoners of war—must be pre-
vented from attacking us again. However, we must recognize that these deten-
tion policies cannot be unbounded. That is why my administration has begun to
reshape these standards to ensure they are in line with the rule of law . . .
Now, this generation faces a great test in the specter of terrorism. Unlike the
Civil War or World War II, we cannot count on a surrender ceremony to bring
this journey to an end. Right now, in distant training camps and in crowded cit-
ies, there are people plotting to take American lives. That will be the case a year
from now, five years from now, and—in all probability—ten years from now.
Neither I nor anyone else standing here today can say that there will not be an-
other terrorist attack that takes American lives. But I can say with certainty that
my administration—along with our extraordinary troops and the patriotic men
and women who defend our national security—will do everything in our power
to keep the American people safe. And I do know with certainty that we can
defeat al Qaeda. Because the terrorists can only succeed if they swell their ranks
and alienate America from our allies, and they will never be able to do that if we
stay true to who we are; if we forge tough and durable approaches to fighting
terrorism that are anchored in our timeless ideals.9
As you read over these passages from the president’s full address on national se-
curity, think of the imbedded aspects of innovation he applies. Obama’s desire to
return us to our core values is in this instance a truly innovative position in that he
is both pioneering and risk taking in attempting to reverse our present course. Ac-
knowledging that we are venturing into uncharted waters and fighting a new kind
of enemy, he must be imaginative—able to visualize and think about the unlikely.
To win this war, endless possible scenarios would have to be surmised to remain
ahead of this threat. He would certainly have to be versed in the unconventional—
the unusual—and to be novelty seeking—interested in the unknown—if he and
those who work with him on this matter are ever to come to grips with precisely
what they are dealing with.
Probably the biggest mistake we could make in defending ourselves against such
an enemy would be to generalize a solution rather than to seek a solution that takes
into consideration the distinctions and uniqueness of our adversaries. Obama’s right-
brain innovative thinking is telling him that this is a different situation, and as such,
it requires different approaches, approaches that must take into full account the na-
ture of this enemy.
Obama rejects reactive thinking. His left brain is telling him that he must in-
stead be grounded. He must show good stewardship and trustworthiness, not just
to our nation but to the world, to return the country to its constitutional values.
Obama leads from the right innovative brain, recognizing a new and complex
threat. His unconventional thinking gives rise to certain understandings about the
true nature of the situation. Such innovative positioning confirms his established
strategic assumptions: that we must act from a position that builds our alliances,
not alienates us from them. He then shifts seamlessly between right-brain strate-
gic and innovative thought to left-brain grounded actions. As Obama uses both
sides of his brain in spontaneous fashion he is able to land on a position that re-
turns the nation to the values it was founded upon.
If you need additional convincing about the innovative spirit of the president,
look to what was being called an unprecedented Middle East effort. In June 2009
Obama embarked on a tour of this region that culminated in a fifty-five-minute ad-
Obama 69
dress at Cairo University in Egypt. In a worldwide broadcast to two billion Mus-

lims throughout the Arab and Muslim world, the president sought to recast the
United States’ global image and perspective. His pioneering and risk taking sides
took him to the international region that is for the United States the most com-
plicated sell. His overall innovative facility made it possible for him to see the full
depth of his challenge and to therefore prepare fully for the event.
Critiques following the president’s speech were resoundingly positive. As an ex-
ample of the praise, the June 5, 2009, edition of Financial Times said, “The speech
was brilliant. With artful sensitivity he navigated through the minefields lettered
with cultural explosive devices and politic-religious booby traps, dodging ambushes
without evading the issues.”10 CNN senior political analyst David Gergen reported,
“The most powerful and persuasive speech everby any American president to the
Muslim world.”11 Obama’s milestone Cairo University address will be covered in
greater detail later on in the chapter. For now keep in mind the crucial role innova-
tion plays in a leader’s overall impact, as is seen here.
Thus far we see that Obama has pronounced strengths in the right-brain be-
haviors, strategic and innovative. Specifically we see the incremental effect when
he not only draws from multiple right-brain strengths but then shifts with ease to
incorporate left-brain strong suits as well. His right-brain strategic purpose and
left-brain grounded intent pave the way, while his innovative side pushes him fur-
ther to seek and craft inventive solutions. The fact that Obama is somewhat unique
in that he appears prewired to innovate—it is second nature to him—makes him
at ease with what may seem for many of us intangible.
For those less creatively inclined, those more tangible in nature, it may seem at
times as if Obama’s reasoning is unsubstantiated or driven solely by personal beliefs.
A leap of faith is required to appreciate the power in Obama’s innovative perspec-
tive. True innovators like Obama are connecting the hypothetical dots in such a way
that new and different opportunities can be unearthed. They are generating scenar-
ios and taking steps to push beyond the conventional. The fact that his innovative
side is predicated upon by sound strategic thinking and modulated by solid analyti-
cal scrutiny makes his brand of innovation a secure proposition. With this array of
behavioral abilities he is well able to set the groundwork for transformation.
A Transformational Imperative
I’m asking you to believe not just in my ability to bring change to Washington . . .
I’m asking you to believe in yours.
—Barack Obama12
When you go to Barack Obama’s official Web site, BarackObama.com, front and
center is the quote you see above. Next to the Web site’s logo is the title “Organiz-
ing for America.” As you continue to browse the site you see listed the issues that
are on the president’s agenda—reforming the health care system, improving our
education system, reclaiming Washington, recasting our global image, and rethink-
ing approaches to the environment and to energy sources.
The actual definition of the word transformational is to change somebody or
something completely, especially improving their appearance or usefulness.13 Barack
Obama is aggressively seeking to transform America. For Obama transformation is
an imperative. The right-brain guiding leadership behavior transformational means
to drive change in cultures, teams, and individuals relative to values, thoughts, and
actions.
Transformational leadership traits are:
• Open to learning—interested in knowledge

• Assimilative—bringing people and constructs together
• Attuned—keyed into current realities
• Ambiguity allowing—able to deal with the uncertainties of change
• Facilitative—operating as a catalyst
• Opportunity conscious—looking for appropriate prospects
• Incremental—working progressively, in small steps
• Adaptive—able to change
• Mentoring—able to teach and coach
• Alignment driven—helping to unify others around directions and goals
Let us examine Obama’s fit as an agent of change. Looking once again to the
president’s June 4, 2009, speech at Cairo University, we can see numerous trans-
formational traits portrayed. Following you will find the opening paragraph of his
address.
I am honored to be in the timeless city of Cairo, and to be hosted by two re-

markable institutions. For over a thousand years, Al-Azhar has stood as a bea-
con of Islamic learning, and for over a century, Cairo University has been a
source of Egypt’s advancement. Together, you represent the harmony between
tradition and progress. I am grateful for your hospitality, and the hospitality
of the people of Egypt. I am also proud to carry with me the goodwill of the
American people, and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my
country: assalaamu alaykum.14
In his brief beginning sentences Obama demonstrates his star pupil status. He
comes into every new situation well studied. He lets the audience know that he
has taken the time to be familiar with his host. He greets them in their vernacular.
As his speech continues he shows more of how he is open to learning. He does so
by the sheer facts and history he conveys and through the context he is able to set.
Through this knowledge-based skill you can convey to those you seek to enlist that
you get it. Through information power you can demonstrate credibility in under-
standing. In Obama’s case he can communicate to the world and to the people be-
fore him that he knows how we arrived at this juncture. He can build trust and
respect based on his factually accurate, balanced, candid story. Obama continues:
Obama 71
We meet at a time of tension between the United States and Muslims around
the world—tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy
debate. The relationship between Islam and the West includes centuries of coex-
istence and cooperation, but also conflict and religious wars. More recently, ten-
sion has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many
Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries were too often
treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations. Moreover, the sweep-
ing change brought by modernity and globalization led many Muslims to view
the West as hostile to the traditions of Islam.
Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minor-
ity of Muslims. The attacks of September 11th, 2001, and the continued efforts
of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians have led some in my
country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and Western coun-
tries, but also to human rights. This has bred more fear and mistrust.
So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those
who sow hatred rather than peace, and who promote conflict rather than the co-
operation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity. This cycle
of suspicion and discord must end.15
Drawing from an established and masterfully unbiased learning foundation, we

find the compelling case for change is more readily set and considered. An evolu-
tion of circumstance is described. Blame is not assigned; instead, factual depictions
of a changing world are chronicled. Obama’s statements show not only solid histor-
ical foundation but that he is attuned to current realities as well. He comprehen-
sively references specific recent conflicts, circumstances, and issues. His presence in
Cairo along with the words spoken demonstrate his assimilative side—his intent
on bringing people and constructs together—as well as his facilitative manner—
his ability to operate as a catalyst. With this as with many of his public appearances
Obama shows that he is opportunity conscious, looking for appropriate prospects
through which to convey his messages of change.
In the closing paragraphs of Obama’s Cairo address we see additional facets of
his transformational ability. He concludes his address with the following remarks:
All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether
we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart, or whether we commit our-
selves to an effort—a sustained effort—to find common ground, to focus on the
future we seek for our children, and to respect the dignity of all human beings.
It is easier to start wars than to end them. It is easier to blame others than to
look inward; to see what is different about someone than to find the things we
share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path. There is also
one rule that lies at the heart of every religion—that we do unto others as we
would have them do unto us. This truth transcends nations and peoples—a belief
that isn’t new; that isn’t black or white or brown; that isn’t Christian, or Muslim or
Jew. It’s a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization, and that still beats in the
heart of billions. It’s a faith in other people, and it’s what brought me here today.
We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the cour-
age to make a new beginning, keeping in mind what has been written.
The Holy Koran tells us, “O mankind! We have created you male and a fe-
male; and we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one
another.”
The Talmud tells us: “The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promot-
ing peace.”
The Holy Bible tells us, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called
sons of God.”
The people of the world can live together in peace. We know that is God’s
vision. Now, that must be our work here on Earth. Thank you. And may God’s
peace be upon you.16
Moving from student to teacher, Obama began mentoring his audience, relay-
ing the common threads in the world’s religious doctrines. Obama then moved to
speak from his heart and from his own personal and professional experiences to
convey his passion and hope for building new bonds and appreciations between
groups currently divided, stating,
I do so recognizing that change cannot happen overnight. No single speech can

eradicate years of mistrust, nor can I answer in the time that I have all the com-
plex questions that brought us to this point. But I am convinced that in order
to move forward, we must say openly the things we hold in our hearts, and that
too often are said only behind closed doors. There must be a sustained effort to
listen to each other; to learn from each other; to respect one another; and to seek
common ground. As the Holy Koran tells us, “Be conscious of God and speak
always the truth.” That is what I will try to do—to speak the truth as best I can,
humbled by the task before us, and firm in my belief that the interests we share
as human beings are far more powerful than the forces that drive us apart.
Part of this conviction is rooted in my own experience. I am a Christian, but
my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims. As
a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the
break of dawn and the fall of dusk. As a young man, I worked in Chicago com-
munities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith.
As a student of history, I also know civilization’s debt to Islam. It was Islam—at
places like Al-Azhar University—that carried the light of learning through so
many centuries, paving the way for Europe’s Renaissance and Enlightenment. It
was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra; our
magnetic compass and tools of navigation; our mastery of pens and printing; our
understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed. Islamic culture has
given us majestic arches and soaring spires; timeless poetry and cherished music;
elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful contemplation. And throughout his-
tory, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious
tolerance and racial equality.17
He is clearly alignment driven, seeking to unify his global listeners around his
directions and goals. He is incremental by nature, knowing that change comes
Obama 73
from approximations toward a goal—from evolutions, not revolutions. He believes

in the premise that the continued thrust of small, unrelenting steps makes the dif-
ference. One shining example of successful incremental change is the civil rights
movement and Obama’s election to office. While an impetus milestone in that move-
ment for sure, it is yet another step in a long line of targets still to be realized.
Of the two remaining transformational traits, adaptive and ambiguity allow-
ing, and in assessing Obama’s facility with each, recall Obama’s personal history.
His world demanded continuous adaptation. He had to cope with recurring uncer-
tainties on multiple fronts. Negotiating the gray areas of life, the unknown and the
uncharted, was fundamental to his adjustment and success. Obama’s life experience
in adaptation, diversity, and ambiguity are key determinants in his current change-
leadership proficiency. To exist in dual worlds, to live in a cross-section of geographic
regions, social classes, and family structures and to reconcile trying personal circum-
stances, Obama was continuously required to evolve, reconcile, and adjust.
Obama is thus a lifelong student of change. He embraces it, values it, and respects
its complexity. Obama knows all too well the contests transformations pose. He has
had to live it. Obama’s own remarkable story now works in his leadership favor, giv-
ing him firsthand understanding of what is required when we seek to revolutionize.
He is in effect a walking testament to the power of transformation. He knows full
well what can come from actions that seek to positively reshape the values, thoughts,
and actions of others.
Engaging Underpinnings
Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are
the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change we seek.
—Barack Obama18
To engage others means to bring them on board, to gain their devotion to a cause
or plight, to interest them in something you are trying to accomplish. As a leader,
to engage someone means that you can count on them to contribute, that you have
their support. Someone who is engaged will produce and accomplish through their
willingness to own a part of the end result. What has been most consistent in Obama’s
messages throughout his candidacy and his new presidency is his engaging refer-
ences. The guiding leadership behavior engaging is defined as understanding and
working well with others, validating, involving, and recognizing others and help-
ing them take responsibility.
Obama’s cornerstone has been his interpersonal style. He is a good listener, puts
others at ease, is reverent and courteous, and is able to reach across lines, party and
otherwise. He is truly inspirational and enigmatic. He possesses a discerning ability
to understand others’ perspectives and believes in the power of teamwork as well as
the need for everyone on a team to do his or her part.
In a December 1, 2008, televised interview, when asked about the appointment
of his national security team, Obama remarked that he was committed to creating
a team with strong opinions as he believed such a team would be able to make
the best decisions and not fall prey to groupthink.19 Groupthink is a term in inter-
personal communications that means the perceived absence of conflict. Teams where
members are too alike are often susceptible to groupthink since differing opinions
simply don’t exist. Leaders who don’t permit a free exchange of information will also
cause groupthink, squelching potentially productive debate. The fact that Obama
so naturally and openly referenced his determination to avert such a dynamic is yet
another example of his uncommon leadership. It also unmistakably points to his
commitment to engagement.
Obama’s likability and interpersonal skill are in fact so pronounced that they have
called into question his ability to stand strong, as if the two behaviors, engaging and
assertive, cannot coexist. They are not mutually exclusive, and for a leader, rather it
is essential that they occur in unison. It is nonetheless rare to see a top leader with
well-honed and natural people skills who can also be formidable. More on Obama’s
assertiveness will follow. With respect to Obama’s engagement skills, let’s examine
the ten traits of this important behavior and see what makes Obama so inclined.
The traits of engaging leadership are:
• Inquisitive—probing further, especially into others’ thoughts

• Listening—paying attention for accurate understanding
• Respectful—having consideration for others
• Responsive—addressing the concerns of others
• Inclusive—involving everyone
• Collaborative—working along with others
• Empathic—understanding others’ perspectives
• Empowering—giving responsibility to others
• Charismatic—enthusing others through personal magnetism
• Motivational—inspiring others in positive action
In his inaugural address Obama made the following statements steeped in en-
gaging leadership:
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a
nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus—and nonbelievers. We are
shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and
because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged
from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that
the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that
as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that Am-
erica must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace . . .
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble
gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and
distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes
who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because
they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service;
Obama 75
a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet,

at this moment—a moment that will define a generation—it is precisely this spirit
that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and
determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kind-
ness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who
would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through
our darkest hours. It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with
smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides
our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may
be new. But those values upon which our success depends—hard work and hon-
esty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism—these
things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress
throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What
is required of us now is a new era of responsibility—a recognition, on the part of
every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; du-
ties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowl-
edge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character,
than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence—the knowledge that God calls on us
to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed—why men and women and
children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnifi-
cent Mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been
served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have
traveled. In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of
patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was
abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a
moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of
our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
“Let it be told to the future world . . . that in the depth of winter, when noth-
ing but hope and virtue could survive . . . that the city and the country, alarmed
at one common danger, came forth to meet [it].”
America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship,
let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once
more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our
children’s children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end,
that we did not turn back, nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon
and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and deliv-
ered it safely to future generations.20
One and a half million people attended the president’s inauguration. Count-
less others all over the world viewed the event and heard the president’s words.
The event was without incident; it was peaceful, moving, and exhilarating. No
doubt Obama has the power to engage. In the concluding remarks from his inau-
gural address we see more precisely the qualities of engaging leadership. With his
reference to the strength of our “patchwork” heritage along with his mention of all
global factions he was inclusive, involving everyone in his call. In his expression
of validation and thanks he showed his respectful consideration of our servicemen
and women. He was collaborative and empowering as he described how the suc-
cess of a nation comes from the contributions, responsibility, and voice of its citi-
zens. He showed his listening skill as he relayed the historic values of our nation.
A responsive tone was reiterated throughout the address as arduous times were
acknowledged. His references to past plights and tomorrow’s lights expressed pas-
sionately and poetically were both charismatic and motivational. This address was
vintage Obama in its ability to prompt and encourage. He validated who we are as
a people and he engendered a spirit of involvement.
In his less formal communications and positions Obama has an uncanny abil-
ity to show us our place—how we can and should get involved. If he is speaking
about his direction on environmental reform he will clearly articulate his plan and
follow immediately with what each and every citizen can do to contribute to the ef-
fort. His rather ordinary relational style is an effective equalizer. While he is the presi-
dent, the person holding the highest seat of power, he is also able to relate to the
everyday person in an unpretentious manner. Without compromise to his stature,
he can in a moment be one of us. In this way he is able to convey empathy—the
ability to relate to others’ perspectives along with an inquisitive or interested po-
sition.
Obama’s superior empathic ability is rooted in his upbringing and in the perspec-
tives of both his mother and father, who were above all matched in their apprecia-
tion for humanity. Obama’s empathy and inquisitiveness work in tandem—he is
curious about the world and its people, and out of that curiosity he is well able to
tune into others’ views. His ability to “walk in the shoes of another” must be under-
scored in terms of how it enables Obama to bring others together. Whereas non-
empathic approaches produce telling, one-way tones, an empathic tack engenders
sharing, understanding, and openness for all involved. When the behavior savvy is
examined you will see how Obama’s engaging strong suits contribute to his ability
as a diplomat, and vice versa.
A final aspect of engaging leadership to consider is that of nonverbal behavior.
The communication rule of thumb is that upwards of 70 percent of our commu-
nication is nonverbal. Some estimates go as high as 85 percent. That means that oth-
ers pay less attention to what we say and more attention to how we say it. Aspects
of nonverbal communication include facial expressions, eye contact, touch, ges-
tures, silence, vocal qualities and tone, rate of speech, laughter, yelling, whining, and
pitch.21
Nonverbal communication is a critical factor in engagement. Your nonverbal
communication will ultimately be what communicates your messages. Consider
Obama 77
Obama’s nonverbal demeanor. He is known for being even in tone and tempera-
ment. He is pleasant and expresses genuine positive emotion where appropriate.
He makes good eye contact. All of these things draw us to him. He becomes more
stern and definitive in his speech during heightened, serious times. He slows his
speech down and repeats key phrases that he wants to be sure to emphasize. His
nuances and qualities of nonverbal communication match the situation. This makes
him more believable, more genuine. It makes us more likely to listen to him even
when we disagree with what he is saying. Overall, when you combine what he says
with how he says it, we find Obama’s engaging ability to be exceptional.
Noting Breadth and Depth

As we consider Obama’s overall right-brain leadership ability we see two notables—
he has both right-brain leadership breadth—he acts from all four right-brain lead-
ership guiding behaviors. In addition he possesses great depth, meaning his facility
in each of the four behaviors runs across many or most of the behaviors’ discrete
traits. I hope you are beginning to see that it is the nuances that make the differ-
ence in Obama’s leadership—the fact that he acts from such a broad set of behav-
iors and traits and that he does so in a naturally integrated fashion.
Typically, if you were to examine several good or great leaders you would no
doubt find several of the right-brain behaviors at which they are masterful. Upon
closer examination you would even find several behavior traits that are their cor-
nerstones. You would seldom find the breadth and depth you see in Obama. You
would instead most probably find the tendency to overplay strengths, especially
during times of stress, rather than to extend in a broader manner across the lead-
ership behavioral plane. There would be less seamless behavioral shifting in the
“checks and balance” manner from which our brain is wired to work. Instead the
leader would likely act from more ingrained behavioral habits.
Obama, on the other hand, is less disposed to such predilections and more prone
to behavioral diversity. As we move next to an examination of Obama’s left-brain
guiding leadership behaviors, it will be interesting to see if we find the same levels
of breadth and depth.
Chapter 5
Obama’s Vision
Realized
Methodical: A Call to Action

There’s been a tendency to score political points instead of rolling up sleeves to
solve real problems.
—Barack Obama1
As atypical as certain aspects of Obama’s upbringing were, his day-to-day exis-

tence was marked by the rather common preoccupations of a structured and dis-
ciplined life. Above all, accomplishment was requisite. While he may have been
encouraged to dream and to wonder, he was expected to perform. High standards
for achievement were set. What we notice today in Obama is flawless left-brain or-
der, analytics, and attention to detail, qualities necessary to develop and execute
master plans. The guiding leadership behavior methodical and its ten correspond-
ing traits will display Obama’s preparatory capability.
To be methodical requires that you well organize your charge, taking into con-
sideration tasks and details. It also means that you are efficient and systematic
in your approach. Methodical leadership ensures that near-term tactics, discrete
steps, and actions are created that contribute to overarching long-term strategies.
In essence it is the role of the left brain to structure and drive the vision that the
right brain has determined. A methodical leader employs systematic scrutiny to
craft elemental objectives, a staging toward one’s goals. The ten traits of method-
ical leadership are:
• Task oriented—attentive to assignments
• Detail oriented—attentive to discrete parts of assignments
• Organized—orderly and systematic
• Effective—producing workable solutions and results
• Focused—able to establish and attend to priorities
• Procedural—using systems and processes
• Sequential—cognizant of the likely order of things

• Logical—rational and reasonable, recognizing what makes the best sense
• Analytical—breaking an entity into its parts
• Factual—basing assertions on tangible data and evidence
On June 17, 2009, the president unveiled the specifics of his financial regula-
tory reform plan. The document was eighty-eight pages in length and marked yet
another step in the series of actions the president took to address the global eco-
nomic crisis. In an address to the nation Obama highlighted the main points of
this latest reform. He began by setting the context and then delineated the com-
pelling case for change. Obama noted that in developing this plan they sought
to address targeted flaws that left us vulnerable to securing our safety as we move
ahead. They did not opt to start from scratch. Instead Obama led a focused ap-
proach.
In describing the plan’s three salient features, Obama began by stating:
With the reforms we’re proposing today, we seek to put in place rules that will
allow our markets to promote innovation while discouraging abuse. We seek to
create a framework in which markets can function freely and fairly, without the
fragility in which normal business cycles suddenly bring the risk of financial col-
lapse; we want a system that works for businesses and consumers . . .
First, we’re proposing a set of reforms to require regulators to look not only
at the safety and soundness of individual institutions, but also—for the first
time—at the stability of the financial system as a whole.
One of the reasons this crisis could take place is that while many agencies
and regulators were responsible for overseeing individual financial firms and
their subsidiaries, no one was responsible for protecting the whole system from
the kinds of risks that tied these firms to one another. Regulators were charged
with seeing the trees, but not the forest. And even then, some firms that posed a
so-called “systemic risk” were not regulated as strongly as others; they behaved
like banks but chose to be regulated as insurance companies, or investment firms,
or other entities that were under less scrutiny.2
In this opening point, requiring regulators to provide oversight into both indi-
vidual institutions and the interrelationship between these institutions, the presi-
dent immediately connects his tactic to the overarching strategic intent—to avert
another house of cards or a snowballing effect that could place the entire financial
system at risk again.
The president went on to describe the additional authority he would grant to
the Federal Reserve to regulate large entities that create potential for risk. He was
also intent on mandating greater reserves that such organizations maintain as added
safeguards. Additionally the Obama plan proposed an oversight council that would
charge regulators with monitoring both oversight and communication across the
financial sector to address issues that may have fallen between the cracks.
In how Obama has described his reform thus far we see evidence of his ana-
lytical and detail-oriented facility. Obama goes on to explain,
Obama’s Vision Realized 81
As part of this effort we’re proposing the creation of what’s called “resolution
authority” for large and interconnected financial firms so that we’re not only
putting in place safeguards to prevent the failure of these firms, but also a set of
orderly procedures that will allow us to protect the economy if such a firm does
in fact go underwater.
Think about this: If a bank fails, we have a process through the FDIC that
protects depositors and maintains confidence in the banking system. This pro-
cess was created during the Great Depression when the failure of one bank led
to runs on other banks, which in turn threatened wider turmoil. And it works.
Yet we don’t have any effective system in place to contain the failure of an AIG,
or the largest and most interconnected financial firms in our country.3
In this excerpt, Obama demonstrates his procedural manner by looking at how

to best leverage systems and processes. He goes on to describe the second key ele-
ment of his reform, to establish a potent agency that will look out for the interest
of the everyday consumer. He is factual in explaining the rationale for such over-
sight, noting that
there were also millions of Americans who signed contracts they didn’t always
understand offered by lenders who didn’t always tell the truth . . . Companies
compete not by offering better products, but more complicated ones, with more
fine print and more hidden terms . . .
This agency will have the power to set standards so that companies compete
by offering innovative products that consumers actually want—and actually un-
derstand. Consumers will be provided information that is simple, transparent,
and accurate. You’ll be able to compare products and see what’s best for you.
The most unfair practices will be banned. Those ridiculous contracts with pages
of fine print that no one can figure out . . . The mission of this new agency
must also be reflected in the work we do throughout the government. There
are other agencies, like the Federal Trade Commission, charged with protecting
consumers, and we must ensure that those agencies have the resources and the
state-of-the-art tools to stop unfair and deceptive practices as well.4
Obama’s final point described
a series of changes designed to promote free and fair markets by closing gaps
and overlaps in our regulatory system—including gaps that exist not just within
but between nations . . . we will dismantle the Office of Thrift Supervision and
close loopholes that have allowed important institutions to cherry-pick among
banking rules. We will offer only one federal banking charter, regulated by a
strengthened federal supervisor. We’ll raise capital requirements for all deposi-
tory institutions. Hedge fund advisors will be required to register with the SEC.
We’re also proposing comprehensive regulation of credit default swaps and
other derivatives that have threatened the entire financial system. And we will
require the originator of a loan to retain an economic interest in that loan, so
that the lender—and not just the holder of a security, for example—has an in-
terest in ensuring that a loan is actually paid back. By setting common-sense
rules, these kinds of financial instruments can play a constructive, rather than
destructive role.5
With this set of orderly plausible steps, Obama demonstrates how he is both se-
quential and logical.
In vintage Obama clean and clear summary style, the president demonstrated
his organized approach. In an attempt to create a plan that is effective we heard
Obama’s proposed workable solutions:
• Extending oversight to the Federal Reserve

• Giving government the power to break up large firms
• Regulating complex securities
• Creating a consumer protection agency
• Coordinating regulations worldwide 6
The president’s aggressive attention to the economic crisis, adding this latest
proposed reform to the previous actions he took to right the economy, shows his
task-oriented side, that he is attentive to the work at hand. While one may argue
that Obama had little choice but to act and to act quickly on the economic front,
Obama’s systematic command seems more about who he is, more internally driven
than externally determined. One would describe him as “buttoned-up” in overall
approach.
We saw Obama’s methodical stance originally in how he ran his campaign,
with well-organized plans down to the smallest of tasks and details. Next we saw
an effectively run and focused transition team. In the preceding example from the
early stages of his presidency, Obama’s response to a critical matter is systematic,
ordered, data-driven, and rational. We can see similar examples of order in his
personal life. For example, Obama adheres to a rigorous exercise regimen, and he
and Michelle defined a set “date-night” upon moving into the White House—
the Obamas’ way to plan for a regular return to their social life given the volumi-
nous demands on their time.
As you look over Obama’s first six months in office, with multiple critical is-
sues on the table, Obama had attacked a range of problems with methodical pre-
cision. While showing that he can handle numerous demands—his exact words,
“I believe a president should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time”7—
Obama addressed manifold issues at once. For each separate matter he was able to
go step-by-step, to use broad-based data to inform decisions, to act with common
sense, to dissect, to order, and to put sound processes in place to support overall in-
tent. More striking is the right- and left-brain interplay as the president worked
from a matrix format to identify interconnections among and between issues wher-
ever possible.
Thinking about how Obama approaches his work and his life, we can easily
map his style to that of a sound methodical leader. Using the Methodical Lead-
ership Checklist below, you can see aspects of this important tactical behavior as
it reveals itself in the day-to-day thoughts and actions of a leader like Obama.
Obama is a fan of scorecards. Here is a scorecard for you to use to rate the presi-
dent on his methodical leadership ability. Enhance the checklist by using a scale
from one to ten with ten being outstanding, and track Obama periodically on his
methodical ability.
METHODICAL LEADERSHIP CHECKLIST
___ Task oriented: Ground my day in the assignments at hand.

___ Detail oriented: Ground my day in the discrete parts of the assign-
ments.
___ Organized: Consider how to resource and track the work to ensure
systematic order.
___ Effective: Consider the conditions that would need to be met to
meet goals in the best way possible, netting workable solutions or
results.
___ Focused: Examine the work scope and resources available to pri-
oritize tasks and initiatives and attend to those established.
___ Procedural: Ensure that adequate processes and systems are in place.
___ Sequential: Determine the best order and time frames for the work.
___ Logical: Look back over the plan to date to ensure that it makes good
overall sense.
___ Analytical: Examine elements and relationships for plan and goal
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
___ Factual: Provide the facts to back up assertions.8
One would expect that he will receive consistently high marks on this opening
left-brain leadership skill set.
The success of one’s plans, however, is often determined in part by one’s ability
to adequately communicate them. A leader must be able to convey salient points
at precise moments and in the right forums. A leader must connect through words
with those with whom he is involved. Such is the charge of expressive leadership.
Expressive Excellence
Please excuse Kennedy from school today. She’s with me.
—Barack Obama9
On June 11, 2009, the president was speaking at a town hall meeting in Green
Bay, Wisconsin. A man stood up to the microphone to ask a question and remarked
that he was at the meeting with his ten-year old daughter, who was missing her
last day of school to see the president. The dad commented that he hoped she
wasn’t going to get in trouble. Obama quickly reacted with the following banter:
The president: Oh, no. (Laughter.) Do you need me to write a note?

The dad: I’ll take you up on that actually, Mr. President. (Laughter and applause.)
The president: All right, go ahead. I’ll start writing it now. What’s her name?
The dad: Well, considering I have some people here from work that are very in-
terested in—
The president: No, no, I’m serious. What’s your daughter’s name?
The dad: Her name is Kennedy.
The president: Kennedy. All right, that’s a cool name. (Laughter.)
The dad: That’s a very cool name, thank you.
The president: All right, I’m going to write to Kennedy’s teacher. (Laughter.) Okay,
go ahead, I’m listening to your question.10
Obama finished writing, walked over to the family, and handed a note to them.
It read, “Please excuse Kennedy from school today. She’s with me.” The note was
signed, “Barack Obama.”
Obama is known for his eloquent, inspirational, and crystal-clear speaking. He
is jokingly called the teleprompter president for his buttoned-up addresses, yet in
the exchange described here with a young girl’s father at a town hall meeting, we
catch a glimpse of Obama’s ease with the impromptu.
Obama’s expressive ability is far-reaching. When his base communication skills
are melded with his interpersonal flair, Obama’s expressive leadership impact takes
on his own unique brand. In this section on expressive leadership we see yet an-
other example of Obama’s right and left brain working in consort. We see great
depth in a given left-brain guiding leadership behavior, in this case, that of expres-
sive leadership. In addition we see continuous right-brain collaboration with the
behavior engaging, poising Obama for enhanced leadership impact.
To be expressive is to clearly communicate your thoughts. It means that you pro-
vide audiences with the needed context, that you converse and come across well,
and that you are compelling and encouraging. An expressive leader can master all
mediums from face-to-face conversations to formal presentations and doctrine. In
today’s internet world one has to come across equally well virtually. A leader’s mes-
sages then must be tailored to varied channels to be effective.
The traits of expressive leadership are:
• Prepared—giving the necessary forethought to formal and informal messages

• Articulate—able to write and speak with clarity
• Coherent—able to write and speak logically
• Concise—able to write and speak succinctly
• Erudite—able to express yourself from the basis of scholarly knowledge
• Presentable—having a professional presence and demeanor
• Passionate—having intensity and/or enthusiasm with respect to your subject
matter
• Personable—having an appropriately favorable demeanor

• Persuasive—able to make a compelling point
• Interesting—provoking thought and/or holding others’ attention
Ancient Greek playwright Menander wrote, “The character of a man is known

from his conversations.”11 What do Obama’s conversations tell us about his char-
acter? Obama is in the public eye frequently, perhaps more so than we have seen
from a sitting president. As such he is creating the impression of accessibility and of
determination. His town hall formats suggest a genuine desire to be in close touch
with the people—to know, to understand, and to gauge what they are thinking. He
is typically exceptionally well versed in his subject matter, indicating that mastery
is important to him. Through his conversations he displays seriousness of charac-
ter and strength of convictions along with warmth and playfulness, a genuineness
as a human being.
With respect to the actual ten traits of expressive leadership, think of them
as divided into two categories. One category would represent the more technical
aspects of communicating—what you say—while the second category represents
your delivery—how you say what you need to say, along with other qualities such
as your appearance. Think of the ten traits of expressive leadership as organized
into the mechanics of expression and your expressive persona. Being prepared, ar-
ticulate, coherent, concise, and erudite are all mechanics of communicating. Be-
ing presentable, passionate, personable, persuasive, and interesting reflect your
expressive persona.12
Obama’s expressive mechanics are spot-on. His preparation is complete. He is
clear and to the point, far from the usual droning of politicians. When you read his
writings or listen to him speak, his thoughts are conveyed in a manner that seems
logical and, above all, learned. He is heard time and time again using the phrases
“Let me be clear” and “Let me say that again” to emphasize key points. He will orga-
nize new plans or policy directions into three, four, or five crisp summary points.
Obama communicates in well-constructed road maps complete with rationales
and supporting data. His communications extend across a spectrum from user-
friendly simplistic language to rich scholarly references.
With respect to expressive persona, Obama presents as a polished enthusiast.
He is amiable, charming, and likable. He makes compelling cases for change. He
provokes our thoughts and holds our attention. Returning to excerpts from the
president’s June 4, 2009, address at Cairo University we can see the full spectrum
of Obama’s expressive persona. In the following remarks the president captivates
his global audience in a manner that negotiates multiple fine lines. He unties lis-
teners away from their unilateral factions to their existence as humankind.
For we have learned from recent experience that when a financial system weak-
ens in one country, prosperity is hurt everywhere. When a new flu infects one
human being, all are at risk. When one nation pursues a nuclear weapon, the
risk of nuclear attack rises for all nations. When violent extremists operate in one
stretch of mountains, people are endangered across an ocean. And when inno-
cents in Bosnia and Darfur are slaughtered, that is a stain on our collective con-
science. That is what it means to share this world in the 21st century. That is
the responsibility we have to one another as human beings.
This is a difficult responsibility to embrace. For human history has often been
a record of nations and tribes subjugating one another to serve their own inter-
ests. Yet in this new age, such attitudes are self-defeating. Given our interdepen-
dence, any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another
will inevitably fail. So whatever we think of the past, we must not be prisoners
of it. Our problems must be dealt with through partnership; progress must be
shared.
That does not mean we should ignore sources of tension. Indeed, it suggests
the opposite: we must face these tensions squarely. And so in that spirit, let me
speak as clearly and plainly as I can about some specific issues that I believe we
must finally confront together.13
In this passage from Obama’s landmark global address we see the president le-
verage his compelling, accessible, and professional speaking style to craft and de-
liver high-impact messages. Through his expressive persona being presentable,
passionate, personable, persuasive, and interesting, Obama walked us through
a timeline of critical world events from economic crisis to the far-reaching conse-
quences of inhumanity in order to encourage us to be one.
Obama’s remarks in this noted section of his address implore the masses to con-
front differences, explaining that to succeed in working together as a people we
must first deal with the very issues that divide us. In the statements that followed
the president took his audience through seven key issues that the global community
must address together. He did so with great command of his subject matter and
in a manner that held each group accountable without alienation. He spoke can-
didly and from a firm knowledge base. The seven key issues referenced included:
• Violent extremism in all forms

• The situation between Israelis, Palestinians, and the Arab world
• The rights and responsibilities of nations regarding nuclear weapons
• Democracy
• Religious freedom
• The rights of women
• Economic development and opportunity.14
Overall his speech to the Muslim world was in essence a well-blended balance
of expressive mechanics and expressive persona where he demonstrated the full
range of expressive traits. Obama’s address at Cairo University is not to be under-
estimated. As it was, it reflected a stellar example of expressive leadership. Through
what he said and how he said it, Obama superbly managed a complex speaking
trial. Obama met this test head-on, with poise, diplomacy, and scholarship, doing
so in such a way that a new direction, one of hope and commonality, was perhaps
stimulated.
Obama’s success in this effort was possible not only because of his expressive
acumen but also because his speaking modeled the very collaboration he was ask-
ing for from his audience. Obama’s multiple right- and left-brain leadership abili-
ties came into play. His ability to draw from extensive behavioral breadth and depth
took an already accelerated skill, that of his expressive leadership, and catapulted it
to greater heights. Through the president’s well-crafted address he drew from me-
thodical, step-by-step ability. He demonstrated solid grounded traits through
his composed credible nature. He was assertive in his willingness to explicitly con-
front sensitive matters. We saw strategic vision and innovation in how the address
was put together as well as transformational fervor, a call for new paths forward.
Lastly we saw Obama’s tried and true engaging persona in the alignment of his
words and his intent. While the president’s singular leadership behaviors are ex-
emplary, as is the case with his expressive flair, his ability to fluidly combine and
leverage multiple right- and left-brain leadership behaviors makes his effect all the
more potent.
As a final example of Obama’s expressive ability we look to one of his own
works, Dreams from My Father. This convincing autobiographical account of the
young Obama’s personal and professional journey is masterfully written. Alluring
throughout, one section in particular stands out in my mind. It was Obama’s con-
veyance of September 11, 2001. Complexly describing the moment in a vivid and
compelling manner all his own, you were taken to that day. You felt its horror.
It’s beyond my skill as a writer to capture that day, and the days that would fol-
low—the planes, like specters, vanishing into steel and glass; the slow-motion
cascade of the towers crumbling into themselves; the ash-covered figures wan-
dering the streets; the anguish and the fear. Nor do I pretend to understand the
stark nihilism that drove the terrorists that day and that drives their brethren
still . . . 15
Obama is a gifted writer, yet another facet of his expressive capability. Within
his depiction we also see his human connection to the world’s tragic circumstance.
In what we can hear from Obama overall, whether through formal speeches, pas-
sages in written works, town hall dialogue, press conferences, or interviews, is left-
brain communicative command. We also see a genuine right-brain relationship
with his audiences. But words alone are not enough, even when melded with an
interpersonal bond. The next hurdle is whether a leader can stand behind his words
and feelings in how he is in fact experienced. Obama’s intent is good. He can com-
municate that intent in the most effective manner possible. As we move to the
next left-brain guiding behavior, that of grounded leadership, we will explore how
Obama’s words and emotions are in fact backed up by his stability and good-sense
stewardship. If what Menander says is true, that the character of a man is known
from his conversations, Obama should be positioned for strong grounded leader-
ship traits.
Grounded: Responsible with a “Capitol” R

But we have been called to govern in extraordinary times. And that requires an ex-
traordinary sense of responsibility—to ourselves, to the men and women who sent
us here, and to the many generations whose lives will be affected for the good or
for the ill because of what we do here.
—Barack Obama16
Obama has an extraordinary sense of responsibility. The Obama view of lead-

ership is not a “do it my way” or “I know what’s best” perspective. Obama’s score-
card is not based on wins and losses. It is based on responsibility to those who have
entrusted him with the authority of his office. It is about the greater good and
about visionary progress as reflected in sustained American ideals.
Obama has been compared in some respects to past president Abraham Lin-
coln. Lincoln once said, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test
his character, give him power.”17 How does President Obama display his power and
what does that tell us about his character? Examining Obama in terms of grounded
leadership traits will provide the answer.
All leaders have power, first based on the very position they hold and then by
virtue of how they set out to lead. How a leader handles power will determine,
among other things, how grounded a leader she is. Grounded leadership is ulti-
mately a matter of character. Can the leader be trusted? Is he viewed as stable?
Does she make those around her feel as though they are in good hands? Lincoln
would agree. How individuals handle power reflects their character.
The guiding leadership behavior grounded is defined as acting with integrity,
consistency, and stability, to be the steward and the gauge. It is about how others
feel in your presence, both about you and about themselves. If you are a grounded
leader, others will feel as though they are in fact safe. They will see you as respect-
able, honest, authentic, poised, sensible, and fair. They themselves will feel valued.
Looking more closely at what it means to be grounded, the ten traits of
grounded leadership are:
• Composed—able to control your emotions

• Approachable—having a manner that allows others to reach out to you
• Genuine—sincere
• Pragmatic—practical and realistic
• Cautious—sensible and careful
• Questioning—seeking assurances and/or getting to the bottom of issues
• Stable—steady and consistent in your views and approaches
• Loyal—committed to your people and responsibilities
• Established—having proven competence
• Trustworthy—able to be counted on
The ten traits of grounded leadership can be organized into three clusters. The
first cluster represents initial impressions, how others experience a leader in the
moment. How composed, approachable, and genuine is he? The second cluster
represents a leader’s grounded actions, how a leader responds to a given situation.
Is she practical? Does she exercise good caution? Does she ask the right questions?
The third cluster reflects a leader’s reputation over time. How loyal, steady, and es-
tablished is he? Can we trust him to deliver on his promises?
Relating the ten traits of grounded leadership to Obama, we see a leader whose
hallmarks are equanimity and steadiness. He would therefore receive high marks
on the traits composed and stable. One such example comes from Obama’s han-
dling of the April 2009 Indian Ocean hostage situation. On April 8, 2009, a cargo
ship was hijacked by Somali pirates. While the crew was able to regain control of
their ship, the ship’s captain, Richard Phillips, was taken hostage. Obama was said
to have worked discreetly and effectively with Defense Department factions to ul-
timately enable Navy Seals to rescue Captain Phillips.18
The president handled the matter in a serious and low-key fashion. Obama le-
veraged the resources at his disposal and acted with the needed command and
authority. The president was appropriately cautious, making certain that his de-
cisions were sensible and careful as he worked to deal with a critical and high-
profile situation. As further testament to Obama’s character it is noteworthy that
the president, who has been characteristically in the public eye, did not hold a press
conference following this incident to glamorize the success of its resolution but
rather put out a statement calling attention to the crew and to Captain Phillips’s
bravery. At that moment he exercised his power with discretion and not for his
own self interest, but to applaud others.
A second incident comes to mind in terms of Obama’s composure and sta-
bility. On June 12, 2009, the country of Iran held its tenth presidential election.
A charge of fraud was raised when incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was de-
clared the winner, with 62.6 percent of the vote in his favor. Allegations of wrong-
doing stemmed from the fact that former prime minister and candidate Mir Hossein
Mousavi’s representatives were not permitted to join in the supervision of the elec-
tion and that numerous inconsistencies existed in the overall process. Those discrep-
ancies included actual numbers of votes recorded at certain polling places and the
speed with which the election results were supposedly finalized (votes simply could
not have been counted so quickly). Initially it appeared also that the government
was blocking full view of the election controversy from the rest of the world. What
began as peaceful national protest grew to violence. An international outcry of in-
justice followed.19
Some considered Obama’s public statements too reserved. Obama stated that
he was “deeply troubled by the violence that I’ve been seeing on television,” further
remarking that “it is up to the Iranians to make decisions about who Iran’s leaders
will be.” In an attempt to support the people of Iran, Obama said, “To those peo-
ple who put so much hope and energy and optimism into the political process, I
would say to them that the world is watching and inspired by their participation,
regardless of what the ultimate outcome of the election was . . . And they should
know that the world is watching.”20
Was Obama too moderate in his response, or perhaps was he prudent and
thoughtful, taking in the accounts of this acutely disturbing matter and looking to
sensibly integrate it into his strategy with Iran moving forward? Was he display-
ing sound interplay between immediate left-brain reaction and a right-brain full-
scope approach? Obama’s right brain was seeing the complexities of Iran’s world
circumstance, and rather than act in response to a singular event, better to reflect on
what this circumstance tells him about the whole of Iran, from where its people
stand to the realities of its current leadership.
Obama’s statements are those of a grounded leader who draws from a dynamic
interplay between strategic thinking and ultimate assertive response. His reitera-
tive point about the world watching may indicate that from his perspective, the
matter is being taken under serious advisement by many, himself included, and
that everyone is on alert.
In continuing to explore Obama’s grounded leadership traits, with respect to
the trait approachable, Obama is at ease socially and is a natural at helping others
to feel comfortable in his presence. Obama is genuine. His authenticity is appar-
ent. He is pragmatic, able to sort through the complexities of issues and with prac-
tical common sense identify what makes sense and what doesn’t.
While some criticize him for taking on too much at once, he is sensible and care-
ful in his monitoring approaches. These are unusual times, and in the president’s
mind, we must push hard to drive needed change. It appears that as the work un-
folds, his steady hand will guide his decisions about whether to scale back. His
right-brain integrated mindset is disposed to seeing things holistically, which ex-
plains the broad net he cast early on in his presidency. His left-brain structure and
stability—his vigilant nature—will step in over time to modulate the direction.
Such is the case because Obama is questioning, highly adept at effective inquiry.
He will rely on this trait, and in due course likely reset, finding the appropriate bal-
ance and focus.
With respect to the remaining three grounded traits, loyal, established, and
trustworthy, these are qualities that must withstand the test of time. Any leader,
regardless of past accomplishments, will be judged relative to steadfastness, proven
capability, and integrity. Evaluations will be based on performance in each suc-
cessive position. Given the turbulent times of the Obama presidency, such is espe-
cially the case. In his new role as president, Obama’s reliability, wherewithal, and
temperament will be tested in countless ways. While we can look across Obama’s
life to date and see little if any reason to doubt his allegiance, he will need to
prove himself as president.
Certainly the fact that he has historically conducted himself as someone who
can be counted on bodes well for him. That he has reached his present place in life
clearly speaks to his record of accomplishment. There is little we know that would
call into question that he is in fact an honorable man. Still, in all, we must wait and
see how this new president fares. All evidence to date tells us he will come through
these aspects of grounded leadership well, but the times and context will certainly
try him.
In evaluating Obama’s grounded facility by the clustering traits, his initial im-
pressions, his grounded actions, and his reputation over time, what could be said
is that Obama makes a solid initial impression. He most often seems composed, ap-
proachable, and genuine. With respect to his grounded actions, how pragmatic,
cautious, and questioning he is, we also find noted strong suits. Regarding his rep-
utation, Obama’s impact in this respect will have to withstand the test of time.
As we move through the four left-brain guiding leadership behaviors, from me-
thodical or systematic to expressive, able to communicate to grounded, display-
ing the character factor, we come to the final left-brain behavior, assertive. The
nature of Obama’s assertiveness will be pivotal in what he is ultimately able to ac-
complish.
True Assertive
What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility, a recognition, on the part
of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, du-
ties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge
that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than
giving our all to a difficult task.
—Barack Obama21
If you look up the word assertive you will note descriptors such as forcefully
strong and self-assured. You may even see words like pushy, aggressive, brazen, and
insolent. What is truly assertive with respect to leadership? Obama’s previously
referenced quote relays the phrase “giving our all to a difficult task.” That is one way
to describe assertive leadership, to act with resolve. In the language of the right
brain/left brain leadership model, to be an assertive leader is to be upfront, direct,
and determined to get the desired results. Being strong and self-assured, perhaps
even pushy, would all be considered part of that leadership definition. Assertive
leadership may also at times require that one be aggressive, even brazen, if what we
mean by those terms is to act boldly or willing to make the first move.
Assertive leadership would not include a Machiavellian perspective wherein
ends justify the means, so to speak. Attacking without provocation, inflicting harsh-
ness, driving hidden agendas, acting from arrogance, disrespect, or volatility would
also be excluded from this leadership view of assertive actions. Similarly, micro-
managing would be considered contrary to true assertiveness. Running over the
top of others or doing the work for them are rather ineffective leadership stances.
Your simple gut check for assertiveness run amok is whether or not your behav-
ior is devaluing, dishonest, or inhumane. It is important to be outspoken and take
charge. It is crucial to see plans through to fruition. It is necessary to leverage one’s
scope of power to the fullest. The challenge is to do so in a manner that upholds the
core values of your charge and the basic dignity of others.
The ten traits of assertive leadership are:
• Purposeful—determined and definite in your goals

• Confident—assured about your capability to reach desired goals
• Tenacious—unrelenting
• Driven—staying determined to reach goals and get results
• Delegating—able to assign and resource the work appropriately
• Decisive—able to make sound decisions
• Courageous—willing to face challenges and difficulties
• Candid—upfront and direct
• Confrontational—able to work through a conflict
• Closure-seeking—seeing things through and pushing for conclusions
In essence, getting the job done but getting it done well while valuing those
around you is what real assertive leadership is all about. Let us see how President
Obama fares with respect to this key behavior. Assertive leadership begins with a
sense of purpose. To be purposeful is to be clear about what you are setting out to
accomplish. Obama’s resolve seems to emanate from three target imperatives:
1. To return the United States to its constitutional foundation—to be a nation, as our

constitution states “by the people and for the people.”
2. To fix Washington—move it from perpetual campaign mode back to governing
mode.
3. To restore faith here and abroad in our public and private systems and leadership
factions.
The president’s more specific goals and policy directions then flowed from these
three overarching necessities and, as such, placed added layers of intricacy on the
cascading objectives. He had positioned himself to tend both to policy items like
the economy, health care, education, and terrorism, along with foundational fac-
tors that drive who we are, how we function, and how we are viewed. This broader
scope, one with direct strategic underpinnings, required continuous shifting on
Obama’s part between right-brain transformational and engaging traits along
with left-brain assertive ones.
Complicating matters further was the persistent maneuvering taking place by
those who were desperate to regain lost political ground. Centering their ploys on
the health care debate, this group brought fierce tactics to bear in their attempts
to undermine Obama. At this burdened time, when the nation’s problems contin-
ued to hit close to home for all too many citizens, the preference for some was for
Obama to simplify his direction and demand closure on certain items that would
bring immediate relief. To see Obama as assertive, some indicated that they needed
Obama to levy the full weight of his power to silence the opposition and bring
needed change.
Because of these circumstances, assertive leadership was and is perhaps where

Obama suffers his greatest criticisms. Does he take on too much? Can he move
from words to action? Where is the change? Is he tough enough? The longer-
range and matrixlike fashion from which Obama operates is different than what
we are used to. We are a culture driven by immediacy of reward and quick fixes. Te-
nacity in this sense would seem to mean someone able to come out swinging and
make an impact in days, not months or years. We have become gluttonous in how
we view success.
If, though, what we are really asking for is security and an end to our fears, are
our expectations realistic? Obama’s plight may be telling us that if we in fact do
seek such safety, perhaps we need to become more sensible and, more to the point,
more truthful. If we reexamine Obama’s purpose from his perspective, that our
thinking has been at best incomplete and at worst downright flawed, you may be
inclined to fashion a new yardstick. Our semantics around assertive leadership
may in fact begin to shift. Would we be willing to entertain new definitions, for ex-
ample, of what it means to be tough? Could a description of tenacious move from
ramming things through to able to go the distance, to move progressively and pa-
tiently as multiple aspects come together? Could tenacity also be described as do-
ing what is needed to drive overall efficiency and effectiveness? Only time will tell
if Obama can reshape public sentiment in this manner. For now it seems that there
are several discrepant notions causing Obama to be misrepresented here.
Returning to our understanding of assertive leadership, it can in fact be viewed
in two parts, that of foundational assertive traits—those that enable a leader to set
initiatives in motion—and reactive assertiveness—how well a leader deals with mat-
ters along the way. The first five assertive traits, purposeful, confident, tenacious,
driven, and delegating, comprise foundational assertive leadership. Obama’s pur-
pose is clear. He carries himself with confidence, confidence not simply in himself,
but in the nation’s ability to prevail. His tenacity can be seen in the tone of his ad-
ministration, by the sheer magnitude of what they are willing to take on and by the
many daily markers of progress.
One need only look to his success at going from a young African American
community organizer to historic forty-fourth president of the United States of
America to note his drive. His delegating style is reflected in the value he places on
teamwork, a value poignantly evidenced in his handling of his first national se-
curity crisis, the rescue of Captain Phillips. In carrying out what has been recog-
nized as backstage and quiet leadership, the president worked collaboratively with
both federal law enforcement and the military to effect his role as commander in
chief in securing the safe return of the cargo ship’s captain.22
The remaining five assertive traits, decisive, courageous, candid, confronta
tional, and closure seeking, are referred to collectively as reactive assertive leader-
ship. As such they mark a leader’s ability to address issues and push where neces-
sary to drive for conclusions. Citing once again the April 2009 incident, the
president worked appropriately behind the scenes on a plan that in decisive
fashion, he authorized, resulting in a successful mission. With respect to his cour-

age, Obama takes strong positions and faces challenges at home and abroad. At
his memorable June 4, 2009, Cairo University speech, the president made these
remarks concerning the threat of terrorism:
In Ankara, I made clear that America is not—and never will be—at war with
Islam. We will, however, relentlessly confront violent extremists who pose a grave
threat to our security. Because we reject the same thing that people of all faiths
reject: the killing of innocent men, women, and children. And it is my first duty
as President to protect the American people.
The situation in Afghanistan demonstrates America’s goals, and our need to
work together. Over seven years ago, the United States pursued al Qaeda and
the Taliban with broad international support. We did not go by choice, we went
because of necessity. I am aware that some question or justify the events of 9/11.
But let us be clear: al Qaeda killed nearly 3,000 people on that day. The victims
were innocent men, women and children from America and many other nations
who had done nothing to harm anybody. And yet Al Qaeda chose to ruthlessly
murder these people, claimed credit for the attack, and even now states their de-
termination to kill on a massive scale. They have affiliates in many countries and
are trying to expand their reach. These are not opinions to be debated; these are
facts to be dealt with.
Make no mistake: we do not want to keep our troops in Afghanistan. We seek
no military bases there. It is agonizing for America to lose our young men and
women. It is costly and politically difficult to continue this conflict. We would
gladly bring every single one of our troops home if we could be confident that
there were not violent extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan determined to kill
as many Americans as they possibly can. But that is not yet the case.23
Courageous words the president expressed regarding arduous circumstances that

must be addressed, matters that will not be tolerated, and injustices that will be
settled. Assertive language by the president on the home front can be noted dur-
ing a March 17, 2009, press conference in the Eisenhower Executive Office Build-
ing, as Obama responded to Republican criticisms of the budget.
“Just say no” is the right advice to give your teenagers about drugs. It is not an
acceptable response to what our economic policies propose by the other party . . .
what we need in Washington are not more political tactics, we need more good
ideas. We don’t need more point scoring, we need more problem solving. So
if there are members of Congress who object to specific policies and proposals
in this budget, then I ask them to be ready and willing to propose constructive
alternative solutions. If certain aspects of this budget people don’t think work,
provide us some ideas in terms of what you do. . . . The American people sent
us here to get things done.24
Obama demonstrates a unique brand of assertive tact in that he faces difficul-

ties by calling for the germane conversations. The nature of his assertiveness also
reflects appropriately candid and confrontational actions in that he cuts through

the politics to get us to the heart of the matter. In his April 14, 2009, address at
Georgetown University Obama noted,
For too long, too many in Washington put off hard decisions for some other
time on some other day. There’s been a tendency to score political points instead
of rolling up sleeves to solve real problems. There is also an impatience that char-
acterizes this town—an attention span that has only grown shorter with the
twenty-four-hour news cycle, and insists on instant gratification in the form of
immediate results or higher poll numbers. When a crisis hits, there’s all too of-
ten a lurch from shock to trance, with everyone responding to the tempest of the
moment until the furor has died away and the media coverage has moved on,
instead of confronting the major challenges that will shape our future in a sus-
tained and focused way.25
In these two examples, the first in which the president demands that objections
be backed by alternate ideas and the second where he distinguishes the politics
from the actual work, we see more clearly Obama’s brand of assertiveness. Com-
panioned with frequent right-brain style shifts Obama reflects back on strategic
intent, seeks to ensure a continuous flow of innovation into the solution pipeline,
tends progressively to the evolutionary change process, and works to engage an
ever-so-resistant audience. Are you ready yet to rethink your position on what it
means to be assertive?
Given the full-spectrum manner in which the president leads along with the
complexities of his administration’s charge, it seems perhaps premature to expect
that his actions be more closure seeking at this juncture.
Put another way, with respect to assertiveness, the president is showing strong in-
dicators of foundational assertive traits. He is determined in his goals, assured in ca-
pability, unrelenting, and good at resourcing the work. On many fronts he has
shown sound reactive assertiveness as well. He is resolute, willing to face difficulties,
direct, and good at working through conflicts. He has seen many initiatives through
and will no doubt, in time and with a balance of right- and left-brain blended skill
sets, move the meter on his additional, bigger-ticket items as well.
Right Brain / Left Brain Summary

As each of the eight right- and left-brain guiding leadership behaviors have now
been covered, we see the richness in leadership impact when these total brain behav-
iors work in consort. Obama leads from the right, affording a fertile starting point
from which his equally capable left brain can then bring aspirations to life. While
most if not all high-level leaders are to some extent multidominant, it is rare to
find someone who is hardwired to act in such an integral manner. What you would
instead find are leaders who rather constrict their multidominance, especially under
stress. Obama, under stress, accelerates multidominance because it is so firmly a part

of his nature.
Two final guiding leadership behaviors are left to review. They are called the
Plus Factors because they add to right- and left-brain success. Accessed properly,
they can help drive right- and left-brain strong suits to greater levels. How will
President Obama fare with respect to these pivotal leadership determinants? How
do the president’s resilient and savvy traits contribute to his right- and left-brain
leadership success?
Chapter 6
Obama and the Plus Factors:

Sealing the Deal
The Plus Factors, resilient and savvy, have the view of looking in, focusing on
what you need to know to tend to yourself. These two guiding behaviors are right-
and left-brain enhancing and have direct bearing on how well you will execute the
other eight behaviors. The Plus Factors can be mistakenly overlooked in a leader’s
development thinking, but because of their pivotal role in leadership effectiveness,
they demand concerted attention. To make the case, let us examine how the Plus
Factors contribute to the president ’s efficacy, beginning with his resilience.
Resilient Energy
Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It
asks too little of yourself. Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to some-
thing larger than yourself that you realize your true potential.
— Barack Obama 1
The Plus Factor resilient addresses how well you are able to deal with difficult
times and stretch yourself beyond existing capabilities. Resilience is critical to your
sense of accomplishment and well-being. Being resilient positions you to tap fully
into your true potential. When you are at your best physically and mentally, you
are more likely to feel satisfied. Resilient leadership is defined as possessing the
optimal physical and mental functioning, stamina, and mindset — your internal
fortitude.
Albert Schweitzer remarked, “A great success is to go through life as a man who
never gets used up.”2 How does one accomplish this, to go through life and never,
in Schweitzer’s language, “get used up”? It’s all a matter of balance. It is about how
you modulate both your physical and psychological energy. Physical energy encom-
passes your health and fitness. Psychological energy is somewhat more complex. It
98 Right Brain / Left Brain President
is about your outlook, your thought process, how you reach conclusions, and how
you ultimately react.
Who comes to mind for you when you think of being resilient? Some would
cite individuals with exceptional physical and mental skill and endurance — Olym-
pic athletes, for example. Others would think of activists who have sacrificed and
taken on great personal hardship to advance a cause. Still others may name those
known for heroic acts or extraordinary accomplishment. In all groups we would
find individuals who are resilient in large part because of their ability to effectively
leverage multiple aspects of energy. Obama has certainly joined the ranks of those
known for extraordinary accomplishment.
The Energy Model

In the model for right brain/left brain leadership we think of energy in terms of
having three defining features:
• Initiation — how we activate and motivate ourselves

• Funneling — what we do and how we do it
• Recovery — our health, wellness, and rejuvenation 3
Each of the ten resilient traits support one or more of these features. Figure 6.1
shows the complete Energy Model mapped to the traits of resilient leadership. Com-
pare the model specifics to the following traits of resilient leadership:
• Positive — having constructive focus on opportunities and possibilities

• Emotionally sound — able to cope with stress and difficulties as demonstrated by
your behavior
• Clear thinking—able to sort through confusions, block out distractions, and think
freely
• Tolerant — accepting of differences
• Flexible — able to adjust or accommodate when necessary
• Spiritual — seeing beyond yourself to how you contribute in a broader sense, ac-
countable to a greater good
• Physically fit — practicing sound lifestyle habits; aware of and managing your
health
• Fulfilled — feeling a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction about your life
• Relaxed — able to decompress from stress
• Environmental — making nature a part of your personal and professional devel-
opment
Positive Thinking, Obama-Style

Energy initiation is driven by the resilient trait positive, your constructive focus on
opportunities and possibilities. To initiate your energy you need momentum, phys-
ical readiness, and a mindset oriented toward success. To be positive your body
Obama and the Plus Factors 99
Figure 6.1
Energy Model for Traits of RESILIENT Leadership
must be poised to act, your attitude set in optimistic mode. Physical activation oc-
curs in part as the natural process of waking and moving about. As blood circula-
tion increases our bodies wake and mobilize. Slow, deep breaths and light stretching
upon rising can enhance the process. How you then view the day ahead is another
key element to accelerating optimum energy.
Have you ever watched national campaigns unfold and asked yourself how the
candidates keep going, day after day, giving speeches, shaking hands, smiling with
confidence that they will be elected? Certainly those of us watching the 2008 U.S.
presidential race had such thoughts. That presidential campaign was a long and
hard-fought battle. How the candidates were able to initiate their energy contrib-
uted to their staying power. Throughout that campaign we saw in Obama a posi-
tive presidential hopeful. He was, after all, armed with the slogan “yes we can,” and
yes they did. Next, as president-elect, Obama moved through the transition phase
of his appointment with the same optimistic mindset. Throughout his first year
in office, amid tenuous times, he remained encouraging. To date he continues to

be constructively upbeat.
While there are many things in life we can’ t control, thankfully our attitude
is one we can —“yes we can.” A positive frame of mind from a leadership stand-
point is to welcome challenges and stay focused on opportunities, on the future,
on hope. Brazilian teacher, philosopher and activist Paulo Freire has been known
as one of the most influential educators of our time, referenced here for his fervor
concerning joy and hope. For Freire, living through joy in the present and hope
in what lies ahead positions us for success.
In his book Pedagogy of Freedom: Ethics, Democracy, and Civic Courage, Freire
writes, “In truth, from the point of view of the human condition, hope is an essen-
tial component and not an intruder . . . Hope is a natural, possible, and necessary
impetus in the context of our unfinishedness. Hope is an indispensible seasoning
in our human historical experience. Without it, instead of history we would have
pure determinism . . . A future that is inexorable is a denial of history.”4
Freire’s lifework was with the oppressed and impoverished. Hope was primal
to emancipation. Joy in our humanity and hope in our prospects paved the way
for advancement, for new heights. Interestingly, for Freire, through hope one be-
comes not clouded by rose-colored glasses but rather more open-minded to the
full spectrum of circumstances. Hope encourages our willingness to critique, to
question, and to denounce what is unjust in order to move toward ultimate fair-
ness. It is by shoring ourselves up with what is possible that we can more readily
face our existing shortcomings.
Obama too is a champion of hope. Captivated by the phrase and sermon of his
preacher on “the audacity of hope,” Obama’s campaign reflected this inspiration,
that from hope we can better scrutinize our current dissatisfactions. On hope
Obama said, “Hope — hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncer-
tainty. The audacity of hope! In the end, that is God’s greatest gift to us, the bedrock
of this nation. A belief in things not seen. A belief that there are better days ahead.”5
In Freire-like fashion, to be positive is to hold joy as one of life’s most pre-
cious commodities. It is a “life’s simple pleasures ” frame of mind that Obama first
learned from his mother, carried forth to how he captions his life today. For Obama
as for Freire, there is joy in the here and now and aspiration in what is to come.
Complacency and despair have no place. Obama is above all positive in what we
can and should seek. His right-brain charismatic and motivational traits along
with his left-brain personable nature are rooted in this resilient trait, that of a
positive spirit. Similarly, his innovative playfulness and transformational open-
ness to learning are primed by his positive hopeful approach.
What He Does and How He Does It

Soon after Obama took office he began appointing his cabinet. News was break-
ing that Hillary Clinton was to be named secretary of state. Media sharks were
smelling blood in the water. At a press conference one reporter provocatively ques-
tioned the president about negative references he made about Clinton during the
campaign, in particular about her foreign policy inexperience. The president smiled,
looked at the reporter, and laughingly said something to the effect of, “You like to
have fun with this, don’t you?”6 His comment composed him and put the audi-
ence in check. He made additional comments about Clinton’s fit for the job. The
case was closed.
Energy funneling speaks to our interactions and approaches. How well we fun-
nel our energy is determined first and foremost by how emotionally sound we
are. How well we cope with stress and difficulties, how stable and even-tempered
we remain in the face of adversity, is what we look for in determining if someone
is emotionally sound.
Few would deny that Obama handles stress remarkably well. At each juncture
of the campaign, when the heat was on Obama became calmer. In the later stages of
the process, during a presidential debate Obama’s Republican opponent was show-
ing signs of wear, referring to Obama as “that one” during an exchange. Obama
smiled and let the remark pass while his promoters turned the competitor’s phrase
into a bumper sticker. This is a man not easily rattled. Obama seems to offer up a
sound array of coping skills to counter life’s stresses.
Obama’s stress-resistant demeanor is additive to his left-brain grounded traits
of composed and approachable along with his left-brain assertive traits confi-
dent, courageous, and candid. Given Obama’s adjustment skills he is better able
to control his emotions, and it affords him the position of continuing to reach out
to others even during the most contested of times. Obama’s ability to cope with
stress can likewise afford him assurance in the heat of the moment. He can act with
audacity and frankness ( yes he can) as he insists on a path forward. When, for ex-
ample, the pressure was on Obama to make Wall Street gains the focus of his at-
tention to right the economy, Obama flatly and courteously replied that Wall Street
fluctuations alone were not driving his planning, that he had a broader view in
mind. A less emotionally sound leader could have been unnerved by such a high-
profile demand and perhaps either lashed out or sought to appease to deflect the
pressure.
Obama’s clear thinking, his ability to sort through confusions, block out dis-
tractions, and think freely, seems linked to his propensity for reflection. When
you listen to Obama speak you note a thought flow with apparent embedded or-
ganization, with a nucleus and cell-like structure generated from it. The structure
catches your attention. It is intricate, yet well formed and simply constructed. Such
a thought process, especially coming from someone with so much on his plate, is
indicative of both a complex thinker as well as someone who seemingly thrives on
distilling involved views into straightforward concepts.
Yet another aspect of Obama’s clear thinking is his ability to sort through ap-
parent communication noise. Noise is a term in interpersonal communications
theory defined as anything that interferes with the transmission of a message.
Political environments are replete with noise. Noise is what powers the political
engine. The more one side can obscure the other’s, the better chance they have
of winning the contest of the moment. To think clearly, a leader has to be able to
recognize noise and not be thrown by it. The leader must continue, in spite of the
chatter, to think freely. Obama’s stress-resistant armor affords him the inclination
to thwart the gnats buzzing incessantly around him. He is able to remain cen-
tered and to stay his course. On the noise of politics Obama commented, “Most
people who serve in Washington have been trained either as lawyers or as politi-
cal operatives — professions that tend to place a premium on winning arguments
rather than solving problems.”7
At the 200th-day mark of his presidency Obama heard a round of criticisms
concerning the many issues his administration was taking on, as well as the cost
that such a charter would generate. Sorting through criticisms of this nature is an
example of how his clear thinking was tested. Information was coming in from all
sides, from media factions, from his Republican opponents, from his own party,
and from citizen polls. Obama did not react to the disapproval with a sweeping
change of course. He most probably contemplated it in broad right-brain fashion
and then applied left-brain analytics, dissecting the situation from all sides as he
continued forward.
For a clear thinker, information is taken in and culled in open-minded fashion
for its best use. Polarized thinkers, on the other hand, are those who have a parti-
cular view in mind and hear only that which supports their view. Yet another group,
the so-called political thinkers, are those who simply shift to follow the resulting
tides. Obama is a clear thinker. Clear thinking as an aspect of resilience affords
a leader the best possible path to effective solutions. Clear thinking means that
you are attuned to and understand information that is available to you and from
which you draw sound conclusions.
Two additional aspects of energy funneling are the traits tolerant and flexible.
Being tolerant and flexible allows you to function from a greater range, accepting
differing perspectives, willing to accommodate or adapt when necessary. Obama’s
hardwired values for broad-mindedness, his apparent acceptance of others, and his
adaptability to contexts come from the mindsets of those who raised him and the
circumstances of his upbringing. Obama appears welcoming of diverse perspectives
and, more importantly, seems matter-of-fact concerning differences, meaning that
he seems to view heterogeneity as a given in life. Such an individual would spend
little energy resisting what is different. Instead he would give his attention to un-
derstanding it.
With respect to the final aspect of energy funneling, the spiritual sense of a
leader, spiritual in this sense speaks to a greater accountability and purpose, that
as a leader you are here to contribute not only to your work, but to the greater
good. The Obama quote earlier in this chapter reads, “Focusing your life solely on
making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself.
Because it ’ s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself
that you realize your true potential.”8 Through this inspiration, Obama conveys his
spiritual propensity.
An additional statement from Obama further reinforces his spiritual inclina-
tion: “Faith is not just something you have, it’s something you do.”9 In this state-
ment the president speaks to the need to act from and on our beliefs. In the final
quote regarding the president ’s spiritual leadership trait, Obama addresses the
impetus that empathy (understanding others from their perspective) can provide.
He cites empathy as a necessary yet often neglected aspect of how to truly make a
difference:
You know, there ’ s a lot of talk in this country about the federal deficit. But I
think we should talk more about our empathy deficit — the ability to put our-
selves in someone else’ s shoes; to see the world through the eyes of those who
are different from us — the child who’s hungry, the steelworker who’s been laid
off, the family who lost the entire life they built together when the storm came
to town. When you think like this — when you choose to broaden your ambit of
concern and empathize with the plight of others, whether they are close friends
or distant strangers — it becomes harder not to act; harder not to help.10
For Obama, the resilient trait spiritual is about the responsibility of a leader to
work always in service to others.
Recharging the Energy Battery

No matter how many times I see photographs of the progression of a president
through his tenure, how each president has aged, I find it startling. Energy recov-
ery is critical to all leaders. It is especially vital to those with literally the weight
of the world on their shoulders. Energy recovery looks at your health, wellness,
and rejuvenation. It looks at short-term renewal — how you recover throughout
the day or at the end of a long week. Energy recovery also looks at your overall
longevity. Four resilient traits comprise energy recovery. They are physically fit
( your health and habits), fulfilled ( how satisfied you are with your life ), relaxed
( how you decompress and unwind ), and environmental ( your connection to
nature).
The development of one ’ s energy recovery is somewhat subjective, meaning a
range of methods can net similar results, yet certain practices apply. With respect
to being physically fit, things that promote overall good health and beneficial
lifestyle approaches are specified in the medical and wellness literature. Regarding
how fulfilled we are, psychology professes certain indicators of satisfaction. Recu-
perating from stress can be challenging, and to assist us, varied measures are avail-
able that help us to be relaxed. With respect to the trait environmental, think only
of the undeniable, awe-inspiring feeling that comes over us when in the presence
of nature’s grandeur to note how such a connection contributes to our energy re-
covery.
What, then, do we know about the president with respect to health, wellness,
and rejuvenation? Regarding how physically fit he is, Obama is known to be in
top physical shape. Most if not all who occupy the Oval Office would have to sub-
scribe to some form of exercise to meet the physically and mentally taxing demands
of their position. Obama, though, is a champion of physical fitness. He was fea-
tured in the November 2008 twentieth anniversary collector’s edition of Men’s
Health magazine as one of the “20 Heroes of Health and Fitness.”11 He subscribes
to a rigorous exercise regime. He is an avid basketball player and purports to eat
healthy foods and snacks.12 First Lady Michelle Obama made it a priority to plant a
vegetable garden in the White House yard to reinforce and model the Obamas’
wellness orientation. On the negative side, the president has smoked but appears
committed to winning the battle against that demon.
With respect to the resilient trait fulfilled, Obama seems thrilled to be in his
current role. One can only assume that to have accomplished what he has was a
good thing for Obama. He seems to be at, if not beyond, where he aspired to be
and in a position to make the greatest impact of his life.
In terms of how well Obama is able to recuperate from the massive stress he
is under, how he can relax, he points to his loving marriage and family life as his
greatest ally on that front. In a June 1, 2009, interview at the White House with
BBC correspondent Justin Webb, the president made this reply to Webb ’s ques-
tion concerning how, given all that must be weighing on him, he relaxes:
Well, nothing is better at pulling you out of your world than having a couple of
children. So I’ve got a ten-year-old and a seven-year-old, and they ’re planning
pool parties and talking about homework and trying to figure out how to get
the dog back on the leash . . . I mean one of the huge benefits of being presi-
dent is I now have a nice home office, and I go upstairs and I can have din-
ner with my family just about every night, and they can travel with me when
they’re able. And so we’ve got, I think a very good deal, and I’m grateful that
I’ve got such a wonderful wife and kids. That’s my main form of relaxation.13
In this excerpt you hear a satisfied man with treasured family support as his pri-
mary means of dealing with the stresses of his charge. In addition to family support,
Obama’s physical workout routine not only promotes good health, but also serves
to expediently discharge stress.
The final resilient trait, environmental, is also one that is strong for Obama.
Obama was raised beachside in Hawaii, a setting of breathtaking environmental
landscape amid a culture tied closely to nature. He also spent four years as a young
child in Indonesia, a place with very different and striking environmental imagery.
As such he grew up satiated with environmental images that are now no doubt sec-
ond nature–accessible to his brain. To be connected to the physical world in this
way breeds into one’ s thinking a perspective of our own place in a vast universe.
It helps us to connect spiritually and to look at our position in the world in terms
of what we truly can and can’t control. It helps us to be accountable to our planet.
Through environmental triggers we are apt to pause and breathe in order to take it
all in. We can more easily decompress and regain our center. Obama’s environmen-
tal connection is sure to play a role in his overall stable temperament.
The president has assumed office at a time that will no doubt test his energy
recovery to the maximum, but he seems on solid ground, with multiple rejuvena-
tion strong suits. In concluding this section on the guiding leadership behavior
resilient we recognize Obama for certain distinct buoyancies that will aid and
support his right- and left-brain leadership effectiveness. The final guiding lead-
ership behavior, savvy, is next, a fitting capstone for someone in Obama ’ s politi-
cal context.
Savvy 101
But challenging as they are it’s not the magnitude of our problems that concerns
me the most, it is the smallness of our politics.
— Barack Obama14
Negotiating political landscapes and influencing key stakeholders can be a daunt-

ing task. Aristotle once remarked, “Man is by nature a political animal.”15 This
noted philosopher’s perspective sums up the importance of savvy to any leader. For
Obama, Aristotle’s point could not be more fitting. Obama exists in an environ-
ment that is political to excess. He must act with consummate savoir faire. Given
Obama’s concerns about what he refers to in the preceding quote as the “smallness
of . . . politics,” he will also need to continuously address the complications gen-
erated by an overplayed political machine. Obama poked fun at the supercharged
competitive D.C. climate in his opening remarks at a town hall meeting on Au-
gust 14, 2009, in Belgrade, Montana, stating, “Well, it is nice to be back. It’s nice
to take a break from the goings-on in Washington. I’m thrilled to have a chance
to spend some time with the folks in this beautiful state. After all, here in Mon-
tana you’ve got bears and moose and elk. And in Washington, you just have mostly
bull.”16
Savvy as defined in the Right Brain / Left Brain Leadership Model, is the abil-
ity to sense and respond appropriately to cultural climates, to get things done in
a way that advances both you and those organizations you are affiliated with—
your external influence. As such it is our external focus, what we need to attend
to concerning the world in which we operate. How savvy you are will determine
how in control you are of your image. Savvy leadership traits are:
• Astute — perceptive concerning people and circumstances

• Diplomatic — using tact in your sensitive interactions
• Timely — aware of the right moment to make a point or deal with an issue
• Subtle — able to work indirectly to influence people and situations
• Culturally oriented — grounded in the culture of your group or organization and
acting from that knowledge in how you influence those within that culture
• Networking — developing personal and professional relationships that are mutu-
ally beneficial
• Coalition building—bringing together those who share your causes, views, or
involvements
• Promotive — effectively lobbying for your and others’ issues and recognition
• Assimilating — able to integrate into groups, teams, or cultures
• Visible — being regularly seen
There are three key determinants of savvy. The first is awareness, what you
know or sense. The second savvy source is power. Power is defined as the capacity
to influence. The final foundational element of savvy is perception, impressions that
are formed and shaped about you and what you are trying to accomplish.
Fundamental Awareness
The first initiator of savvy is awareness. Awareness, like savvy itself, exists also as
a three-legged stool, consisting of the following:
• How well you know yourself

• How accurate you are in understanding how others see you
• How well you understand others and the world around you
The savvy traits that help drive awareness are astute, diplomatic, and timely.
Obama is astute. He approaches things with the help of a sensitive antenna. He
is attending to his surroundings, noting fine appreciations of the issues at hand.
Obama’s receptors leave him well poised to sense nuances, cultural and otherwise,
as he examines contexts and perspectives. Being astute begins with concentration.
On the importance of concentration Obama said,
I always believe that ultimately, if people are paying attention, then we get good
government and good leadership.17
Obama seems to indicate here that being perceptive — paying attention, as he calls
it — to people and circumstances is an important starting point. Being astute con-
tributes to the right-brain ability to read between the lines and to left-brain analyt-
ics, making sense of it all. It facilitates both intuitive insight and detailed scrutiny,
both of which Obama appears to possess.
To be diplomatic requires tact in your sensitive interactions. Politicians can
typically come across as tactful to a fault. Obama’s brand of tact seems rooted in
a delicate appreciation of fine distinctions, in an artful grasp of the complexities
that sensitive matters are laden with. At the same town hall meeting in Belgrade,
Montana, Obama displayed his brand of diplomacy in teeing up his discussion of
the contentious matter of health care reform in America. The health care reform
debate had at this point escalated to, at its worst moments, unfortunate ugly spec-
tacles. Politically motivated sabotage of ideas and facts seemed to be plaguing the
dialogue. Obama had this to say:
. . . health care touches all of our lives in a profound way.
Now, that also makes this debate an emotional one. I know there’s been a lot
of attention paid to some of the town hall meetings that are going on around the
country, especially when tempers flare. T.V. loves a ruckus.
What you haven’t seen on T.V. and what makes me proud are the many con-
structive meetings going on all over the country. Everywhere — everywhere across
the country you’ re seeing people who are coming together and having a civil,
honest, often difficult conversation about how we can improve the system. That’s
how democracy ’s supposed to work.
Earlier this week, I held a town hall in New Hampshire. A few thousand
people showed up. Some were big supporters of health insurance reform. Some
had concerns and questions. Some were downright skeptical, didn’t believe it
could be done.
But I was glad to see that people were there not to shout, they were there to
listen and to ask questions. That reflects America a lot more than what we’ve seen
covered on television for the last few days. And I want to thank you for coming
here today in that spirit.18
Obama begins most of his diplomatic messages with a validation or acknowl-

edgment, indicating in this passage that health care reform is an important and
personal matter. He then attempts to rebalance the conversation. Obama does this
by setting a new tone, stressing the need to talk through disagreements productively,
to be open to learning along the way. His focus is on providing an accurate perspec-
tive, that the sensational outcomes we are watching on television in fact reflect only
one skewed outcome of the full debate. As such, he is discerning about the climate
of discussions, making direct attempts to encourage a more positive tenor.
Obama’s diplomatic side was also in evidence during his address at Cairo Uni-
versity, where he had to tend diplomatically to old wounds and pronounced social,
cultural, and emotional disconnects. While being more astute makes it possible for
you to develop better awareness, being more diplomatic and timely shows the
ability to act from that awareness, as Obama does.
Obama’s timely inclinations are evident in how he tends to infuse his positions
into statements that he makes along the way, rather than make separate reactive de-
clarations. Obama will also tend to let discussion occur rather than curtail it pre-
maturely. Health care reform is a case in point. The discussions were wearing on,
and much political posturing was taking place. Obama did not respond at each
and every juncture. He waited for the right moments and settings to convey his
reasoning, through town hall forums and ultimately, in a formal address to Con-
gress in which he directly called out the lines in the debate process that had been
crossed. The overall point to make about Obama and awareness is that the strong
suits he possesses in terms of insight, tact, and opportunism make it more likely for
Obama to develop and act from better awareness and therefore for his savvy acumen
to benefit in kind.
Power and Influence

Power is the capacity to influence. One’s power is enhanced by the savvy traits sub-
tle, culturally oriented, networking, and coalition building. Obama’s more un-
assuming style lends itself to aspects of subtlety. He is able to work indirectly to
influence people and situations. In that sense he is more of a gentle giant. His rise
to the top was experienced in such a manner, up from the simplest of beginnings
but a steadily building tide that eventually amassed into a formidable presence.
As a result of Obama’s background and key influences, Obama is keenly cul-
turally oriented. All that he is and knows engenders in him respect for and ap-
preciation of what distinguishes us. He recognizes and validates cultural groups
naturally. At the same Belgrade, Montana, town hall meeting a mother was handed
a microphone so that she could ask a question. She began relating her story about
caring for a child with special needs and the concerns she had about health care.
Recognizing the nuanced culture of parents of children with special needs, the presi-
dent opened his remarks to the woman with this statement:
First of all, thank you for sharing your story. You are a heroic mom. So we are
grateful to you, and your son’s lucky.19
This is a small, yet important example of Obama’s adeptness at cultural recog-

nition. Embedded in his acknowledgment of this woman is the detection of her
special circumstance and affiliation. When a leader views his interactions through
such a well-honed cultural lens, recognizing fine distinctions as Obama does, his
savvy is enhanced appreciably.
Networking is the next aspect of savvy that contributes to a leader’s ability to
influence more effectively. Inclusive networking is a key approach for Obama, a
team-minded leader, one who seeks to work collaboratively and collectively. Such
can be seen in his use of town hall meetings as an outreach format. His method is
indicative of a belief in networking as an opportunity not only to communicate
directly with various constituencies, but also to gain their perspective as well as
their buy-in. Buy-in is an interesting consideration when examining how one uses
one’s power. A leader who networks more broadly, as Obama does, is hoping to le-
verage forms of influence beyond positional authority. Positional authority or le-
gitimate power is only one of six bases of power, as follows:
• Reward — the ability to provide something that others value

• Coercive — the ability to set limits or reprimands
• Legitimate — authority by virtue of one’s position
• Persuasive — possessing and using information to convince
• Referent — influence derived from being admired
• Expert — possessing specific skills, knowledge, or expertise 20
Leaders less inclined to work through far-reaching networks will tend to stay
within the confines of the first three bases of power. They will make use of rewards
and limit setting and they will exercise the weight of their rank. They typically
do not appreciate the value of full-throttle power whereby persuasive, referent,
and expert power are accessed as well. These latter forms of influence are in reality
more potent as they result in sustainable impacts. In other words, leaders who work
through the full continuum of power create change that becomes internalized to
all concerned. Leaders who rather rely on the upper part of the continuum tend to
get buy-in that is only as good as the enforcement in place to back up compliance.
Obama is an ingrained user of persuasive and expert power. He influences
through information and expertise. He is also captivating and thereby able to put
forth referent power as a matter of course.
The last aspect of power as an accelerant of savvy is the trait coalition building.
Hand-in-hand with Obama’s networking style is his affinity for bringing people
together who share causes, views, or involvements. Looking to how his campaign
was constructed we can see his proclivity in this regard. Through carefully con-
structed messages and mediums he was able to unite people across demographics
to work toward common causes. Ultimately successful in that the election was won
against all odds, one would have to acknowledge Obama for the coalition builder
that he is. Today in his presidency he is using multiple forums and technologies at
his disposal to reach out and connect the masses while working through his ad-
ministration team to address Washington divisions.
An interesting excerpt from a September 8, 2009, address shows an overarching
aspect of Obama’s perspective on power. The president went before students in
Wakefield, Virginia, to inspire the start of the new school year. Following his re-
marks was a question and answer period during which a student asked the presi-
dent who he would select to have dinner with if he could do so with anyone now
or in history. The president replied,
You know, I think that it might be Gandhi, who is a real hero of mine. Now, it
would probably be a really small meal because —( laughter)— he didn’t eat a lot.
But he’s somebody who I find a lot of inspiration in. He inspired Dr. King, so if
it hadn’t been for the nonviolent movement in India, you might not have seen
the same nonviolent movement for civil rights here in the United States. He
inspired César Chávez, and he — and what was interesting was that he ended
up doing so much and changing the world just by the power of his ethics, by
his ability to change how people saw each other and saw themselves — and help
people who thought they had no power realize that they had power, and then
help people who had a lot of power realize that if all they ’ re doing is oppressing
people, then that’s not a really good exercise of power.
So I’m always interested in people who are able to bring about change, not
through violence, not through money, but through the force of their personality
and their ethical and moral stances. And that’s somebody that I’d love to sit down
and talk to.21
Power for Obama is undoubtedly about the ability to make substantive con-
tributions, to empower others, and to foster moral principles through the most civi-
lized of manners.
Perception as Reality
Perception is reality. In politics, perception, or rather, constructing perceptions to
support a given position, is the nature of the game. What, then, is it about percep-
tion that will foster true savvy versus hyperpolitical savvy? We look to the traits
promotive, assimilating, and visible for the answers. When being promotive we
effectively lobby for issues and recognition. Perception is in effect an interpretation.
On any given day and for any given issue, political or otherwise, it is easy to find
two individuals whose understandings differ. How many differing views are there
on health care reform, for example, and how different are perceptions from one in-
dividual or one faction to the next?
Obama promotes through knowledge. He relies on facts, data, and expertise to
communicate his points. He creates well-constructed arguments through what he
considers to be objective informational accuracy. A potential savvy problem for
Obama is in the backhanded manner in which others can and do conduct them-
selves, what some will stoop to in order to shape perceptions into their way of
thinking. While his stance is admirable, playing fair and expecting others to do the
same, can such an approach cost him? In the near term, one who takes the savvy
high road as Obama does can appear to be losing the immediate battle, but over
time will such a person in fact win the war? This view of savvy leadership says yes.
A leader such as Obama knows full well the bad behavior occurring around him
and is taking steps to counter it slowly and patiently. Eventually those with hidden
agendas and immoral ploys are exposed. Desired change may take longer, but with a
concerted moral savvy effort, it will be realized.
In addition to promoting through knowledge, Obama also promotes through
recognition. Obama provides updates regarding progress and accomplishments,
regularly praising and acknowledging. Commendations are key elements of the
trait promotive. Consider the following example from a September 1, 2009, press
conference in the White House’s Rose Garden as Obama salutes positive signs in
the economy before detailing the updates he was providing to the public on our
H1N1 flu preparedness. Notice his promotive tone.
Good afternoon, everybody. Before I say a few words about the meeting we just
had I’d like to mention some good news that came out today about our economy.
For the first time in eighteen months, our manufacturing sector has expanded,
and the statistics used to measure manufacturing output is the highest it’s been
in over two years.
This means greater production of transportation equipment like cars, and
electronic equipment like computers and appliances, and it means these com-
panies are starting to invest more and produce more, and it is a sign that we’ re
on the path to economic recovery.
There’s no doubt that we have a long way to go, and I and the other members
of this administration will not let up until those Americans who are looking for
jobs can find them. But this is another important sign that we’re heading in the
right direction, and that the steps we’ve taken to bring our economy back from
the brink are working.
Now, we just had a good meeting about our ongoing efforts to prepare this
country for the H1N1 flu virus this fall. And I want to thank John Brennan, our
CDC director Tom Frieden, and secretaries Sebelius, Napolitano, Duncan, and
Locke for all the good work that they ’ ve been doing to get us ready today. . . .
Our plans and decisions are based on the best scientific information available,
and as the situation changes, we will continue to update the public. We ’ re also
making steady progress on developing a safe and effective H1N1 flu vaccine, and
we expect a flu shot program will begin soon . . .
I want to commend every member of our team. I think we’ve done an ex-
traordinary job in preparing for this flu outbreak. We anticipate that there will
be some issues coming up over the next several months. The way it ’ s moving is
still somewhat unpredictable, but what I’m absolutely confident about is that
our team that ’ s assembled here has done an extraordinary job in preparing for
whatever may happen.
So we appreciate all of you for being here, and I want to publicly again thank
you for all your extraordinarily hard work.22
Obama began by providing data to demonstrate gains on the economic front. He

then called out each member of the preparedness team. Obama highlighted the
team’s decision-making process, connecting it to state-of-the-art science while men-
tioning the status of the flu vaccine in development. In closing he again recognized
the team’s exceptional efforts and endorsed their overall capability.
Politicians are promotive by nature. It is, after all, their bread and butter, a criti-
cal way to solicit the endorsements of their constituents. Obama, like many of his
fellow politicos, is adept at it, yet still in all, a cut above with his added flare of
reverence. He is genuine in his praise and in his respect for what is accomplished
when individuals work together.
The savvy trait assimilating is also important in shaping the perceptions of
others. Those who are assimilating are well able to integrate into groups, teams, and
cultures. As a leader works to integrate she becomes more attuned to members’ per-
spectives and vice versa. The leader then gains important insights that can sculpt
her approaches while simultaneously she can begin to share her views to a perhaps
more receptive audience.
The whole of Obama’s social world, growing up to the present day, required him
to integrate and to fit in on a much deeper level than those who walk homogenous
life paths. To assimilate is fundamental to him, something that as it turns out will
serve him well. As president, Obama is expected to adapt quickly with respect to
his responsibilities both at home and abroad. He is well poised to do so with his
adaptive inclinations.
The final savvy trait is visible. Perceptions are in part molded by how others
experience you directly when in your presence. Toward the end of the second chap-
ter the matter of heightened exposure of leaders was raised. The point made was
that we are in a new age of access to each other. Leaders have more mediums through
which they are openly observed. How you manage those opportunities determines
how well you leverage your visibility. Obama is a high-visibility leader. He seems to
believe in the value of staying connected and to making his key points in person.
He has appeared in various settings and formats that cut across groups and fac-
tions as part of a platform of outreach. Companion to Obama’s stance on inclu-
sion, his visible approach ensures ample connection to those he is empowered to
serve. Obama’s willingness to be up close and personal also serves to make a for-
midable statement. It demonstrates a devotion to his convictions—who he is, what
he stands for, and what he is setting out to accomplish.
Defining Moments
Developing better savvy has immeasurable benefits. Like its partner Plus Factor
resilient, through the development of savvy traits, multiple right- and left-brain
behaviors are enhanced. Critical to note is that one’s savvy acumen will determine
whether, at certain defining moments, a leader will be able to access his full right-
brain / left-brain potential or rather default to habitual ways.
Look first at the ways savvy is right- and left-brain enhancing. Through deeper
awareness of your circumstances and personal position, you will be able to land
on more astute strategic alternatives. Being culturally oriented, along with more
timely, assimilating, and subtle in your approach, can drive more successful re-
inventions (augmenting transformational leadership). As you are more visible
and keyed in, others have the opportunity to experience you as a more grounded
leader. Your expressive and engaging skills also take on new dimension as you com-
municate in more diplomatic ways. Your ability to engage is also bolstered through
a promotive tone, along with having ample support systems in place, the result of
your networking and coalition building.
Time will tell the impact as the president continues to work from his brand of
savvy talent. As far as defining moments are concerned, Obama had one of many
such moments to come on September 9, 2009. The president spoke to Congress
and to the nation about health care reform. Media hype referred to it as his make-
or-break speech. As the president entered the congressional chamber he was warmly
and enthusiastically greeted. He began his address in promotive fashion, praising
the members for their successful actions over the past six months on behalf of the
nation’s economic difficulties.
The president then refocused the group on the future, specifically on health care
reform. He was confrontational and emphatic, wanting the political posturing to
end, differences to be resolved, and definitive action to be taken once and for all.
Obama was specific in summarizing the facts of his proposed bill, its cost, and
how it would be funded. Obama also called attention to the point that presently
there was far more agreement than division across Congress on aspects of the plan.
Throughout the address he traversed a fine line between recognizing examples of
healthy debate while also expressing constructive intolerance of unacceptable com-
petitive ploys. In many respects he was more provocative than we would normally
see in such addresses. In concluding his address the president had this to say:
I understand how difficult this health care debate has been. I know that many
in this country are deeply skeptical that government is looking out for them.
I understand that the politically safe move would be to kick the can further
down the road — to defer reform one more year, or one more election, or one
more term.
But that is not what the moment calls for. That ’ s not what we came here to
do. We did not come to fear the future. We came here to shape it. I still believe
we can act even when it’s hard. (Applause.) I still believe —I still believe that we
can act when it’s hard. I still believe we can replace acrimony with civility, and
gridlock with progress. I still believe we can do great things, and that here and
now we will meet history ’ s test.
Because that’s who we are. That is our calling. That is our character.23
In this defining moment, Obama ’ s savvy allowed him to access a broad range
of right- and left-brain behaviors, rather than to be constrained by the stress of
the moment. He was true to his convictions and wisely accessed alter-brain behav-
iors (those outside of his most favored preferences). In particular he well balanced
his tried and true engaging manner with true assertive closure-seeking declara-
tions. In this defining moment, the president’s savvy was well engaged as it not only
served to help Obama accomplish what he is wanting to, but also enabled him to
best realize his full leadership impact.
With savvy as the last of the ten guiding leadership behaviors, the review of
Obama’s unique right- and left-brain leadership proficiency is completed. We turn
now to how you too can develop your leadership competence in a more full-
spectrum manner, how you can become more Obama-like.
Chapter 7
Becoming More Obama-Like
If we aren’t willing to pay a price for our values, then we should ask ourselves
whether we truly believe in them at all.
—Barack Obama1
From Values to Actions

The preceding six chapters have taken you through a unique leader’s rise to the
top and actions therein. What is clear is that for Barack Obama, leadership begins
and ends with one’s values. From Obama’s perspective, values come with a price;
we should be willing to work to realize them in our lives. In becoming more
Obama-like in your leadership, you would begin by considering the nature of your
leadership values, whether your leadership ways emulate your beliefs. From that
point you would look to create a full range of right- and left-brain measures to
enact your ideals.
This book’s premise, then, is that for a leader of today to be truly successful, he
needs to lead from a broad range of behaviors. A leader needs to act across right-
and left-brain abilities, what we referred to as leadership breadth. Additionally,
leaders must possess certain nuance propensities, referred to as leadership depth,
such that within a given behavior, numerous facets exist that can and should be
leveraged as a situation warrants.
Obama was depicted as acting with such breadth and depth. The nature of his
background and life experiences were shown to have contributed to what ulti-
mately became his self-directed diverse leadership persona. That Obama is able to
move in a seemingly fluid and continuously integrated manner across right- and
left-brain strong suits makes his brand of leadership uncommon and something
to aspire toward.
In this final chapter we will distill Obama’s strengths in executive summary

fashion into a listing of leadership must-haves, each corresponding to one of the ten
guiding leadership behaviors. You will also have the opportunity to assess your
strengths and weaknesses relative to the Right Brain / Left Brain Model and to
settle on certain leadership development options. You will then be provided with
tools to help address gaps and exercise brain-style shifts more lithely. The book
will leave you with inspirations from other great leaders whose messages are in line
with those of Obama.
We begin with the listing of Obama’s key leadership strong suits distilled into
a top ten list. As you examine these leadership imperatives, begin to think about
your own development opportunities. Understand as you do so that this is the
time for you to be as forthright with yourself as possible. Critical to any develop-
ment process is personal candor— seeing yourself in an accurate light. Now is the
time to come to understand how you are, not how you prefer to be. Such honesty is
the first step in paying that price for what you believe in. Perhaps now is a good time
to ask yourself how painfully honest you are willing to be concerning your short-
comings in order to improve.
Leadership Must-Haves
Ten Obama leadership imperatives will be identified, beginning first with those
of the right-brain guiding leadership behaviors.
Right-Brain Line of SITE Imperatives
• Strategic—Think before you act, think of the bigger picture, and be able to read
between the lines to get to the heart of the matter. Only then can you determine
your path. Obama relies heavily on reflection to accurately understand the pres-
ent circumstance and to vision what the best possible future state would look like.
He relies on keen intuition to get past surface renderings for deeper meanings
and messages. He is guided by a phenomenology of consciousness, looking for
the nature of experiences. As a result, his strategies are set from a foundation of
broad and sustainable thinking.
• Innovative—Examine problems from multiple angles and vantage points,
searching for a creative cross-pollination of ideas (and don’t be afraid to
have some fun along the way). Obama is a pioneer artist with an appreciation
for novelty. He is open to the unconventional and, hence, to a range of potential
solutions. He does not constrict process but rather encourages the debate of ideas
and the soliciting of input from various, even competing, constituencies. His
playful spirit opens his mind and others to the imaginative and leads the way to
more groundbreaking possibilities. He pushes the intellectual envelope through
curiosity of cause in hopes of promoting groundbreaking outcomes.
• Transformational— Seek evolutions, not revolutions. Have a change mindset,
one of continuous learning and continuous improvement. Be tuned in to critical
junctures that might either help or hinder your direction. As Obama moves
Becoming More Obama-Like 117
through transformations he subscribes to a step-by-step, progressive approach.

He is a believer in the power of incremental change. He sees also what can be
accomplished through unremitting efforts. He places high value on learning and
on knowledge, as important contributors to any change process. He has a watchful
eye, aimed at keeping apprised of progress, and he adjusts his course accordingly.
• Engaging —Let empathy keep you human. Be a good listener, a great model,
and an even better inspiration and others will surely follow you. Obama
stresses the importance of empathy in leadership interactions, believing first and
foremost that a leader must act through direct compassion. He recognizes that
listening is not a soft attribute, but a vehicle to assist leaders in steering their course.
He does his best to talk the talk and walk the walk; he models what he expects. He
is a powerful charismatic, generating energy and involvement in his wake. For
Obama, the interpersonal side of leadership is a vital element of a leader’s ulti-
mate charge.
The next four imperatives are left brain in origin.
Left-Brain MEGA Mind Essentials
• Methodical—Discipline, focus, and realism will get the job done. Obama is
highly regimented and orderly in his approach. He looks to keep a sharp focus
on the top matters at hand and recognizes the importance of remaining practical.
He relies on the analysis of facts and circumstances to solve problems and come
to conclusions.
• Expressive—Communicate, communicate, and when you think you are through,
communicate again! Obama is the quintessential communicator. He is concise,
clear, and credible. When delivering messages he tees up conversations well,
articulates the substance of the message, and then goes a few steps further to be
interesting, at times entertaining, and always relating matters at hand personally
to his audience. He is repetitive when appropriate, punching out salient points.
He tends to the nonverbal attributes of messaging, driving further alignment
between what he says and how he says it. Thankfully, with all that we need to
know from him directly, he is easy to listen to. He does not drone on, nor are we
subjected to annoying mannerisms or maddening rhetoric.
• Grounded — Always act with integrity and above all, keep your cool. Obama
leads from a moral base. His aim is to be a good steward. He subscribes to letter-
of-the-law accountability, not to personal agendas or contrived rules of con-
venience. One of Obama’s defining features is his stability, his calm. Obama’s
self-control is probably fostered by the fact that he is at moral peace with himself
and his goals. His seems not the direction of hidden agendas or power plays, but
of simply serving his charge.
• Assertive—Know clearly when, where, and how to draw your line in the sand,
and once you do, don’t back down. Obama gives a certain amount of leeway.
He allows others the time to reconcile their differences and to find their place
in the work at hand. He also knows full well when enough is enough. He is able
to confront quite well through constructive intolerance, using both firm demarca-
tions and rational arguments —why and how things must and will change. Once
his declarations are made, he is apt to follow through with the required fervor.
Obama and the Plus Factors
• Resilient — Stay positive, keep the greater good clearly in sight, and ensure
the self-care necessary for you to meet the demands of your work. Obama is an
attitude role model for sure. He stays hopeful and upbeat. He loves what he does,
is fueled by close personal contacts, and is always looking to make extended favor-
able impacts. He is also a wellness icon, using his workout regime to not only stay
healthy and fit, but to help him to de-stress from the massive demands of his job.
• Savvy—Pay attention, work your systems, and above all, never take the bait. In
the end, fundamental awareness, influencing skills, and being cognizant of
the perceptions of others will shape the deciding votes. Obama is a consum-
mate politician in the best sense of the word. He is acutely aware, with a far-
reaching antenna. He influences from a full set of power bases, not from those
derived solely from rank and stature. He works through broad factions, groups,
and channels to build allies and is clearly accessible so that his positions and ac-
complishments are evident.
Those are the top ten ways in which you can aspire to harness the leadership
breadth and depth of this exemplar. In addition to these leadership must-haves,
remember also to consider the following four points that crystallize the Right
Brain /Left Brain Leadership Model fundamentals:
1. Orient your leadership from right to left. This counterintuitive approach be-
gins by looking out at possibilities. The leader’s Line of SITE and its behaviors—
strategic, innovative, transformational, and engaging—conceptualize what is possible
and secure the buy-in needed from those around you to get you there. The leader’s
MEGA mind and its behaviors—methodical, expressive, grounded, and assertive—
make possibilities a reality. The Plus Factors —resilient and savvy— are ever-present
adjuncts to bolster and secure your overall effectiveness. Obama leads from the right
and well incorporates in his left brain partner. His Plus Factors are ingrained into his
mode of operating, always available to support his overall approaches.
2. Work differently, not harder. Recognize your preferences. Know when they work
in your favor and when they don’t. Be willing and able to push beyond your core
inclinations for greater impact, especially when challenged. Obama relies regularly
on an array of behaviors and traits beyond those that are his cornerstones.
3. When stuck in a preference, shift style. Shifting between right- and left-brain be-
haviors (accessing alter-brain behaviors) will generate greater forward momentum
and greater opportunities for success. For Obama, fluidity in thought and approach
is central to his appeal and overall effectiveness.
4. Promote synergies. Your brain thrives on them, so you should, too. A synergy is
any combined effort that nets a greater result. The saying “two heads are better than
one” comes to mind. Look for collective ways that you and those you interact with
can pool knowledge, information, and resources. Obama is a firm believer in team-
work and collaboration.2
Your Call to Action

The following reflection and visioning activity will start you on your develop-
ment path. This exercise will help you consider your leadership effectiveness
overall—how you presently function versus how you would ultimately like to lead.
Instructions on how to complete the activity are found in the shaded box below.
INITIAL REFLECTION/VISIONING
For this activity you’ll need to open up a new document on your computer and call
the file Initial Reflection/Visioning. A blank sheet of paper and a pen or pen-
cil with the title written across the top will also do just fine. You are going to think
about two things. First, think about your leadership values—what you believe in—
what defines who you are and how you would like to lead.
Next, think about what you have learned about the Right Brain/Left Brain Lead-
ership Model. Go back and look over the ten leadership imperatives that were pre-
sented earlier in this chapter. Consider how Obama brings them to life. Another
diagram of the model is provided in Figure 7.1, giving you a visual reference to
stimulate your thinking as well.
Record any thoughts that come to mind. Note specifically where you see some
of your greatest strengths as well as certain gaps or opportunities.
Now close your eyes and envision that it is one year from today. You are leading
in alignment with your values, and you are well meeting your leadership challenges.
Try to imagine the nature of your interactions, how you are carrying yourself and
constructing your day relative to the ten guiding leadership behaviors. Think about
what is the same and what is different from how you lead today.
Open your eyes and construct a short paragraph of your thoughts. Following
that summary paragraph, put into words your leadership vision, keeping in mind
what you learned about Obama’s right brain/ left brain leadership.
A reflection and visioning activity such as this is an effective way to get started.
Next you will need to accurately and more precisely assess your leadership strengths
and development opportunities to correctly land on the best possible action steps.
To do so you will need the benefit of various forms of data. Such data come to us as
development feedback.
Feedback: A Key Ingredient

Feedback is knowledge through which we can deepen our awareness. In this case,
it is a means of providing accurate views of our leadership strengths, what works
in our leadership favor. Feedback can also help us understand what we need to
focus on to better meet leadership challenges. Feedback serves as an important
Figure 7.1
Right Brain/Left Brain Leadership Model ( Partial)
check and balance to what we believe to be so concerning how we function as

leaders.
Feedback can come to us formally and informally. Informally we can ask a col-
league, a boss, or a direct report to comment on some aspect of our performance.
Formally we can receive feedback through performance appraisals and through pre-
scribed leadership assessment tools. Feedback can be expressed to us directly or we
can glean it by observing others’ reactions.
When gathering informal feedback or observing others’ reactions, it is impor-
tant to separate out facts from assumptions and to test our assumptions, making
certain they are accurate. Feedback can be expressed to us directly from a source or
can come to us indirectly, relayed through someone, or by demeanor we observe
when in someone’s presence.
There is an art to receiving feedback, being open to it, and then interpreting
it, especially when it is about the problematic. Some may simply choose to dis-
miss unpleasant feedback, cutting off potentially valuable information concern-
ing your ultimate success. Feedback may not always be accurate itself —it may
carry with it the misperceptions of its carrier. However, while a piece of feedback
may appear to be incorrect, it always has some truth to it. It takes an investigative
mindset to understand its true meaning.3
The Takeaways about Feedback Are This:
1. Seek feedback from a variety of sources as a key part of your development

process — don’t rely solely on your own perspective. There are many other helpful
vantage points to consider, especially from those you trust. Look for themes and con-
verging lines of evidence to help focus your development targets.
2. Consider the source and the context of feedback and interpret feedback on that
basis. Ask yourself what each piece of feedback is telling you and be sure to separate
factual data from assumptions. Test any and all assumptions.
3. Recognize that dealing with feedback is a skill, actually more like an art. While
feedback isn’t always easy to deal with—the analogy could be likened to taking your
medicine —it may not taste great, but it is good for you in the long run.
Think for a moment about the feedback you have received, formally and in-
formally, direct and indirect, recently and over time. What is the feedback telling
you? Take a few minutes to summarize what you are hearing about how others
experience you as a leader. You may use a narrative or list format. Note any pat-
terns or themes along with any inconsistencies between how others see you and
how you see yourself. Put on your detective hat and try to reconcile discrepancies,
remembering that this is the time to be brutally honest with yourself.
Breadth Analysis
Soliciting and making good use of feedback will help make your development
assessment more accurate, as you will have the benefit of varying perspectives to
augment your own. It will help position you in your next step, to rate yourself
on each of the ten guiding leadership behaviors. Using the Leadership Behavior
Rating Form below, for each of the ten behaviors rate yourself on a scale from
0 to 10 with 10 being flawless (and as such highly improbable). Behaviors are in-
tentionally listed in random order.
LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR RATING FORM
___ Assertive: To be upfront, direct, and determined to get the desired re-
sults
___ Transformational: To drive change in cultures, teams, and individuals
relative to values, thoughts, and actions
___ Strategic: To be proactive and visionary; to have the long-range
view
___ Savvy: To sense and respond appropriately to the cultural climates;
to get things done in a way that advances both you and those or-
ganizations you are affiliated with
___ Innovative: To have an open mind and be able to think creatively
without restraint
___ Expressive: To clearly communicate your thoughts both formally and

informally while providing the necessary context
___ Engaging: To understand and work well with others; to validate, in-
volve, and recognize others and to help them take on responsibility
___ Resilient: To possess the optimal physical and mental functioning,
stamina, and mindset
___ Methodical: To plan well; to be systematic and effectual in your ap-
proach to initiatives
___ Grounded: To act with integrity, consistency, and stability; to be the
steward and the gauge4
Looking over your ratings, note your behavioral preferences (those behaviors
on which you scored highest). Your highest ratings should reflect your typical
leadership style. Note also one or two breadth targets (behaviors that you scored
lowest on). Behaviors with lower scores should provide options for increasing
your leadership breadth, in that if you accessed them more regularly, you could
be more effective.
Looking again at the Right Brain / Left Brain Model diagram provided in Fig-
ure 7.1, you may notice that the dotted lines that were shown when the model
was introduced are not on this version. They were left off purposely in order for
you to visualize your own potential style shift opportunities. Recall if you can typ-
ical Obama-like style shifts, ways in which the president moves fluidly around the
model. How might certain of his patterns also serve you? For instance, Obama’s
preference is more toward the engaging, yet he knows how and when to shift
style to the assertive to confront and bring needed closure to matters. Addition-
ally, while he is first and foremost strategic, open to possibilities and leading to
envisioned future states, his alter-brain methodical skill comes in as his needed
detailed planner for present tasks.
Typically leaders are stronger in left-brain behaviors and need bolstering and
reorienting to the right. Is that what you are finding? Or are you multidominant,
possessing certain right- and left-brain attributes but still with certain gap areas on
one or both sides of the right- and left- brain equation?
Depth Analysis
While the Leadership Behavior Rating Form will help pinpoint opportunities
for developing greater leadership breadth, you will also need to consider how to
promote greater depth acumen within each of the ten behaviors. To give you a
way to rate your depth strengths and opportunities, I’ve provided you with circle
diagrams for each of the ten behaviors and corresponding traits in the book’s ap-
pendix. A sample circle diagram is provided below. Using these pielike charts you
Figure 7.2
Sample Ratings for Traits of STRATEGIC Leadership
can note where you stand with respect to your leadership depth. Figure 7.2 shows
an example of a completed chart for the behavior strategic. Dots placed closer
to the center of the circle represent low scores on a given trait. Dots closer to the
outside rim of the circle represent higher ratings. Connecting the dots gives you a
picture of your depth strengths and gaps.
In Figure 7.2 you can see a fictitious leader’s depth rating for the traits of stra-
tegic leadership. This leader’s strategic constraints are illustrated through lower
scores on big-picture oriented, global, and holistic. To lead from the right and to
meet strategic challenges, this leader will need to find ways to become broader
and more inclusive in her orientation, thinking, and approaches. Take a moment
to go to the appendix and look over the blank pie charts for each behavior. You can
also find electronic copies of these forms at www.leadlifeinstitute.com. Complete
your depth assessment for each of the ten guiding leadership behaviors. Remem-
ber to consider the information from feedback sources as you decide on your
ratings.
Setting Priorities
With your leadership vision in mind and when looking over your breadth and
depth assessments, you will now need to prioritize your top development oppor-
tunities. Identify three leadership development targets—what you will concentrate
your improvement efforts on over the next six months. Record a brief rationale for
each selection, describing specifically how working on these three aspects of your
leadership will help you. In other words, in a paragraph for each target, note how
your leadership will be enhanced as you improve in each area. Indicate what as-
pects of your work will show greater effectiveness and how.
Prioritizing your development efforts is critical. There are only so many hours
in the day. Leaders are already stretched with respect to time. Trying to take on
too much may simply not be doable. Think of this as an initial set of development
priorities, creating a process for future leadership development work. After this
initial six-month period you can repeat the process and identify new targets. The
objective is to think strategically about how you will achieve your greatest impact.
Ask yourself, at this moment in your career and given your current responsibili-
ties and existing capabilities, where can you get the best return on your develop-
ment investment? Once your priorities are set you are ready to create your plan.
The Plan
The assessment steps taken thus far include the completion of a leadership vi-
sion, the culling of developmental feedback, and the selection and prioritization
of development targets. As the final step in your call to action, you will need to
put this information into accessible summary form, something you can easily keep
in front of you. There are many possible formats to use. The simplest perhaps is
something commonly referred to as a STOP-START-CONTINUE.
In the STOP-START-CONTINUE chart below, beginning with the STOP
category, you will indicate three to four actions you will eliminate from your
repertoire altogether. You could be listing an item that represents an overplayed
strength, a bad habit, or something that no longer serves you in your present role.
Under the START section you will list three to four actions that you will need to
initiate; actions that will be new and additive to your current style. START ac-
tions can promote greater breadth or depth and will ensure adequate movement
across the right- and left-brain plane. Lastly, in the section headed CONTINUE
you will list three to four actions that serve you well—those that define your fa-
vorable leadership preferences. Actions specified in your CONTINUE column
represent that which you wish to maintain as tried-and-true strong suits.
As a means of more directly connecting with our exemplar, next to each action,
note an Obama-like reminder to inspire you. It could be one of his decisions, ac-
tions, or slogans, something that either was cited here in this book or you know of
on your own. An example is provided in the boxed worksheet below.
STOP-START-CONTINUE
STOP Actions Obama-like inspiration

Depth trait tenacity:
Stop wavering when things seem difficult “Yes we can”
START Actions
CONTINUE Actions
With your development actions clearly in mind, all that is left is to provide
you with tools to assist you.
Tools of the Trade

Changing behavior is never easy. It takes specific effort and focus. The brain is
unfortunately habitual —unless otherwise repeatedly directed, old habits will re-
turn. Fortunately certain tools are available to assist you. These tools, like the
guiding leadership behaviors, are either right brain, left brain, or supportive ( Plus
Factor–based). Development tools come from schools of thought in psychology
and from the fields of interpersonal communications, health, and wellness. They
emanate from how certain theoretical perspectives view behavior and, therefore,
how they approach behavior change. A full assortment of development tools can be
found in this text’s parent book, Right Brain/Left Brain Leadership: Shifting Style
for Maximum Impact. For our purposes, fifteen tools have been selected that best
complement Obama-like actions.
Tools facilitate the development of a new action. Since the brain can be in es-
sence locked in certain habitual patterns of conduct, tools help to gently open your
mind to other options. You are then more likely to take advantage of opportuni-
ties for either stopping a given mannerism and/or adding a new leadership tact.
The methodology for using development tools would be to look over the de-
sired actions indicated in your STOP-START-CONTINUE and identify a tool
to help you put each action in play. Using the preceding example, to stop waver-
ing when things are difficult, you would look through the fifteen tools that follow
and identify one that could help you. Select a tool that matches the action. In this
case, since the action you are seeking to develop falls under the left-brain behav-
ior assertive, you would look for a left-brain tool.
One such possibility is a tool called chaining, defined as taking successive steps
to a desired goal. This tool would be helpful as it would enable you to start small
and build your new, more tenacious stance progressively. This tool is in align-
ment with Obama’s position on progressive change, that once a goal is identified
you keep working toward it in incremental steps. If you were to use chaining to
stop wavering, you would identify something small that you could assert yourself
on and continue to up the ante from there.
Right-Brain Tools
Right-brain tools are based on humanistic and affective perspectives of psychol-
ogy and focus on awareness, emotions, trial and error, the whole, the unstruc-
tured, and the new. The right-brain development tools you will be learning are
active listening, brainstorming, drawing, reflection, and visioning. Right-brain tools
are summarized in the shaded section below.
RIGHT-BRAIN TOOLKIT
Active listening: Listening attentively for meaning, implications, or em-

pathy
Brainstorming: Generating ideas or options in a free-flowing manner
Drawing: Creating pictures to convey thoughts
Reflection: Considering the nature of or looking back over something
Visioning: Imaging a future state through a mental picture5
Taking one right-brain tool at a time in more depth, beginning with active
listening, this important tool is the key element of empathy. Active listening is a
thought-based listening approach, meaning listening for understanding. It con-
sists of three components: attending, paraphrasing, and validating. You attend
to what the other person is saying, not just the words or the topic, but to the na-
ture of their experience. What does the other person feel? What meaning does the
situation have for him? You paraphrase back what you heard. You don’t parrot
his words but in your own words capture the essence of what is being said. What is
important is that you get to an experience-based understanding, not simply one that
reflects content or facts. You are looking to express meaning. Validation is a gut
check giving the other person an opportunity to tell you how close or far off you are
and to provide you with additional information if necessary. Consider this ex-
ample of simple listening versus active listening between a boss and a direct report.
SIMPLE LISTENING APPROACH
Boss: How’s it going, Tom?

Direct Report: We’re getting there, but there have been a lot of dis-
tractions, what with this new product we’re testing, the recent layoffs,
and the restructuring of people’s roles. I’m up for a challenge, but this
one may be tricky, Boss.
Boss: OK, well lots to do, and I know if anyone can handle it, you can.
ACTIVE LISTENING APPROACH
Boss: How’s it going, Tom?

Direct Report: We’re getting there, but there have been a lot of dis-
tractions, what with this new product we’re testing, the recent layoffs,
and the restructuring of people’s roles. I’m up for a challenge, but this
one may be tricky, Boss.
Boss: So, Tom, you are saying that there is some added complexity,
three key issues, in fact, that are impacting how this will all shake out?
Direct Report: For sure, and I think at least talking through some of the
role changes and timelines might help ensure that we pull this off.
Boss: OK, then, let’s set some time aside soon to do just that.
Using active listening can promote better strategic decisions, it can assist at vari-
ous transformational junctures, and it can foster engaging dialogues. In this
illustration the leader became alerted to potential problems and unearthed an
opportunity for a collaborative discussion with his direct report that will serve
multiple enhancing purposes for the work, for the relationship, and for the de-
velopment of the direct report.
The next right-brain tool, brainstorming, can help us to become more creative.
It puts our mind on an innovative track. Brainstorming is simple. Thoughts are
generated without structure. There are no right or wrong answers, no good or bad
ideas. Put on some music, take out a large sheet of paper and some multicolored
crayons or markers, and begin. Make it a playful event, not an intellectual one.
When you brainstorm you write down whatever comes to mind. When you are
through, you shift style to your left brain and apply methodical organization
to glean the best possible options. The point is to open up your mind initially
through innovation — to begin on the right side of the brain.
Drawing is a hidden gem of a leadership tool. Think about how much of our
lives are verbal. We are constantly exercising the verbal areas of our brain. How
often do we stimulate, access, tap into the brain’s vast nonverbal resources? For
most of us, we hardly ever do. We abandoned our crayons and finger paints back
in kindergarten for paper and pen and now also cling to our laptops, Blackberries,
iPhones, and Palms. We read books, newspapers, and magazines and are satiated
with dialogue from reality television. We talk and talk and talk and type, type, type
and when we’ve had enough, we talk and type some more. Sleep seemed our only
verbal escape, until now.
Simple, easy, and relaxing, now you can draw your way to your nonverbal power.
Drawing is in fact so very potent a development tool, it can be used to assist you
with virtually any development action. This is not about artistic ability, so let that
excuse go. This is about tapping into your uncensored brain.
The process for drawing is straightforward. Construct an image, using sym-
bols, sketches, or diagrams (no words). Then describe in words what the picture
conveys. If you are using drawing, for example, to help you become more future
focused in your strategies, you could fold the paper in half and create before-and-
after depictions, the present state on the top half of the paper and the desired state
on the bottom half. In this sense you are also visioning, using two right-brain tools
simultaneously.
You now have two ways to vision, to create a physical image as in a drawing or
a mental image as you did earlier in the chapter’s visioning activity. Both of these
right-brain tools, visioning and drawing, encourage the imagination; they both
drive the innovative. Additionally, each can promote future (strategic) thinking
as well as help gauge and facilitate various aspects of transformational and engag-
ing leadership.
While we don’t know if Obama uses drawings or brainstorming per se, we do
know that he is well inclined to the innovative. These two tools can help build
your creative proclivities.
The final right-brain tool is a reflection. Referenced at several points in the pre-
ceding chapters as a key tool of Obama’s and at the outset of this section of the text,
a reflection can be done in a number of ways. The basic aim is to better under-
stand the nature of something. As such, a reflection can foster any and all aspects of
right-brain leadership. Overall a reflection provokes insight, helps us to learn and
to give deeper and more open consideration to something. As a leadership devel-
opment tool a reflection is most helpful when you are seeking to better under-
stand your behavior, as a first step in trying to alter or better leverage your impact.
Change is not easy and behavior change is harder still. Sometimes the best starting
place with behavior change is through the added awareness a reflection can bring.
Think of New Year’s resolutions—however well intended, they often fall by
the wayside, never followed through on. New Year’s resolutions are often nothing
more than a wish list. We know we are not satisfied with some aspect of our lives,
and we can easily know what we want to do differently, but then we seem to have
difficulty following through. Reflecting first on something you would like to change
or accomplish, giving the matter careful, open, and honest consideration provides
an advantage that we didn’t have before. Our perspective is better informed, and
from that point we can perhaps set a better plan.
Left-Brain Tools
Left-brain tools are based on behavioral and cognitive approaches of psy-
chology and focus on logic, structure, associations, repetition, and steps. The left-
brain tools you will be learning about are described in the shaded box below and
include behavior rehearsal, chaining, cuing, and reframing.
LEFT-BRAIN TOOLKIT
Behavior rehearsal: Practicing a new behavior until it is ingrained

Chaining: Taking successive steps to a desired goal
Cuing: Using an object, quote, or phrase to prompt a desired behavior
Reframing: Changing a perspective, in this case from a negative to a
positive6
The point has been made that Obama is a disciplined individual. Behavior
rehearsal drives discipline. It involves practicing something over and over or role-
playing until the desired ability becomes second nature. Behavior rehearsal can
help drive more assertive behaviors in the underassertive. It can help those with
expressive leadership gaps become more adept and confident speakers. The very
nature of behavior rehearsal contributes to one’s methodical tendencies. It can
help break bad interpersonal habits that compromise our ability to be grounded.
Chaining was cited as an example in the opening section on tools as breaking
a development hurdle down into doable segments. It can be likened to Obama’s
“building a house brick by brick” method. While the temptation in behavior
change is often to start with that which challenges us most, it is actually better to
start off small and work your way up. As such, while chaining is in our left-brain
toolkit, it can help us to tackle just about any development goal by working one
step at a time. An added value of chaining is that it fosters methodical organiza-
tion and focus as well.
Cuing has immeasurable value in the behavior change process. Cuing is like a
literal call to action for the brain. It is an alert of sorts that tells the brain you need
something different from it at a particular moment. Referred to also as a cognitive
cue, this marvelous little tool uses a phrase, a quote, a picture, or some tangible ob-
ject to set your behavior on its new path. Here is an example of cuing at work.
An executive is looking to enhance her savvy skills. In particular, she needs to
change how she works in order to build stronger networks. When asked what
comes to mind when she thinks of networking, she relays the image of a spider
weaving a web. She goes to her son’s toy chest and pulls out a small plastic spider and
brings it with her to work. She places it on her desk just next to her computer screen.
Her cue is now always in plain sight. She tells her brain to associate the spider
with her need to get out of her office and interact with others in a more directed
and continuous manner. It is 11:30 on a Wednesday and she has just com-
pleted a small project. She closes the document and notices her spider. She is re-
minded to network. She looks over at the prepared lunch she brought and thinks
to herself, “That will keep until tomorrow.” She calls a colleague to meet off
campus for lunch.
Cuing has limitless utility. While cuing itself is a left-brain activity, the creative
process for settling on the proper cue affords this unique development tool a
place on the right side of the brain equation as well. As such, cuing clearly ex-
tends beyond its left-brain place with expanded right brain reach as an enhancer of
imagination.
Reframing uses left-brain logic to see things in a different light. We take an illogical
thought and reframe it into a logical one. A leader, for instance, who dreads re-
sistance when trying to effect change is asked to think instead of resistance as an
indicator that the change process is working. In this example, the illogical thought is
to expect to move through change without pushback.
Resistance, though, is actually a natural reaction to change, something that
shows that the change is being taken seriously. People think more about what
they stand to lose than what they stand to gain, and they resist. For a leader whose
left-brain development goal is to be better able to confront opposition and to
bring closure to needed changes, reframing can help position this leader to better
face her challenges by being on firmer logical ground.
Plus Factor Tools

Plus Factor tools come from varied origins. Some emanate from motivational
psychology, others from health and wellness practices, and the remainder from
the principles of interpersonal communication. Each Plus Factor tool is aimed at
supporting different aspects of your resilient and savvy development. The case
was made that Plus Factors facility can and will determine how effective you are as
a leader overall, that the behaviors resilient and savvy in effect bolster your effec-
tiveness in the other eight right- and left-brain behaviors. It would stand to rea-
son, then, that the Plus Factor tools are your first line of defense. These are tools
you should seek to draw from first. Plus Factor tools described in the shaded box
below include attitude setting, deep breathing, feedback, feedforward, mentors, and
stress busters.
PLUS FACTOR TOOLKIT
Attitude setting: Moving to a desired mindset

Deep breathing: Concentrated breathing activity to promote calm
Feedback: Evaluative information from an assessment, survey, or person
Feedforward: Prefacing statements
Mentors: Experienced role models who guide and support
Stress busters: Targeted activities that alleviate tension, rejuvenate energy,
and promote well-being7
Attitude setting is about possessing the right frame of mind for a given circum-
stance. While a positive attitude is often an important mindset choice, think more
broadly about attitude as aligning your expectations, what you set out to accom-
plish, with the best outlook to get you there. If, for example, President Obama’s
attitude about winning on health care reform were based solely on a positive view-
point, would he be formidable enough to make his case? Certainly he would not be.
The president appears to recognize the need to incorporate multiple facets into his
attitude setting, that his mindset must be as complex as the problems and issues he
is attempting to address. You will see him reflect his broad-based posture in the var-
ious communication tones he takes on, from welcoming and collegial to confron-
tational and limit setting.
One could say Obama’s attitude setting in many instances reflects that of an
understanding inclusive leader with certain bottom lines. This you can see is far
more complex than the singular stance of positive. In essence, Obama’s attitude
reflects instead all of the above. When considering your attitude, consider the com-
plexity of the matter at hand and determine the suitable attitude for the level of
intricacy.
How does attitude setting work? You will need ten to fifteen minutes and a quiet
place free from interruption. It is best done at the outset of your day. Sit with your
eyes closed and begin to think about the schedule ahead. Consider the nature of
your challenges and expectations. What do you most need to accomplish? Do you
need to come across well to a particular group? Do you need to bring clarity to
a problem or issue? Do you need to facilitate movement on a project? Do you need
to tend to team dynamics? Call up whatever the key needs are for the day and deter-
mine the best frame of mind to drive a successful outcome. Find adjectives to re-
flect the attitude you need to act from. Open your eyes and speak the adjectives
aloud. You are now ready for your day.
Deep breathing is an invaluable aid. It is the foundation of many if not all re-
laxation exercises, and of yoga and meditation. Deep breathing has long been
found to help reduce stress and improve thought clarity. Many believe it facilitates
overall health and well-being.8 Whenever your driven nature makes it difficult for
you to feel composed, deep breathing can help. If you are juggling multiple tasks
and beginning to feel frazzled, stop and practice deep breathing. If you feel like
your buttons are getting pushed, count to ten with a cleansing breath. It will help to
keep you from taking the bait.
There are several techniques for deep breathing. The process presented here
is a straightforward form that can be done anywhere you can find a quiet seated
place. Close your eyes, sit comfortably, rest your arms on your legs, and take a
slow, deep breath, filling your abdomen rather than contracting it. This kind of
breath will take practice. You need to build up to a slow, deep breath. You accom-
plish this by focusing on your breathing speed and progressively increasing the
air intake. Deepen the breaths as you go along. While you are breathing, work to
clear your mind of distractions. It sometimes helps to concentrate on a prompting
sound or phrase. This cue will tell your brain to respond differently than it has
in the past.
Feedback has been covered earlier in the chapter as an important and ongo-
ing tool in your development process. Different from feedback, feedforward is an
alert tool with many uses. Obama uses feedforwarding as a natural aspect of his
speaking. He frequently tees up conversations with prefacing statements. A feed-
forward is information you provide that prepares others for what you are about to
say. It can serve a number of purposes, such as to open the lines of communication,
which is referred to as phatic communication. Phatic communication is that which
sets a mood or a social nicety. A feedforward can also express an expectation or
provide a disclaimer.9
Feedforward messages enable you to begin on a positive note, influence per-
ceptions, circumvent misunderstandings at the outset, and be seen as more respon-
sible overall. In using this tool you are doing proactive work on your image while
showing audiences empathy and added respect.
Mentors are invaluable development aids for leaders. The smartest individuals
know what they don’t know. They recognize how to use resources available to them,
and they have the reverence to seek counsel from others who are accomplished.
Obama uses mentors in two special ways. He is well read, soaking up all he can from
past presidents, past and present leaders, experts, icons, and history. He also forms
mentoring relationships with key individuals from whom he can learn.
The final Plus Factor tool is a range of activities we will refer to as stress busters.
Stress busters can take many forms. What did we learn from Obama in terms of
how he deals with stress? He subscribes to a disciplined physical exercise regime, for
one. He loves to walk and to run to de-stress and to clear his mind. He pays attention
to diet as a way to stay well and thereby deal more effectively with stress. Lastly,
Obama finds peace in the love of his family—his wife and children. Loving close
relationships can be a powerful relaxer. Let’s not forget Bo, the Obama family pet.
Pets can be a wonderful source of fun, validation, and relaxation with the uncon-
ditional love they provide.
A final set of stress-busting activities that warrant mention are those forms of
exercise that are more inward based, those that use deep breathing, concentration,
and stretching as their foundations. Yoga, tai chi, and meditation have been found
to promote overall calm, health, and wellness. They have also been noted to en-
courage clear and reflective thought. While most hard-charging leaders like Obama
are prone to physical exercise regimes, the alter-brain utility of quieter forms of ex-
ercise may actually afford more varied resilience benefits.
Summary Thoughts
This book has asked you to think about the uncommon leadership ability of Pres-
ident Barack Obama relative to right- and left-brain leadership breadth and depth.
Born from diversity in makeup and rearing, Obama, ultimately through his own
self-directed determination, is able to draw from a full array of leadership talents to

meet both his aspirations and challenges.
I began this project midway through the president’s campaign. It obviously
took clearer form following the election results in November 2008. As Obama has
moved into the now ten-month mark of his presidency, what continues to be im-
pressive is how steady, focused, and thorough he is in spite of the onslaught of is-
sues. He does not default to quick fixes and short cuts, and he repeatedly thwarts
political opportunism. He seems in this for the long haul, determined to create
lasting benefits and sustainable change. How he approaches his work and what
fundamentally drives him is very different from the leadership of the moment we
typically see around us.
On September 21, 2009. former president Bill Clinton was being interviewed
on the Larry King Live television program. Among other questions, President
Clinton was asked what he believed was President Obama’s greatest strength.
Clinton remarked that Obama’s strengths were many, but most impressive was
how he is able to handle multiple critical priorities simultaneously and to handle
them all well. Clinton described that Obama seems able to connect the dots be-
tween projects and drive synergies and interrelationships in impressive fashion.
Clinton was pointing to Obama’s right and left brain working in consort, the way
it was designed to function, collaboratively and integrally.10
The following evening President Obama appeared on David Letterman’s late-
night television program. His interview with host Letterman was in many respects
the book’s capstone. In the face of the heated health care debate, continued in-
ternational hot spots, and global economic woes, the president was calm, steady,
and engaging. He laughed one moment and switched gears effortlessly when the sit-
uation warranted, to his learned style of answering direct and complex questions. He
was comfortable and reassuring. He was candid, realistic, and to the point. He
was insightful and playful. He pondered the future and was in the moment spot-on.
Obama’s right- and left-brain interwoven abilities were in full swing.11
Today, as I work to put the final touches on the book, the news broke that Presi-
dent Obama had been awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace, a befitting validation
of Obama’s worth. The president was recognized for a series of efforts through-
out the first year of his presidency to change the ways in which we think and act
toward one another as primal to improving each and every one of the world’s
problems. Included in those accomplishments were the following milestones and
positions:
• His determination to press the world of nations to free the planet from nuclear
threats
• His reaching out to the Muslim world to reshape the tone and positioning of
U.S./Muslim relations
• His messages to help better empower Africans in their own plights, delivered in
Ghana, a locale strategically selected for the gains that country had already made
in this direction
• His emphatic declaration and reframing of Middle East peace as a “win-win”

proposition
• His thrust at the United Nations General Assembly for world leaders to more
collectively and substantively own and work together on challenges that affect
us all, including a meeting of the United Nations Security Council that Obama
himself chaired
• His commitments to more definitively fight climate change12
Obama was humble in his acceptance of this great honor, knowing he has only
begun the work at hand. From this recognition, though, we can believe even fur-
ther in the Obama brand of leadership with respect to ultimate potential. The
integral nature of Obama’s thinking lends itself to root cause problem solving ,
not simply that of winning the fight of the moment, while his collective orienta-
tion stresses unification over divide. Perhaps with this in mind we can better con-
sider Obama’s perspective on, say, assertiveness as a balance between tenacity and
attaining buy-in. Obama’s enactment of savvy as integrity politics can also, on
our home front, begin to restore our party system to how it was intended to
function.
As a wake-up call to leaders, success should no longer be measured by immedi-
ate victories and short-term gains. Continue to do so and the ghosts of leadership
past will come back to haunt you. Such dated measures will result in having to
fight the same battles over and over as we persist in working harder rather than
smarter. Therein lies our real energy crisis. Using the Obama brand of leadership
as your new scorecard, you will push your brain to full engagement, for sustain-
able gains and for impact above and beyond. Now is the time for the new age of
leadership.
I hope the book has provided clear examples and options to assist in enhancing
your leadership impact. Keep in mind the following process and you’ll be on your
way. Come to know your behavioral strengths and areas for opportunity. Begin
to work on improvements progressively. Choose and prioritize wisely. If you’ve
learned nothing else, know that more is not better— different is. Start today by
identifying a trait and tool pair that can take you closer to your leadership vision.
Remember, this is all about extending your contribution through collaboration
and modernization. Seek fresh shared ways to add value.
Parting Inspirations
In closing I thought it a fitting tribute to call upon the voices of some whose
thinking could have inspired or perhaps did inspire President Obama. Think
about how the powerful messages from the following leaders can contribute fur-
ther still to your right brain / left brain leadership thinking as they may have con-
tributed to his.
In the end, it’s is not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.
—Abraham Lincoln13
A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can
alter the course of history.
—Mohandas Gandhi14
It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about
that, you’ll do things differently.
—Warren Buffett15
When will our conscience grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery
rather than to avenge it?
—Eleanor Roosevelt16
There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning
from failure.
—Colin Powell17
A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.
—Martin Luther King Jr.18
Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what
you imagine, and at last you create what you will.
—George Bernard Shaw19
Thank you for allowing me to share in your leadership creations. Special thanks
to President Obama for his eminent leadership example.
Acknowledgments
This book is dedicated to President Obama for his inspiration. Writing about this
exceptional leader has been a thoroughly reaffirming experience. I look forward
to what’s to come from the Obama years and how his example will inspire lead-
ership into the future.
The book’s foreword was written by a respected colleague, Dr. Christopher
Shoemaker. Dr. Shoemaker has had a distinguished leadership career in the mili-
tary, serving on the staffs of two presidents and now in the private corporate sector
as a senior vice president for strategy. He is also an accomplished writer and a true
Renaissance man—a consummate “full-brain” leader. I greatly value his support
and counsel as a mentor and a friend.
To the respected and esteemed individuals who served as endorsements for the
book, Dr. Joseph Flaherty, Annette Kelton, Peter Landau, Jennifer Ogle, and Sean
Stegall, special thanks for taking the time to preread the manuscript, for your
feedback, and for your supportive words.
To the clients and staff of the Lead Life Institute, it is compelling to work with
dedicated leaders who want nothing more than to make a difference. Thanks to
you for your openness to the Right Brain / Left Brain model and related tools, and
to how you inspire the institute’s practices.
My publisher, Praeger of ABC-CLIO, and in particular my editors, Debbie
Carvalko and Dr. Chris Stout, made this book possible. Chris and Debbie served
as the project’s right- and left-brain mentors, respectively. Chris’s vision helped to
push the envelope, and Debbie’s strong suit in leaving no stone unturned brought
the project home.
Support in the day-to-day came from the tireless efforts of Michelle Rooney
and Katie Welykoridko. Their research and attention to detail was flawless and in-
valuable. Their friendship is ever so appreciated. Kathy Bussert of Design Spring
is appreciated for her creative and technical talent.
138 Acknowledgments
Support of a different nature came from my family and friends, who cheered
the book on and tolerated the black hole I often vanished into in order to get this
project done. I so appreciate your perspectives, patience, and mostly how you con-
tinue to care for and believe in me.
My husband, Jean-Pierre, is, I’m proud to say, someone I deeply admire for his
brand of leadership courage. To the rest of my family—my mom, Rosemarie; our
daughters, Patricia and Yasmine; my dad and stepmom, Tony and Bernice; my
aunts, Toni and Laura; my brother and sister; Tony and Linda; my sister-in-law,
Carol; my nieces and nephew, Nicole, Gina, Sarah, and Sam; my uncles, Bob and
Big-guy; and my cousins, Lisa, Mike, Bobby, Janine, Karen, Pat, Jimmy, and
Kristen—I look forward to our continued times together.
To dear friends Anita Augustine, Holli Beckwith, Mike and Pat Cerisano, Emily
Douchette, Jerri Frantzve, Fran and Roger Holmstrom, Mark and Jessica Hockley,
Don and Donna Hoscheit, Nancy Landau, Kevin Monahan, Susanne, Annie, and
Michael Peters, Skip and Marilyn Rosskam, Sue Spinella, and Christine Troianello,
I so appreciate your interest and encouragement over the past eleven months.
Of course special mention goes to my furry soul mates, Max and Lilly, who pro-
vide that particular love Westies are so very good at. You guys slept in your favorite
spots in the office day after day after day as I typed, and typed, and typed . . . and
knew just when and how to make me take breaks.
I remember and acknowledge always my grandparents Swift and Lucy, with
me in spirit—my grandfather as a self-taught, self-made business success, the per-
sonification of the American dream, and my grandmother as my original source of
feminine wisdom. From them I learned what really counts when setting out to
make a contribution: that through determination, integrity, and connection any-
thing is possible.
Appendix
Worksheets
140 Appendix
Behavior Trait Ratings/Line of SITE
Figure A.1
Line of SITE Blank Charts—STRATEGIC and INNOVATIVE
Appendix 141
Behavior Trait Ratings/Line of SITE (continued)

Figure A.2
Line of SITE Blank Charts—TRANSFORMATIONAL and ENGAGING
142 Appendix
Behavior Trait Ratings/MEGA Mind
Figure A.3
MEGA Mind Blank Charts—METHODICAL and EXPRESSIVE
Appendix 143
Behavior Trait Ratings/MEGA Mind (continued)
Figure A.4
MEGA Mind Blank Charts—GROUNDED and ASSERTIVE
144 Appendix
Behavior Trait Ratings/Plus Factors
Figure A.5
Plus Factor Blank Charts—RESILIENT and SAVVY
Notes
Chapter 1
1. Quotation from Brainy Quote, Barack Obama, http://www.brainyquote.com/
quotes/authors/b/barack_obama.html (accessed February 4, 2009).
2. Mary Lou Décosterd, Right Brain/Left Brain Leadership: Shifting Style for Max-
imum Impact (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2008), 2.
3. Ibid., 7.
4. Quotation from Quotes and Poem, Barack Obama, http://www.quotesand
poem.com/quotes/showquotes/author/Barack-Obama/20360 (accessed March 1,
2009).
5. Barack Obama, “Manassas, Virginia, Last Rally of 2008 Election,” Obama
Speeches.com, November 3, 2008, http://obamaspeeches.com/E-Barack-Obama-
Speech-Manassas-Virgina-Last-Rally-2008-Election.htm (accessed March 3,
2009).
6. Barack Obama, “Press Conference by the President,” press conference, White
House East Room, Washington, D.C., February 9, 2009, http://www.whitehouse.
gov/the_press_office/PressConferencebythePresident/ (accessed February 10,
2009).
7. Quotation from Brainy Quote, Barack Obama, http://www.brainyquote.com/
quotes/authors/b/barackobama.html (accessed February 4, 2009).
8. Peter Nicholas and Christi Parsons, “President Obama Swiftly Sets Course
on Day One,” Los Angeles Times, January 22, 2009, http://www.latimes.com (ac-
cessed February 10, 2009).
9. Lee-Anne Goodman, “Obama’s Busy, Bold First 10 Days in Office Could
Rival Roosevelt’s Pace,” Canadian Press, January 29, 2009, http://www.canadaeast.
com/news/article/555414 (accessed February 10, 2009).
146 Notes
10. Barack Obama, “Press Conference by the President,” Press Conference,

White House East Room, Washington, D.C., February 9, 2009, http://www.white
house.gov/the_press_office/PressConferencebythePresident/ (accessed Febru-
ary 10, 2009).
11. Jeffrey Jones, “Americans Approve of Most Obama Actions to Date,” Gal-
lup, February 2, 2009, http://www.gallup.com/poll/114091/Americans-Approve-
Aobama-Actions-Date.aspx (accessed February 10, 2009).
12. Barack Obama, President Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address, Capitol Build-
ing, Washington, D.C., January 20, 2009. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_
office/President_Barack_Obamas_Inaugural_Address/ (accessed February 9, 2009).
13. Décosterd, Right Brain/Left Brain Leadership. Constructive intolerance is a
term coined in my executive coaching work to help overly assertive leaders set lim-
its in ways that would foster positive development and engagement in those they
are setting limits with. Conversely, it is meant to help nonassertive leaders find a
point of entry in confronting difficult situations.
14. Barack Obama, “Remarks by President Barack Obama on Executive Com-
pensation with Secretary Geithner,” Remarks, White House, Washington, D.C.,
February 4, 2009, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/RemarksbyPresi
dentBarackObamaOnExecutiveCompensationSecretaryGeithner/ (accessed Feb-
ruary 11, 2009).
15. Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan, and Charles Burck, Execution: The Discipline
of Getting Things Done (New York: Crown Business, 2002), 105.
16. Huffington Post, “Obama Victory Speech—Text,” November 4, 2008, http://
www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/04obama-victory-speech_n_141194.html (ac-
17. Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President at Fort Myers Town Hall,” Town
Hall, Harborside Event Center, Fort Myers, Florida, February 10, 2009, http://
www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-at-Fort-Myers-
Town-Hall/ (accessed March 3, 2009).
18. Barack Obama, interview by Anderson Cooper, CNN Anderson Cooper 360,
Cable News Network, February 04, 2009, http://cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/04/
obama.daschle/#cnnSTCvideo (accessed March 3, 2009).
19. Quotation from Brainy Quote, Barack Obama, http://www.brainyquote.
com/quotes/quotes/b/barackobam409129.html (accessed March 1, 2009).
20. George Lakoff, “The Seven Intellectual Underpinnings of the Obama
Code,” BuzzFlash, February 24, 2009, http://buzzflash.com/articles/node/7792
(accessed March 1, 2009).
21. Huffington Post, “Obama Victory Speech.”
22. Colin Powell, interview by Don Lemon, CNN Newsroom, Cable News Net-
work, February 15, 2009, http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0902/15/
cnr.05.html (accessed February 24, 2009).
23. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, s.v. “James Meredith,” http://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/James_Meredith (accessed March 1, 2009).
Notes 147

com/quotes/quotes/b/barackobam375640.html (accessed March 3, 2009).
Chapter 2
1. Barack Obama, Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
(New York: Three Rivers Press, 2004), 82.
2. Ibid., 3 – 129.
3. Paul S. Kaplan, A Child’s Odyssey: Child and Adolescent Development,
2nd ed. (St. Paul: West, 1991), 94 – 102.
4. Ibid., 71 – 72.
5. Quotation from Obama.net, http://obama.net/ (accessed March 15, 2009).
6. Kaplan, A Child’s Odyssey, 73 – 74.
7. Obama, Dreams from My Father, xii.
8. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, s.v. “Ann Dunham,” http://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/Ann_Dunham (accessed March 20, 2009).
9. Obama, Dreams from My Father, 49.
10. Ibid., 47 – 48.
11. Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the Ameri-
can Dream (New York: Crown, 2006), 205.
12. Obama, Dreams from My Father, 9–10. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, s.v.
“Barack Obama, Sr.,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama_Sr (accessed
March 27, 2009).
13. Obama, Dreams from My Father, 10 – 11.
14. Ibid., 69 – 70.
15. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, s.v. “Barack Obama, Sr.,” http://en.
wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama_Sr (accessed March 27, 2009).
17. Ibid., 12 – 27.
18. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, s.v. “Lolo Soetoro,” http://en.wikipedia.
org/wik/Lolo_Soetoro (accessed March 29, 2009).
19. Obama, Dreams from My Father, 41.
20. Ibid., 29 – 30, 51 – 52.
21. Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky, Mind In Society: The Development of Higher
Psychological Processes (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1978), 84–89.
23. Ibid., 96 – 112.
24. Ibid., 438.
25. Obama, Audacity of Hope, 204 – 6; and Obama, Dreams from My Father,
291 – 95.
26. Obama, Audacity of Hope, 327.
27. Ibid., 330 – 32.
148 Notes
28. Bob Garrett, Brain and Behavior (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2003), 73.
29. Neil R. Carlson, Physiology of Behavior, 5th ed. (Needham Heights, MA:
Allyn and Bacon, 1994), 11 – 12, 88 – 95; and Garrett, Brain and Behavior,
60 – 68.
30. John L. Bradshaw and Lesley J. Rogers, “Evolution of Lateral Asymme-
tries, Language, Tool Use, and Intellect,” Canadian Journal of Experimental Psy-
chology (Ottawa) 47, no. 4 (1993): 757; Tony Buzan, Use Both Sides of Your Brain:
New Mind-Mapping Techniques, 3rd ed. (New York: Plume, 1991), 17 – 18; Lesley
S. J. Farmer, “Left Brain, Right Brain, Whole Brain,” School Library Media Activi-
ties Monthly 21, no. 2 (2004): 27 – 28; John Rennie, ed., “The Hidden Mind,”
Scientific American (December 2002): 26 – 31; Jerre Levy, “Possible Basis for the
Evolution of Lateral Specialization of the Human Brain,” Nature 224, no. 5219
(1969): 614 – 15; Rachel Nowak, “Nerve Cells Mirror Brain’s Left-Right Di-
vide,” New Scientist 178, no. 2395 (2003): 20; David A. Sousa, How the Brain
Learns, 2nd ed. ( Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2000), 170 – 78, 191 – 93; and
Sally P. Springer and Georg Deutsch, Left Brain, Right Brain: Perspectives from
Cognitive Neuroscience, 5th ed. (New York: W. H. Freeman, 1998), 12–19.
31. Ibid.
32. Buzan, Use Both Sides of Your Brain, 17 – 18.
33. Décosterd, Right Brain/Left Brain Leadership, 2.
34. Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz, You: The Owner’s Manual: An Insider’s
Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger (New York: Harper-
Collins, 2005), 87 – 90; Dudley Lynch, “Is the Brain Stuff Still the Right (or Left)
Stuff ?” Training and Development Journal (Madison) 40, no. 2 (1986 ): 22 – 26;
and Rennie, “Hidden Mind,” 26 – 31.
36. Antonio R. Damasio, T. J. Grabowski, A. Bechara, H. Damasio, L. L. Ponto,
J. Parvizi, and R. D. Hichwa, “Subcortical and Cortical Brain Activity During
the Feeling of Self-Generated Emotions,” Nature Neuroscience 3, no. 10 (2000):
1049 – 56; Garrett, Brain and Behavior, 199; Carlson, Physiology of Behavior, 91;
Paul D. MacLean, “Psychosomatic Disease and the ‘Visceral Brain’: Recent De-
velopments Bearing on the Papez Theory of Emotion,” Psychosomatic Medicine 11
(1949): 338 – 53; James W. Papez, “A Proposed Mechanism of Emotion,” Archives
of Neurology and Psychiatry (1937): 725–43; Goleman, Emotional Intelligence: Why
It Can Matter More than IQ (New York: Bantam Books, 1995), 9 – 19; Charles
Darwin, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (New York: Philo-
sophical Library, 1955; original work published in 1872), 40 – 41, 176 – 79; and
Carol Tavris, Anger: The Misunderstood Emotion (New York: Simon and Schuster,
1983), 17 – 47.
37. Daniel Goleman, Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relation-
ships (New York: Bantam Books, 2006), 4.
38. Buzan, Use Both Sides of Your Brain, 17 – 18.
39. Barack Obama, “Remarks of President Barack Obama — Address to Joint
Session of Congress,” U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C., February 24, 2009, http://
Notes 149
www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-of-President-Barack-Obama-Ad
dress-to-Joint-Session-of-Congress/ (accessed February 25, 2009).
40. Barack Obama, “Barack Obama’s New Hampshire Primary Speech,” New
York Times, January 8, 2008, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/us/politics/
08text-obama.html (accessed February 28, 2009).
Chapter 3
1. Quotation from Barack Obama.net, http://www.barackobama.net/barack-
obama-quotes.html (accessed March 30, 2009).
2. Décosterd, Right Brain/Left Brain Leadership, 23 – 27.
3. Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President on the Economy,” George-
town University, Washington, D.C., April 14, 2009, http://www.whitehouse.gov/
the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-on-the-Economy-at-Georgetown-
University/ (accessed April 14, 2009).
4. Ibid.
5. Décosterd, 24 – 25, 29.
6. Ibid., 40, 45, 51, 58.
7. Ibid., 25, 30 – 31, 68, 74, 79, 84.
8. Ibid., 25, 32 – 33, 95 – 96, 114.
9. Ibid., 26 – 29, 33 – 34.
10. Barack Obama, “News Conference by the President,” press conference,
White House East Room, April 29, 2009, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_
press_office/News-Conference-by-the-President-4/29/2009/ (accessed May 5,
2009).
11. Ibid.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid.
Chapter 4
com/quotes/authors/b/barack_obama.html (accessed February 4, 2009).
2. Barack Obama, “Remarks of President Barack Obama — Address to Joint
Session of Congress,” Congress, Washington, D.C., February 24, 2009, http://
www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-of-President-Barack-Obama-Ad
dress-to-Joint-Session-of-Congress/ (accessed February 24, 2009).
3. Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President at the Business Roundtable,”
St. Regis Hotel, Washington, D.C., March 12, 2009, http://www.whitehouse.
gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-at-the-Business-Roundtable/ (ac-
cessed March 12, 2009).
4. Barack Obama, interview by Steve Kroft, CBS 60 Minutes, March 22,
2009, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/18/60minutes/main4873938_
page4.shtml?tag=contentMain;contentBody (accessed July 7, 2009).
150 Notes
5. Barack Obama, “Press Conference by the President,” White House East

Room, Washington, D.C., March 24, 2009, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_
office/News-Conference-by-the-President-3-24-2009/ (accessed April 1, 2009).
6. Huffington Post, “Obama Victory Speech — Text,” November 4, 2008,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/04/obama-victory-speech_n_141194.
html (accessed February 4, 2009).
7. Quotation from Brainy Quote, Pablo Picasso, http://www.brainyquote.
com/quotes/authors/p/pablo_picasso.html (accessed July 1, 2009).
8. Quotation from The Quotations Page, Stephen Nachmanovitch, http://
www.quotationspage.com/quote/27091.html (accessed April 4, 2009).
9. Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President on National Security,” National
Archives, Washington, D.C., May 21, 2009, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_
press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-On-National-Security-5-21-09/ (accessed
July 9, 2009).
10. Financial Times, “Obama Gets Off to a New Beginning,” June 5, 2009, http://
www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3ac64d90-5136-11de-84c3-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_
check=1 (accessed July 1, 2009).
11. David Gergen, interview by Anderson Cooper, CNN Anderson Cooper 360,
June 4, 2009, http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mike-sargent/2009/06/05/ac360-strikes-
gergen-gusher-obama-speech-most-powerful-speech-ever-mus (accessed July 30,
2009).
12. Quotation from BarackObama.com, http://www.barackobama.com/Senate
Letter?source=VIC (accessed January 29, 2009).
13. Encarta Dictionary: English (North America), 2007, s.v. transformational.
14. Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President on a New Beginning”, Cairo
University, Cairo, Egypt, June 4, 2009, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_
office/Remarks-by-the-President-at-Cairo-University-6-04-09/ (accessed June 7,
2009).
15. Ibid.
16. Ibid.
17. Ibid.
com/quotes/authors/b/barack_obama.html (accessed February 4, 2009).
19. Barack Obama, “President-elect Obama Fifth Press Conference” (tran-
script), press conference, Chicago, December 1, 2008, http://blogs.suntimes.
com/sweet/2008/12/presidentelect_obama_fifth_pre.html (accessed July 15,
2009).
20. Barack Obama, President Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address, Capitol Build-
ing, Washington, D.C. January 20, 2009, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_
press_office/President_Barack_Obamas_Inaugural_Address/ (accessed February 9,
2009).
21. Joseph A. DeVito, The Interpersonal Communications Book, 8th ed. (New
York: Longman, 1998), 241.
Notes 151
Chapter 5
1. Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President on the Economy,” George-
town University, Washington, D.C., April 14, 2009, http://www.whitehouse.
gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-on-the-Economy-at-George
town-Univ ersity/ (accessed April 14, 2009).
2. Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President on 21st Century Financial Reg-
ulatory Reform,” White House East Room, Washington, D.C., June 17, 2009,
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-of-the-President-on-Regu
latory-Reform/ (accessed June 18, 2009).
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Ali Velshi, News correspondent’s summary broadcast, CNN, Cable News
Network, June 17, 2009.
7. Scott Horsley, “Obama Draws Energy from California Swing,” National
Public Radio, March 19, 2009, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?story
Id=102128246 (accessed July 10, 2009).
9. Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President in Town Hall Meeting on
Health Care,” Southwest High School, Green Bay, Wisconsin, June 11, 2009,
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-in-
Town-Hall-Meeting-on-Health-Care-in-Green-Bay-Wisconsin/ (accessed July 2,
2009).
10. Ibid.
11. Quotation from The Quotations Page, Menander, http://www.quotations
page.com/quote/29441.html (accessed June 15, 2009).
13. Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President on a New Beginning,” Cairo
University, Cairo, Egypt, June 4, 2009, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_
office/Remarks-by-the-President-at-Cairo-University-6-04-09/ (accessed June 7,
2009).
14. Ibid.
15. Obama, Dreams from My Father, x.
16. Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President on the Economy,” April 14,
2009.
17. Quotation from The Quotations Page, Abraham Lincoln, http://www.
quotationspage.com/quote/414.html (accessed June 16, 2009).
18. Jennifer Loven, “Analysis: Obama Beats First National Security Test,” As-
sociated Press, April 12, 2009, http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-politics/2009
0412/Obama.Pirates.Analysis/ (accessed April 13, 2009).
19. Nazila Fathi, “Recount Offer Fails to Quell Political Tumult in Iran,”
New York Times, June 17, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/world/
152 Notes
middleeast/17iran.html?_r=2 (accessed August 16, 2009); and BBC News, “Ah-

madinejad Defiant on ‘Free’ Iran Poll,” June 14, 2009, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/
middle_east/8099115.stm (accessed August 16, 2009).
20. Jim Lobe and Daniel Luban, “IRAN: Washington Maintains Cautious
Response to Election Crisis,” Inter Press Service News Agency, June 15, 2009, http://
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47231 (accessed August 16, 2009).
21. Newsweek, commemorative inaugural edition, January 27, 2009, 29.
22. Loven, “Analysis.”
23. Obama, “Remarks by the President on a New Beginning.”
24. Barack Obama, “Statement by the President on the Budget,” Dwight D.
Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Room 350, Washington, D.C., March 17,
2009, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Statement-by-the-President-
on-the-Budget/ (accessed August 13, 2009).
25. Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President on the Economy,” April 14,
2009.
Chapter 6
com/quotes/b/barack_obama.html (accessed September 10, 2009).
2. Quotation from Brainy Quote, Albert Schweitzer, http://www.brainy
quote.com/quotes/authors/a/albert_schweitzer.html (accessed June, 14, 2007).
4. Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of Freedom: Ethics, Democracy, and Civic Courage
(London: Rowan & Littlefield Publishers Inc. 2001), 69 – 71.
5. Quotation from BarackObama.net, http://www.barackobama.net/barack-
obama-quotes.html (accessed September 10, 2009).
6. Barack Obama, “President-elect Obama Fifth Press Conference” (trans-
cript), Chicago, Illinois, December 1, 2008, http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2008/
12/presidentelect_obama_fifth_pre.html (accessed July 15, 2009).
8. Quotation from Brainy Quote, http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/b/ba
rack_obama.html (accessed September 10, 2009).
10. Ibid.
11. Peter Moore, “The Challenger: 9 Lessons in Balance, Love, and Leader-
ship from a Guy Who’s Even Busier Than You Are,” Men’s Health, twentieth an-
niversary collector’s edition, November 2008, 176 – 81.
12. Susan Donaldson James, “Gym Rat in Chief? Obama’s Fitness Regimen,”
ABC News, December 4, 2008, http://abcnews.go.com/Health/President44/
story?id=6387559&page=1 (accessed September 10, 2009); and Men’s Health,
Notes 153
twentieth anniversary collector’s edition, November 2008, 176 – 81, 208. Paul
Sullivan, “Presidential Adviser David Axelrod on Barack Obama as a Sports Fan,
Cubs — and Sox Jacket Controversy,” Chicago Tribune, July 19, 2009, http://
www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/whitesox/chi-19-barack-obama-
baseball-jul19,0,701556.story (accessed August 30, 2009).
13. Barack Obama, interview by Justin Webb, BBC World News, June 1,
2009, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Transcript-of-the-Interview-
of-the-President-with-Justin-Webb-BBC-6-1-09/ (accessed September 1, 2009).
14. Quotation from Quotes and Poem.com, http://www.quotesandpoem.com/
quotes/showquotes/author/barack-obama/126530 (accessed August 7, 2009).
15. Quotation from The Quotations Page, Aristotle, http://www.quotation-
spage.com/quote/24240.html (accessed September 14, 2009).
16. Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President in Town Hall on Health Care,”
Gallatin Field Airport, Belgrade, Montana, August 14, 2009, http://www.white-
house.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-in-town-hall-on-health-
care-Belgrade-Montana/ (accessed September 14, 2009).
18. Obama, “Remarks on Health Care: Belgrade, Montana.”
19. Ibid.
20. DeVito, Interpersonal Communications Book, 360 – 63.
21. Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President in Discussion with 9th Grad-
ers,” Wakefield High School, Arlington, Virginia, September 8, 2009, http://
www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-in-Discus
sion-with-9th-Graders-Wakefield-High-School/ (accessed September 9, 2009).
22. Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President on 2009 H1N1 National Pre-
paredness and Response,” White House Rose Garden, Washington, D.C., Septem-
ber 1, 2009, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-Pres
ident-on-2009-H1N1-National-Preparedness-and-Response/ (accessed Septem-
ber 10, 2009).
23. Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President to a Joint Session of Congress
on Health Care,” U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C., September 9, 2009, http://
www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-to-a-Joint-
Session-of-Congress-on-Health-Care/ (accessed September 10, 2009).
Chapter 7
3. Ibid., 120 – 25.
4. Ibid., 5.
5. Ibid., 165 – 66.
154 Notes
6. Ibid., 165 – 66.

7. Ibid., 165 – 66.
8. Roizen and Oz, You: The Owner’s Manual, 151, 166.
9. DeVito, Interpersonal Communications Book, 15 – 16.
10. William Clinton, interview by Larry King, CNN Larry King Live, Sep-
tember 21, 2009, http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0909/21/lkl.01.html
(accessed October 1, 2009).
11. Barack Obama, interview with David Letterman, CBS The Late Show
with David Letterman, September 22, 2009.
12. Reuters FACTBOX, “Barack Obama Wins the Nobel Peace Prize,” Oc-
tober 9, 2009, www.reuters.com/article/vccandidatefeed/idusl9535468 (accessed
October 9, 2009).
13. Quotation from Brainy Quote, http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/au
thors/a/abrahamlin137180.html (accessed September 14, 2009).
thors/m/mohandas_gandhi160341.html (accessed September 14, 2009).
thors/w/warren_buffett.html (accessed September 14, 2009).
16. Quotation from Wisdom Quotes, http://www.wisdomquotes.com/002433.
html (accessed September 14, 2009).
thors/c/colin_powell_2.html (accessed September 14, 2009).
thors/m/martin_luther_king_jr.html (accessed September 14, 2009).
19. Quotation from The Quotations Page, http://www.quotationspage.com/
quote/1656.html (accessed September 14, 2009).
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Index
Active listening (tool), 126 – 27 Brainstorming (tool), 126 – 28

Adaptive (behavior trait), 47, 70, 73, 112 Bush, George W., 7 – 8, 37, 53
Alignment-driven (behavior trait), 47,
70, 72
Alter-brain behavior, 35, 38, 52, 113, Candid (behavior trait), 49, 70, 92 – 93,
118, 122 95, 101, 133
Ambiguity-allowing (behavior trait), 47 Cautious (behavior trait), 49, 88 – 89, 91
Analytical (behavior trait), 34, 37, 48, Chaining (tool), 125, 129
80, 83 Charismatic (behavior trait), 1, 27,
Anticipatory (behavior trait), 46, 60, 63 37 – 38, 47, 74, 76, 100, 117
Approachable (behavior trait), 49, Cheney, Richard, 63, 66
88 – 91, 101 Clear thinking (behavior trait), 50, 98,
Articulate (behavior trait), 48, 84 – 85 101 – 2
Assertive leadership, 11, 42, 45, 49, Clinton, William Jefferson, 37, 133
52 – 53, 55, 74, 87, 90 – 95, 101, 113, Closure-seeking (behavior trait), 49,
117 – 18, 121, 125, 129, 143. See also 92 – 93, 95, 113
behavior traits: candid; closure-seeking; Coalition-building (behavior trait), 50,
confident; confrontational; coura- 106, 108 – 9, 112
geous; decisive; delegating; driven; Coherent (behavior trait), 48, 84 – 85
purposeful; tenacious Collaborative (behavior trait), 47, 56,
Assimilating (behavior trait), 50, 106, 74, 76
110 – 12 Composed (behavior trait), 49, 87 – 89,
Assimilative (behavior trait), 47, 70 – 71 91, 101, 131
Astute (behavior trait), 50, 105 – 7, 112 Conceptual (behavior trait), 6, 46, 61, 118
Attitude setting (tool), 130 – 31 Concise (behavior trait), 6, 48, 84 – 85,
Attuned (behavior trait), 47, 70 – 71 117
Confident (behavior trait), 93, 101
Confrontational (behavior trait), 49, 92,
Behavior rehearsal (tool), 129 95, 113, 131
Big-picture oriented (behavior trait), 46, Constructive intolerance, 11 – 12, 17,
60 – 62, 123 113, 117
160 Index
Cooper, Anderson: interview with Experimental (behavior trait), 47, 65 – 66

Obama, 14 Expressive leadership, 42, 45, 48, 52 – 53,
Counterintuitive, 43, 118 83 – 87, 91, 112, 117 – 18, 122, 129,
Courageous (behavior trait), 49, 92 – 94, 142. See also behavior traits: articulate;
101 coherent; concise; erudite; interesting;
Creative (behavior trait), 47, 64 – 65, 116, passionate; personable; persuasive; pre-
127 – 28 pared; presentable
Cuing (tool), 129 – 30
Culturally oriented (behavior trait), 50,
106, 108, 112 Facilitative (behavior trait), 47, 70 – 71
Curious (behavior trait), 47, 64 – 65, 76 Factual (behavior trait), 48, 71, 80 – 81,
83
Feedback: benefits of, 121; in develop-
Decisive (behavior trait), 2, 7, 49, 92 – 93 ment planning, 121, 124; overview of,
Declaring (leadership action), 51 119 – 21; as a tool, 130
Deep breathing (tool), 130 – 32 Feed forward (tool), 130, 132
Delegating (behavior trait), 49, 92 – 93 Flexible (behavior trait), 50, 65, 98, 102
Detail oriented (behavior trait), 48, Focused (behavior trait), 48, 79 – 80, 83
79 – 80, 83 Freire, Paulo, 100
Diplomatic (behavior trait), 50, 105 – 7, Fulfilled (behavior trait), 103 – 4
112
Drawing (tool), 126 – 28
Driven (behavior trait), 49, 92 – 93 Genetics: chromosomes, 21; crossing
Dunham, Madeline, 27 over, 21; genes, 20 – 21, 23; genome,
Dunham, Stanley, 23, 27 21; genotype, 21; phenotype, 21
Dunham, Stanley Ann, 23 – 25 Genuine (behavior trait), 49, 88 – 91
Dynamic interplay, 2, 39, 52, 90 Global (behavior trait), 46, 61, 63, 123
Grounded leadership, 42, 45, 49, 52 – 53,
Effective (behavior trait), 82 – 83 68 – 69, 87 – 91, 101, 112, 117 – 18,
Emotionally sound (behavior trait), 50, 122, 129, 143. See also behavior traits:
98, 101 approachable; cautious; composed;
Empathic (behavior trait), 25, 47, 74, 76 established; genuine; loyal; pragmatic;
Empowering (behavior trait), 47, 74, 76 questioning; stable; trustworthy
Engaging leadership, 42, 45, 47, 52, Groupthink, 74
54, 57, 73 – 74, 76 – 77, 84, 87, 92,
112 – 13, 117 – 18, 120, 122, 127, Holistic (behavior trait), 34, 37, 46, 61,
128, 141. See also behavior traits: 90, 123
charismatic; collaborative; empathic;
empowering; inclusive; inquisitive;
listening; motivational; respectful; Imaginative (behavior trait), 34, 47,
responsive 65 – 66, 68, 116
Environmental (behavior trait), 50, 98, Implementing (leadership action), 51
103 – 5 Inclusive (behavior trait), 47, 74, 76,
Erudite (behavior trait), 48, 84 – 85 108, 123, 131
Established (behavior trait), 49, 88 – 90 Incremental (behavior trait), 47, 51,
Ethology: cross-cultural existence, 69 – 70, 72 – 73, 117, 125
21 – 22; defined, 21; sensitive periods, Innovative leadership, 42, 46, 57, 64 – 66,
22 – 23 68 – 69, 100, 116, 118, 121, 127 – 28,
Index 161
140. See also behavior traits: cre- Listening (behavior trait), 47, 74, 76,
ative; curious; experimental; imagi- 117
native; novelty-seeking; pioneering; Logical (behavior trait), 34, 48, 80,
playful; risk-taking; spontaneous; 82 – 85, 130
unconventional Looking in (Plus Factor positioning), 49,
Inquisitive (behavior trait), 47, 65, 74, 76 51, 97
Insightful (behavior trait), 9, 46, 60 – 61, Looking out (Line of Site), 45 – 46, 51,
63, 133 118
Interesting (behavior trait), 49, 85 – 86 Looking over (MEGA Mind), 47, 51
Intuitive (behavior trait), 34, 36 – 37, 46, Loyal (behavior trait), 49, 75, 88 – 90
60, 63, 106
McCain, John, 38
MEGA Mind, 47 – 48, 117 – 18, 142
Lakoff, George, 15
Mentoring (behavior trait), 47, 70, 72, 132
Leader’s audiences: cultures, 42, 47, 50,
Mentors (tool), 130, 132
70, 106, 111, 121; individuals, 42, 47,
Methodical leadership, 42, 45, 48, 52,
55 – 56, 70, 121; teams, 42, 47, 50,
53, 79, 82 – 83, 87, 91, 117 – 18,
55 – 57, 70, 74, 121
122, 127, 129, 142. See also behavior
Leadership actions. See declaring;
traits: analytical; detail oriented;
implementing; operationalizing;
effective; factual; focused; logical;
visioning
organized; procedural; sequential;
Leadership behaviors. See assertive;
task oriented
engaging; expressive; grounded;
Moral imperative, 14 – 15
innovative; methodical; resilient;
Motivational (behavior trait), 47, 52, 74,
savvy; strategic; transformational
76, 100
Leadership Behavior Rating Form,
Multidominance, 34 – 35, 95 – 96
121 – 22
Multidominant, 34 – 35, 37, 43 – 44, 95,
Leadership breadth, 77, 115, 118, 122,
122
132
Leadership depth, 115, 123
Leadership development: breadth analy- Networking (behavior trait), 31, 50, 106,
sis, 121; depth analysis, 122; initial 108 – 9, 112, 129
reflection / visioning, 119; STOP- Nobel Prize for Peace, 133
START-CONTINUE (development Novel learning, 35
plan format), 124 – 25. See also Novelty-seeking (behavior trait), 47, 65,
active listening; attitude setting; 68
behavior rehearsal; brainstorming; Nonverbal communication, 76 – 77
chaining; cuing; deep breathing; draw-
ing; feedback; feed forward; mentors; Obama, Barack Senior, 24
reflection; reframing; stress busters; Obama, Michelle, 32 – 33, 104
visioning 100th day press conference, 52, 54, 56
Leadership vulnerability, 3 Open to learning (behavior trait), 47,
Left-brain leadership: essentials, 117. See 70, 107
also MEGA Mind Operationalizing (leadership action), 51
Left-brain toolkit, 129 Opportunity-conscious (behavior trait),
Left hemisphere, 34 47, 70 – 71
Line of Site, 45 – 46, 57, 59, 116, 118, Organized (behavior trait), 48, 79,
140 – 41 82 – 83
162 Index
Passionate (behavior trait), 48, 76, 84 – 86 Risk-taking (behavior trait), 46, 65,
Personable (behavior trait), 48, 85 – 86, 68 – 69
100
Persuasive (behavior trait), 49, 69,
85 – 86, 109 Savvy leadership, 42 – 43, 49 – 50, 76,
Physically fit (behavior trait), 103, 104 96 – 97, 105 – 6, 108 – 13, 118, 121,
Pioneering (behavior trait), 46, 65, 129 – 30, 144. See also behavior traits:
68 – 69 assimilating; astute; coalition-building;
Playful (behavior trait), 47, 64 – 65, 85, culturally oriented; diplomatic; net-
100, 116, 133 working; promotive; subtle; timely;
Plus Factors, 49 – 50, 96 – 97, 118, 130, visible
144 Sensitive periods. See ethology
Plus Factor Toolkit, 130 Sequential (behavior trait), 34, 48, 80,
Positive (behavior trait), 50, 98 – 100 82 – 83
Powell, Colin, 16, 135 Shrewd (behavior trait), 46, 60, 63
Pragmatic (behavior trait), 2, 28, 49, 88, Soetoro, Lolo, 28, 33
90 – 91 Spiritual (behavior trait), 32 – 33, 50, 98,
Prepared (behavior trait), 48, 84 – 85 102 – 3, 105
Presentable (behavior trait), 48, 84 – 86 Spontaneous (behavior trait), 47, 64 – 65,
Procedural (behavior trait), 48, 79, 81, 68
83 Stable (behavior trait), 35, 38, 49,
Promotive (behavior trait), 50, 106, 88 – 89, 101, 105
110 – 13 Strategic leadership, 42, 45 – 46, 52 – 53,
Purposeful (behavior trait), 49, 92 – 93 55, 57, 59 – 61, 63 – 64, 68 – 69, 116,
121 – 23, 140. See also behavior traits:
anticipatory; big-picture oriented;
Questioning (behavior trait), 49, 88, conceptual; global; holistic; insight-
90 – 91 ful; intuitive; shrewd; theoretical;
thoughtful
Stress busters (tool), 130, 132
Readiness (for learning), 29, 33 Subtle (behavior trait), 50, 106, 108, 112
Reflection (tool), 101,119, 126, 128
Reframing (tool), 129, 130, 134
Relaxed (behavior trait), 50, 98, 103 Task oriented (behavior trait), 48, 79,
Resilient leadership, 42 – 43, 49 – 50, 82 – 83
96 – 98, 100, 103 – 5, 112, 118, 122, Tenacious (behavior trait), 24, 49,
130, 144. See also behavior traits: clear 92 – 93, 125
thinking; emotionally sound; envi- Theoretical (behavior trait), 8, 22, 63,
ronmental; flexible; fulfilled; physi- 125
cally fit; positive; relaxed; spiritual; Thoughtful (behavior trait), 4, 13, 17,
tolerant 60 – 61, 63, 90
Respectful (behavior trait), 47, 74, 76 Timely (behavior trait), 50, 106 – 7, 112
Responsive (behavior trait), 47, 74, 76 Tolerant (behavior trait), 50, 98, 102
Right-brain leadership: essentials, Transformational leadership, 42, 45, 47,
116 – 17. See also Line of Site 52, 57, 69 – 71, 73, 87, 92, 100, 112,
Right Brain / Left Brain Leadership Model 116, 127 – 28, 141. See also behavior
(fundamentals), 4, 41, 51, 91, 119 – 20 traits: adaptive; alignment-driven;
Right-brain toolkit, 126 ambiguity-allowing; assimilative;
Right hemisphere, 34, 36 attuned; facilitative; incremental;
Index 163
mentoring; open to learning; Visible (behavior trait), 50, 106, 110, 112
opportunity-conscious Visioning (leadership action), 51, 128
Trustworthy (behavior trait), 49, 88, 90 Visioning (tool), 119, 126, 128
Vygotsky, Lev S., 30
Unconventional (behavior trait), 47, 52,
64 – 65, 68, 116 Zone of Proximal Development, 30
About the Author and
the Lead Life Institute
Mary Lou Décosterd is founder and managing executive of the Lead Life Insti-
tute, a learning consultancy offering programs and services to help executives, teams,
and organizations become their best. Dr. Décosterd has twenty-five years of expe-
rience in organizational development, applied psychology, and university teaching.
She has also authored the book Right Brain/Left Brain Leadership: Shifting Style
for Maximum Impact and the children’s book series titled The Adventures of
Magical Max.
Dr. Décosterd is adept at assessing individual and organizational needs and ob-
taining results. She works as an executive coach to leaders and leadership teams and
as a facilitator, speaker, designer, and trainer for both profit and nonprofit organiza-
tions. Areas of expertise include leadership and interpersonal development, imple-
mentation and execution, cultural and team alignment, strategic change leadership,
mediation, attitude and motivation, wellness, and work /life integration. Her work
focuses around four critical success drivers: business acumen, influencing, execut-
ing, and self-satisfaction. Prior to founding the Lead Life Institute, Dr. Décosterd
was a partner at a Chicago-headquartered international consulting firm, and be-
fore working there she had her own consulting practice, was a tenured university
professor, and held high-level leadership positions in the nonprofit sector.
Dr. Décosterd has lived and worked in the United States and abroad. She is a
graduate of the University of Hartford, the University of Oklahoma, and the Field-
ing Institute. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology; master’s degrees in educa-
tional psychology, organizational development, and clinical psychology; post-master’s
certification in community/school psychology; and a doctorate in human develop-
ment. She has been recognized by Who’ s Who in Teaching and Outstanding Women
of America.
The Lead Life Institute is a research-based learning consultancy offering dyna-
mic programs and services to help executives and their teams realize their potential
166 About the Author and the Lead Life Institute
and become their best. Recognizing the challenges, opportunities, and complexi-
ties of today’s world, the Lead Life Institute provides state-of-the-art approaches for
business and organizational success. As the name indicates, the Lead Life Institute
focuses on the successful integration of leadership and life skills, with leadership as
a broad term encompassing business and professional acumen, how the leader fa-
vorably impacts the world, and how the leader makes a difference. The life aspect
focuses on attitude, interpersonal power, and resilience. The overall aim of the Lead
Life Institute is to help individuals and organizations attain next-level success through
sound strategic leadership and strong, aligned operating cultures.
The Lead Life Institute offers executive coaching, leadership development,
women’s executive development, team excellence, and training design and delivery
in more than twenty areas of expertise, as well as work /life success seminars and
individual /organizational assessments.
About the Series Editor
and Advisory Board
Chris E. Stout, PsyD, MBA, is a licensed clinical psychologist and is a clinical full
professor at the University of Illinois College of Medicine’s Department of Psy-
chiatry. He served as a NGO special representative to the United Nations. He was
appointed to the World Economic Forum’s Global Leaders of Tomorrow, and he
has served as an invited faculty at the Annual Meeting in Davos. He is the founding
director of the Center for Global Initiatives. Dr. Stout is a fellow of the American
Psychological Association, past president of the Illinois Psychological Association,
and a distinguished practitioner in the National Academies of Practice. Dr. Stout
has published or presented more than 300 papers and 30 books/manuals on various
topics in psychology. His works have been translated into six languages. He has lec-
tured across the nation and internationally in nineteen countries and has visited six
continents and almost seventy countries. He was noted as being “one of the most
frequently cited psychologists in the scientific literature” in a study by Hartwick
College. He is the recipient of the American Psychological Association’s Interna-
tional Humanitarian Award.
Bruce Bonecutter, PhD, is director of behavioral services at the Elgin Commun-

ity Mental Health Center, the Illinois Department of Human Services state hospital
serving adults in greater Chicago. He is also a clinical assistant professor of psychol-
ogy at the University of Illinois at Chicago. A clinical psychologist specializing in
health, consulting, and forensic psychology, Mr. Bonecutter is also a long-time mem-
ber of the American Psychological Association Taskforce on Children and the Fam-
ily. He is a member of organizations including the Association for the Treatment
of Sexual Abusers International, the Alliance for the Mentally Ill, and the Mental
Health Association of Illinois.
168 About the Series Editor and Advisory Board
Joseph Flaherty, MD, is chief of psychiatry at the University of Illinois Hospi-

tal, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, and
a professor of community health science at the UIC College of Public Health.
He is a founding member of the Society for the Study of Culture and Psychiatry.
Dr. Flaherty has been a consultant to the World Health Organization, the Na-
tional Institutes of Mental Health, and also the Falk Institute in Jerusalem. He’s
been director of undergraduate education and graduate education in the depart-
ment of psychiatry at the University of Illinois. Dr. Flaherty has also been staff
psychiatrist and chief of psychiatry at Veterans Administration West Side Hospital
in Chicago.
Michael Horowitz, PhD, is president and professor of clinical psychology at the

Chicago School of Professional Psychology, one of the nation’s leading not-for-
profit graduate schools of psychology. Earlier, he served as dean and professor of
the Arizona School of Professional Psychology. A clinical psychologist practicing
independently since 1987, he has focused his work on psychoanalysis, intensive
individual therapy, and couples therapy. He has provided disaster mental health
services to the American Red Cross. Mr. Horowitz’s special interests include the
study of fatherhood.
Sheldon I. Miller, MD, is a professor of psychiatry at Northwestern University

and director of the Stone Institute of Psychiatry at Northwestern Memorial Hos-
pital. He is also director of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology,
director of the American Board of Emergency Medicine, and director of the Ac-
creditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Dr. Miller is also an exam-
iner for the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He is founding editor
of the American Journal of Addictions and founding chairman of the American
Psychiatric Association’s Committee on Alcoholism. Dr. Miller has also been a lieu-
tenant commander in the U.S. Public Health Service, serving as psychiatric con-
sultant to the Navajo Area Indian Health Service at Window Rock, Arizona. He is
a member and past president of the Executive Committee for the American Acad-
emy of Psychiatrists in Alcoholism and Addictions.
Dennis P. Morrison, PhD, is chief executive officer at the Center for Behavioral
Health in Indiana, the first behavioral health company ever to win the JCAHO
Codman Award for excellence in the use of outcomes management to achieve
health care quality improvement. He is president of the board of directors for the
Community Healthcare Foundation in Bloomington, and has been a member of
the board of directors for the American College of Sports Psychology. He has served
as a consultant to agencies including the Ohio Department of Mental Health, Ten-
nessee Association of Mental Health Organizations, Oklahoma Psychological As-
sociation, the North Carolina Council of Community Mental Health Centers, and
About the Series Editor and Advisory Board 169
the National Center for Heath Promotion in Michigan. Dr. Morrison served across
10 years as a medical service corp officer in the United States Navy.
William H. Reid, MD, is a clinical and forensic psychiatrist, and consultant to

attorneys and courts throughout the United States. He is clinical professor of psy-
chiatry at the University of Texas Health Science Center. Dr. Reid is also an ad-
junct professor of psychiatry at Texas A&M College of Medicine and Texas Tech
University School of Medicine, as well as a clinical faculty member at the Austin
Psychiatry Residency Program. He is chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board
and Medical Advisor to the Texas Depressive & Manic-Depressive Association, as
well as an examiner for the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology. He has
served as president of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, as chair-
man of the Research Section for an International Conference on the Psychiatric
Aspects of Terrorism, and as medical director for the Texas Department of Men-
tal Health and Mental Retardation. Dr. Reid earned an Exemplary Psychiatrist
Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. He has been cited on the
Best Doctors in America listing since 1998.

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Right Brain / Left Brain

Mary Lou Décosterd

F OREWORD BY C HRISTOPHER C. S HOEMAKER

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Public figures referred to in this book were not interviewed.

1 The Obama Phenomenon 1

2 The Nature/Nurture of Leadership 19

3 Right- and Left-Brain Potentials 41

Summary Thoughts 132

3.1 Guiding Behaviors Sorted by Right- and Left-Brain Ability 42

3.2 Right Brain/Left Brain Leadership Model (Complete) 51

6.1 Energy Model for Traits of RESILIENT Leadership 99

7.1 Right Brain/Left Brain Leadership Model (Partial) 120

7.2 Sample Ratings for Traits of STRATEGIC Leadership 123

has been so completely researched and considered so early on in a presidency as

we must first understand the fundamentals of the psychology and physiology of

Christopher C. Shoemaker, PhD

The Obama Phenomenon

Leading with Both Sides of His Brain

What follows is an interpretation based on publicly available information. No

From Intellect to Action

billion stimulus package to Congress, granting a televised interview to the Dubai-

Obama intellectually comes to understand the situation from all angles. He

Passion and Attitude

In the president’s opening inaugural remarks we experience a leader coming

head-on. His enthusiasm excites us as he leverages the full weight of history to

This is America. We don’t disparage wealth. We don’t begrudge anybody for

His Human Side

Beyond compassion and empathy, another of Obama’s admirable human quali-

Cooper: Do you feel you messed up in letting it get this far?

• Obama points to the distortion and erosion in values in America’s governing

The Phenomenon Recapped

• An unassuming beginning—Obama came to us with a quiet strength. He was

The Nature / Nurture

• What he inherited from and experienced through his parents

The distinct configuration of these impacts allowed Obama to in fact coalesce a

The Luck of the Draw

With respect to our genetic inheritance we each possess a still undetermined

of our overarching biological heritage.4 Ethology provides an interesting perspec-

Nature / Nurture Simpliﬁed

Inﬂuences, Experiences, and Moments

(Stanley) Ann Dunham

• Honesty — plainly and simply, do not lie.

In addition to her basic values, Obama’s mother possessed a quiet strength,

A defining account of his father’s demeanor was relayed in Obama’s autobiog-

mother and grandparents Barack Senior’s favorable attributes would continue to

Gramps and Toot

Special Man / Special Place

someone is able to take in knowledge. More specifically, Obama was at a critical

engagement in a religious faith. As part of his community organizing work, he was

Leadership and the Brain

TEN-POINT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. Interrelationships—While our brain is organized into speciﬁc structures,

hardwired and gained through distinct inﬂuences, experiences, and mo-

Right- and Left-Brain

Strategic: To be proactive and visionary; to have the long-range view

Right Brain / Left Brain: Counterintuitive

A Leader’s Line of SITE

Innovative, Transformational, and Engaging). Think, then, of right-brain be-

The MEGA Mind

• Task oriented—attentive to assignments

• Prepared—giving the necessary forethought to formal and informal messages

• Persuasive—able to make a compelling point