create2connect

Barack Obama is at work six weeks by now, and you can see develop a pattern in his leadership. For me the most important point is not if he is fulfilling his election promises (though it will be important for his credibility), but I am more interested in the way he leads. Two things stand out: he creates a broad spectrum of executive leadership and secondly, when solving problems he gets everybody at the table.
The broad spectrum leadership is visible especially in foreign affairs. Obama focuses not only on the staffing of the usual posts, like the Secretary of State and the Minister of Defense. He also nominated a broad party of experienced leaders for crucial issues like Afghanistan and the Israel/Palestine. Time and again he uses well versed diplomats, that are able to get things moving, like George Mitchell and Richard Holbrooke. They are a the paragon of the continued and focused attention Obama wants for crucial conflicts. Executives with a mandate from the president that can give all their time to the case.
Even more interesting from the perspective how to organize a process of collective leadership is the way Obama operates to solve problems. The most promising example up till now is that of his approach of the renewal of the health care system. The urgency is clear, millions of Americans are without even the most basic form of health insurance and the costs of the system are rocketing sky high and out of control. And yet Obama does not choose a top down approach, given this urgency. No, he began with a White House dialogue session where he put the whole system in the room: 150 people, from health insurance companies, medical specialists, hospitals, the pharmaceutical industry, companies, Democrats, Republicans, together with the poor without insurance. And he was able to get this colorful party to go into dialogue with each other in working groups, he himself walking around as facilitator and listener. Of course, an invitation of the President is not to be declined, but still it was remarkable that he brought together these people, normally fighting each other like cats and dogs. Obama definitely showed to master one of the most important lessons of systems changers: if you want to change the system, bring the whole system in dialogue with each other (and get them out of their normal interest struggles), because with a systems change everybody has to move (and nobody wants to be forced by others).
Of course one swallow does not make a summer, because from this group discussing at the White House the leaders will have to rise that are prepared to step over the boundaries of their self interest to help change the system. But the first important step has been made, and the way in which (the whole system in the room) is an important and hopeful signal!