“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” (Roosevelt, 1933).These ten powerful words struck a deep sense of ease and confidence into the heart and minds of millions who listened to Roosevelt’s inaugural speech. Roosevelt did have an economic strategy in mind to help lift the United States out of the Great Depression, but he did not open with “I have a plan”. Instead he spoke to a greater need than even the economic strife in the country, he spoke to the fear in the hearts of the people.
The leadership lesson revealed here is enormous. People like to know that there is a plan, I have never encountered a leader who seemed aimless and meandering who had strong support from his followers. More than a plan however, when times are challenging and difficult, people need to be recognized. For a leader, to both see and hear his people and speak to them about you and your before speaking about me, my and I is both profound and powerful. Other presidents followed Roosevelt’s lead and surprisingly even President Trump spoke during his inauguration for 549 words about “we,” and “our” before finally, well into his address, speaking word 550 was “I” (Trump, 2017). It is important for the leader to see his people and lay out the vision as something that will be accomplished by the whole group and for the whole group. I believe that this approach lays the foundation within an organizations for transformational leadership to take place.
For myself, I have the privilege of working with an amazing group of people who work tirelessly and selflessly without much complaint. I will remember this leadership lesson and ensure part of my practice is that people are both seen and heard as a means of carrying out my vision as a leader.
Roosevelt, F. (1933). In L.E. Watson (Ed) Light From Many Lamps: a treasury of inspiration. New York, NY. Simon and Schuster.
Trump, D. (2017). Inaugural Address. sourced from www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/the-inaugural-address/.
Ryan,
I agree with you, Roosevelt’s quote about fear is so impactful because it helps us adopt a perspective that fear is produced internally and empowers us with the notion that it’s something we can control. One of the main roles of a leader is to guide followers, which may involve teaching followers that the fears is something they have control over and to empower them to overcome it so they can do great things. Fear may not always come from an external entity but can also stem from within. Allowing followers to see this can unlock new levels of potential and ability within them. Sometimes what we may fear are also the things we perceive to have no control over. It’s this cycle of thinking that permeates within our mind and hinders us from taking action. What I think Roosevelt was also addressing is that when we can recognize what it is we really fear and why we fear it, we can then learn to regain that power it had over us and allows us to ultimately conquer it.
-Ruiz