Coconuts, Couches and Cat Ladies: Leadership Lessons From the Campaign Trail

As we navigate a politically charged landscape, there are valuable leadership lessons that transcend partisan boundaries and offer insights into effective leadership. Let’s explore a few key takeaways we can add to our toolkit.

A Future-Focused Vision is Energizing

As Darwin observed, a species' success relies not on its strength but on its capacity to adapt to change.? To truly thrive, we intuitively know we must embrace progress, and avoid stagnation or reverting to the past.? Kamala Harris’s emphasis on moving forward and her mantra of “not going back” has revitalized the political landscape and energized the nation.? The energy is palpable and brings with it a sense of hope and optimism resonant with the Obama era. At the same time, the regressive MAGA ideas and Project 2025 policies—reminiscent of dystopian fiction like The Handmaid’s Tale—seek to drag the country back to a distant, oppressive past. These ideas are uninspiring and weird, appealing only to a small group that stands to gain from their resurgence.

Applying the Lesson: Many senior leaders today find themselves increasingly out of touch with their employees and find it difficult to inspire and engage them toward a shared vision. Much of this stems from the fact that their lived experiences are so different from those of the average worker. To address this, it behooves leaders to step outside their echo chambers and engage more directly with front-line employees.? A few ways to get started include participating in focus groups, joining affinity and employee resource groups, or even seeking reverse mentorship from junior staff. These interactions will help leaders gain a genuine understanding of their workforce, and likely their customers, since these employees are often closer to them.?

Authenticity Builds Connection and Trust

When Kamala Harris talks about falling out of a coconut tree, laughs during a speech, or otherwise demonstrates her authentic joy, we feel it. In fact, all of social media is feeling it too (#brat). Because she is at ease with herself and expresses her authentic self, it makes us feel like we know her and creates a feeling of expansion, like we, too can be ourselves. This is in stark contrast to J.D. Vance, who comes off as a stiff, inauthentic shapeshifter. His awkwardness gives us the Ick because we can see through the mask he’s wearing, and it makes us wonder if he can.

Applying the Lesson: Harvard Business Review recently found that 85% of employees ranked authenticity as the top quality a leader or manager should have. Authentic leaders exhibit a relatability people can identify with on a human level. This could be as simple as admitting you don’t know the answer to a question in a meeting, telling your team that you’re not having a great mental health week, or sharing a story about your love for pickleball. As long as it’s authentic, it gives others a window into who you are as a human, which builds trust and likability.?

Move From Me to We

Whether it's President Joe Biden withdrawing from the 2024 race for the greater good of the nation or Kamala Harris’s using the campaign slogan, “Kamala For the People,” both shift the focus from themselves to the people they serve. This positions them as the guide in Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey framework—the archetypal structure behind the majority of great stories of our time. Positioning themselves as the guide and the audience as the hero in this way builds a deeper connection.

Applying the Lesson: To create meaningful impact and inspire action, leaders must make the audience see themselves as the hero of the story, as opposed to centering the narrative around their own achievements. Many leaders attempting to garner support for a new strategic initiative or organizational change mistakenly position the new technology platform, the organization, or the CEO as the hero of the narrative. This approach is doomed to fail. Each person sees themselves as the protagonists of their own story, and to effectively inspire action and convey a message, they must understand its relevance to them. To engage and motivate people, frame the initiative in a way that allows them to see themselves as the central figure. Clearly articulate the purpose behind the initiative or change, how it impacts them, how it benefits them, and what’s expected from them.

Inclusivity Isn’t Just the Right Thing to Do, It’s a Strategic Advantage

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have tried to unite the nation by integrating the diverse lived experiences of all Americans as they steer the country toward a cohesive and inclusive future. In contrast, Donald Trump's approach often discriminates, creates zero-sum scenarios, and promotes divisive rhetoric. Similarly, J.D. Vance's recent comments, referring to women as "childless cat ladies," reflect a misguided strategy that risks alienating significant portions of the population and turning away potential supporters.

Applying the Lesson: Inclusive leadership that actively seeks out and incorporates diverse perspectives is pivotal for fostering collaboration, commitment, and innovation. Given that the majority of CEOs are wealthy, white men, it's especially crucial for them to understand and empathize with the experiences of employees who differ from them in race, gender, or socioeconomic background. By engaging with diverse perspectives, leaders foster an inclusive and dynamic culture that enhances their ability to innovate, attract, and retain top talent.

Empowerment Over Control

Our Founding Fathers recognized the fundamental importance of personal freedoms such as individual expression and making one’s own life choices. These principles are the very foundation of our nation. The Republican Party echoed this in its founding values of autonomy and limited government intervention. However, it appears that the MAGA movement has strayed far from these core ideals, becoming fixated on controlling people. They can’t stop themselves from trying to micromanage our decisions around identity, who we can love, and what we do with our bodies. This not only contravenes our fundamental human rights but also undermines our essential human needs for autonomy and agency.

Applying the Lesson: While organizations may not be as extreme as the MAGA movement, imposing overly rigid controls—such as mandatory return-to-office policies, excessive bureaucracy, and micromanagement—can diminish motivation, well-being, performance, and commitment. This often results in decreased engagement, productivity, and organizational agility. To build a more innovative and engaged workforce, leaders should clearly articulate their vision, and the “why”, set specific goals, and provide necessary support, but then let employees own how they achieve these objectives. Leaders can cultivate a sense of ownership and drive higher engagement by providing flexible work arrangements, involving employees in decision-making, and actively soliciting their feedback.

Balancing Strength and Warmth

The ability to persuade is essential for leaders who wish to inspire action and foster loyalty. Research on persuasion highlights that the most charismatic people skillfully balance strength and competence with warmth. Leaders like Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, and John F. Kennedy exemplify this. In contrast, during the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton, despite her considerable competence, was frequently perceived as lacking warmth. However, Kamala Harris has emerged as a refreshing example of a leader who seamlessly integrates her intellectual competence and robust prosecutorial background with genuine warmth, humor, and joy.

Applying the lesson: Highly regarded contemporary leaders have shifted away from the rigid command-and-control approach of the past, embracing instead a leadership style characterized by empathy, authenticity, and empowerment. They forge deep connections with their teams, demonstrating genuine concern for their well-being and fostering an environment that supports everyone’s growth and success. This balance is reflected in their use of humor, sincere expressions of concern for employees, and other genuine interactions that build trust and rapport.?

What is your favorite leadership lesson from the campaign trail??

References are in the comments.