Presidential Leadership Scholars Module 4 College Station – Strategic Partnerships

Over the past few months, I find myself reliving so many incredible moments from the Presidential Leadership Scholars (PLS) program. Our 4th Module in College Station, Texas provided the opportunity to learn about the life and legacy of President George H.W. Bush. We had tornado warnings, Mariachi bands, horses, western dancers, incredible speakers, and so much more! ?

We kicked off with discussions around strategic partnerships. What’s still resonating is that strategic partnerships are not simply an important business strategy rather a way you should live your life. When I co-founded Ascend, we were so fortunate to have early employer partners, board members, & funders that believe in the vision that we could make Indiana a place of economic opportunity. These early partnerships came from relationships and coalitions built while in Mayor Ballard’s Office of Education Innovation and continued into additional efforts. I will continue to carry forward how important ongoing relationships are to everything we do.

We learned about the values of this President including confidence, competence, compassion, & care. I love the depth of these words & how the alliteration makes it roll off the tongue. I love how each person could voice this & you could see it in the way he acted. Andy Card was an absolute highlight. He was so down to earth, honest, smart, & genuine. He shared authentically about how important family is and how that is what really matters most despite all the incredible things he accomplished in his career. ?If the former Chief of Staff to two Presidents can make his family a priority, then we absolutely can and should too. This is a key inspiration behind my current sabbatical - thank you Mr. Card!

We talked about how the President had the innate ability to see the light AND see the path to get there. Including being willing to accept consequences for what he thought was the right decision. Or partnering deeply across the aisle at significant cost. We heard that opportunity & risk come in pairs. When I went to Switzerland in 2019 & knew we needed to start #YouthApprenticeship in #Indiana (You know I couldn't write one of these reflections without mentioning this since it's #NationalApprenticeshipWeek). I was worried about what it would take to make it happen. It felt risky to risk my reputation, our organizational capacity, & our time on something that was new and emerging. And now four years later, we had a 120-person delegation of CEOs and Government leaders led by the Indy Chamber traveling to that same fateful place to support this work! It doesn’t always work out perfectly, but there is no chance we can live out big dreams if we don’t take risks.

I found myself deeply resonating with the way this President acted & lived his life. These lessons gave me a much fuller appreciation & admiration.

Here are a few notes that are still sticking:

-??????? One key enemy of leadership is frustration – when we are grounded and able to see clearly, we can make good decisions. Frustration doesn’t lead us anywhere. Some frustration might help you understand something needs to change. But how we channel it and use it matters. Motivation and frustration are not the same.

-??????? There is always common ground. You just have to work to find it. This takes time, effort, relationship, and intention.

-??????? Your family IS your life. You will be proud of your accomplishments, but these people will always be there.

-??????? Change is evolutionary not revolutionary meaning that to create lasting change – we have to bring those impacted into the discussion and work at a slower pace than many of us want to. This takes time and sustained effort.

?? I may be a bit delayed in these reflections, but it's been exciting to think back on what is still resonating after several months of reflection! I write these for myself but hope they are useful to you (thank you for reading if you made it this far!) - drop me a note on my post if these are resonating. :)

Stay tuned for more to come on Module 5 reflections from Austin, Texas about Persuasion & Influence with President Lyndon B. Johnson including the Johnson Effect.

#PLScholar?#Leadership?#Decisionmaking #StrategicPartnerships?#Belonging?#Values #Vision #Sabbatical #Family

George W. Bush Presidential Center?Clinton Foundation