the art of leading

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I guess everybody knows by now that Pat Robertson, the ultra-conservative pastor, has endorsed Rudy Giuliani for President, even when they have opposing social stances. What does this have to do with leadership? A lot, in my humble opinion. Regardless of political parties and ideology, Giuliani has demonstrated he’s very smart.

I start with the premise that a big part of leadership consists of influencing people. There are many ways to influence people, but building alliances with other opinion- and thought-leaders is a great example. Rudy has just expanded his circle of influence enormously due to Robertson’s incredible thought leadership and the amount of people that follow him.

Will this lead to an increase in polling numbers for Giuliani? 

I honestly don’t know. I guess so, but not necessarily. What is important in leadership terms is to know that building alliances with other leaders is a very effective way to increase influence, and therefore, leadership capacity. This translates very well into the workplace and to other fields. When trying to push an idea or a project through an organization, alliances with opinion leaders will help tremendously, in the same way that Robertson’s followers will certainly be more receptive to Giuliani’s ideas from now on.

Categories : Persuasion, Politics //