The Democratic race for the presidential nomination is by all accounts neck-and-neck. But this wasn’t the case two months ago, when Hillary Clinton appeared assured of a spot at the head of the ticket in the November election.
Can you say New England Patriots? In politics as well as sports, the soaring favorite can quickly be hurtling earthbound. In Clinton’s case, says Harvard Kennedy School’s Barbara Kellerman, she has only her own leadership mistakes to blame.
Kellerman cites three failures, which serve as lessons for any leader: she succumbed to hubris, did not pay enough attention to the impact of her proxy (husband Bill), and failed to acknowledge mistakes. Please read her Harvard Business blog for a fuller analysis.
As the campaign on both sides has unfolded, have you taken any leadership lessons from the candidates? Do the failed efforts by Rudy Giuliani and John Edwards say anything about these men as leaders? What leadership traits is John McCain displaying that makes him the presumptive favorite for the Republican nomination? Is the soaring rhetoric style of Barack Obama enough to clinch the deal with voters?
(Hillary Clinton image by Joe Crimmings Photography, CC 2.0)
