"Considering the stakes of this election, shouldn't part of the process of choosing the next president be a 'job interview' of sorts, designed to shed light on the candidates' leadership capacity? Voters deserve a better understanding of who the candidates really are; their aptitude for building teams and coalitions; their judgment and decision-making style; and the special competencies they bring to getting difficult things done.Since the Globe doesn't link to websites mentioned in it's articles, I went and found the site that has all the questions and lots of background.
To that end, the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Ken Blanchard Companies recently convened a diverse group of leaders from all sectors - government, corporate, and nonprofit - as well as academics and others who study leadership. Two hundred participants developed questions for the candidates that would help introduce them more fully as leaders to the American voter."
The Center for Public Leadership (CPL) at Harvard Kennedy School, in association with The Ken Blanchard Companies, developed this site, HowYouLead.org. Take a look.
For those who didn't read the article, here's the list of 15 questions:
Who Are You Really?Good questions.
1. Values: What are your five core values and how do they shape how you lead?
2. Attributes & Competencies: What are the attributes and competencies you value most in yourself that will serve you well in the White House?
3. Weaknesses & Mistakes: Recent American history has many examples of leaders whose weaknesses brought them down. What are your tendencies that could cause your presidency to fail?
4. People I Have Learned From: What historical figure has exercised leadership in a way that you aspire to? What were their strengths? Tell us about a situation that tested their leadership.
5. Multicultural Experience/World View: What experiences have helped you deeply understand the mindset and values of other cultures?
Who Will Be at The Table With You?
6. Building a Team: Tell us about a high performing team that you’ve built. What made it high-performing?
7. Coalition Building: Can you share some examples of when you were a catalyst who brought groups with polarized opinions together so that all voices were at the table?
8. Increasing Participation: The internet and technology have flattened the political playing field, allowing for more participation and collective decision making. How will you create a more participatory democracy and give people the opportunity to influence decision making?
9. Increasing Participation: Young people have engaged in this election in greater numbers than ever before. Please give us some examples of how you have listened and responded to the next generation in your campaign. How will you keep the next generation engaged?
How Will You Decide?
10. Decision Making Style: The president’s role requires decisiveness. Please share some examples of your ability and willingness to be decisive. Can you tell us about a time when a lack of decisiveness got you into trouble. In retrospect, what would you have done differently?
11. Judgment: Tell us about a time when your judgment was tested in crisis. What do you want us to appreciate about your judgment?
How Will You Act? And What Will You Act On?
12. Leading Change: Can you give us an example of how you have overcome resistance to bring about a needed change?
13. Innovative Thinking: How will you create an environment for innovation within your leadership team?
14. Building the Confidence of Others: What are the first few things you’ll do to raise confidence at home and abroad?
15. Priorities Indicative of Values: The USA ranks 1st in incarceration and 18th in high school graduation. What leadership skills and values do you bring to the challenge of reversing these numbers? Can you point to three things in your past that will help us understand that you care about this challenge?
Let's see if we get answers.
Reposted from Thursday, June 12, 2008.
I think we are still waiting.