COLLABORATIVE LEADERSHIP

                                                                 Leadership and Democracy

                                                                                                                                     Timothy Stagich, Ph.D.

 
     There are certain fundamental qualities of leadership that go a long way toward helping to build democracy. Our forefathers had these qualities of leadership in mind when they created the Declaration of Independence and drafted the Constitution of the United States. These most important attributes include a strong sense of equality, the collaborative ability to work through problems in a participatory democratic manner and a firm commitment to public service.

     When we talk about equality, we are referring to more than some vague principle or even the idea of sameness as everyone is different and has a unique contribution to make. Benjamin Franklin, who was a direct contributor to the principles of equality and fairness in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, firmly believed in these fundamental elements of democracy. As an indentured servant to his brother, he knew what it was like to be treated unfairly and unequally. And, he believed so much in the principle of religious freedom that his final wish was to have representatives of six different religions carry his casket during his funeral procession. Equality was essential to Franklin, but, he realized that as hard as we are working for equal opportunity, there will always be those individuals who have some advantage over others. It seems that there are people in almost every group who want to dominate or believe they are more privileged than others. So, real equality in democratic group work involves two most important principles – respect and equal treatment. When we are working in collaborative groups in a democratic society, these principles of respect and equal treatment are essential to create an environment in which the group members can successfully work through problems for the greater benefit of everyone. Whether it is a city council or board of directors meeting, legislative committee or senate commission, how we treat the other members and respect their special contributions in these groups are essential to problem solving in a way that goes beyond the debate and even compromise to arrive at new ideas and real solutions to problems across disciplines, cultures and, yes, even party lines.

     We have arrived at a time in our democratic history when debate just for the sake of debate is no longer sufficient. It is only a beginning. Raising and acknowledging our areas of disagreement are only the first steps in a longer democratic process that involves working through problems collaboratively together for the greater good. Citizens are tired of the bickering and personal attacks that divide groups of people, alienate parties and create gridlock in Washington. They are ready for a new type of politics that focuses on the issues and challenges everyone to work together in a way that produces results instead of just politics as usual. Real leadership demands that we begin to rise above the petty differences and confront our important disagreements in ways that enable us to take the next step with respect and a sense of purpose and equality that will make a difference.

     This does not mean that there won’t be differences and even serious disagreements and arguments from time to time. However, these must be considered as critical first steps that enable us to begin to see issues from other individual perspectives no matter how different they may be from our own. It is often the different point of view that we never considered but learned to accept that makes the difference between success and failure of a group project or critical piece of legislation. Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes if only for a minute can allow for greater understanding or a new way of looking at an old problem. This is true democracy absent of all of those unnecessary attacks that are appearing more and more to be only self-serving and not really in the service to others. This brings us to our third most essential principle of leadership – a firm commitment to public service.

     The famous Kennedy quote, “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country,” was a call to public service and has resonated with people over the past fifty years because democracy demands that we put people and our country first and leave the self-serving politics of personal destruction out of the process.  It was also a call for everyone to get involved for the benefit of others. The electoral process and our whole political system will be better because of it and we will be better able to work through problems instead of posturing and bickering for self-serving political purposes. This is the problem with special interest groups and lobbyists. They are unable to put the needs of the people first. However, with the new changes in communications technology and every action of politicians being scrutinized more closely, self-serving efforts are being seen for what they are. And, as a result, the politics of personal destruction is becoming more and more transparent and even self-destructive. When we learn to move past our differences and disagreements and begin to solve the real issues and problems facing the country, democracy will begin to take on a new and more powerful direction. And the world is watching.

     The most important challenge facing our democracy today is how we are able to learn and communicate democratic values to the rest of the world. So, we must begin to ask, “Are we teaching the next generation of leaders in our businesses, schools and public institutions in a way that puts our democratic values first?” Everything that we teach in a democratic society from communications and politics to business and science should reflect the context of our democratic values. In a true democratic society politics does not exist for the sake of politics and business does not exist just for the sake of business. It is our democratic values that give everything that we teach and learn meaning if we truly believe in our democracy as Benjamin Franklin and our forefathers did. Thomas Jefferson saw that the future of a democratic society depended upon how literate and educated the people of that society were. And, he was not only referring to the ability to read and write. He was pointing out the need to become collaboratively and democratically literate in such a way that allows the people to participate effectively in a democracy at every level of society regardless of income, race or social status.

     So, when we teach history in school do we teach it in the context of our important democratic values or do we teach just facts and timelines of important events? And, when we teach business, do we teach it in the context of true free enterprise based upon consumer confidence and democratic participation or do we teach just profit making and vacuous economic principles that have no meaning in themselves without the purposeful context found in a value laden democratic society? In our educational system we think that objectivity alone can create a sense of fairness when it only is a disguise for the various biases that exist everywhere. Clearly, we need to put our democratic values into the forefront of everything we are learning and doing in our society. Teaching democratic values is the most essential part of the educational process in a democracy. Without these contextual values we cannot develop the collaborative leaders of the future with the democratic vision and understanding of the principles of equal treatment, problem solving and democratic participation so necessary to keep our nation strong. Our entire future as a democracy hinges on how well we understand this point.

     And, this has never been so evident as it was during the Iraq War as our democratic values and principles have been sacrificed in favor of torture and inmate abuses at Abu Grahib and Guantanamo Bay prisons. And, there have been increasingly other abuses of our democratic system by so called leaders who seem to have no concept of real democracy as they misuse our economic system to favor the rich and they undermine benefits to our workers and middle class citizens. This form of domination by the rich and the powerful was never the intention of our forefathers and it reaffirms the need to teach these values more openly and consistently throughout our educational system and even in our places of work.

     Politics does not exist for the sake of politics and business does not exist for the sake of business. Only within the context of our democratic values and service to our citizens do these subjects find their meaning. Yet, when we take courses in business or even communications we are only taught some trendy or traditional concepts that have little meaning without the values that they are built upon. Our democratic values give the concept of “supply and demand” a context for real democratic discussion and not just some vague notion that prices automatically increase with demand. For example, a democratic society understands that greed and demand for products can and must be tempered by a sense of service and what is best for people and the environment. Somehow these values never seem to be addressed when we are teaching and talking about profits and business.  Also, in history class when we teach about the “great societies” and their legacies do we distinguish between those that were cruel and focused primarily on domination and those that contributed important cultural and human values or sense of dignity and service to the world? Or, do we continue to maintain our false sense of objectivity regardless of whether they helped or hurt the human condition? Our democratic values enable us to see our individual qualities that make us special as well as the principles that make us equal. And, they give us a valuable learning context to begin a deeper discussion on these and many other subjects in school and even in the workplace. These are the discussions that will help to build the collaborative and democratic leaders of the future. And, we are all stakeholders in this effort to create a better and a more democratic world (See Leadership in Education).

1. What are the principle qualities of leadership that help to build democracy?
2. What democratic values provide the context for learning and leadership?
3. Why is it necessary to move beyond the debate in a democratic society? And, how do collaborative and democratic groups problem solve successfully?
4. Why was the principle of equality so important to Benjamin Franklin and how is this principle applied in building successful teams?
5. What important concern did Jefferson have regarding the relationship of education and democracy? And, how can it be achieved in a democracy?
6. What is the importance and purpose of including democratic values as the “context for learning” in our schools for various subject areas?
7. How will using democratic contexts in our schools for teaching and learning help to create a more collaboratively and socially literate society?