Power and Responsibility

At our Annual Meeting I talked about this idea that today’s leaders are burdened with the responsibility of ushering in Tomorrow. I wanted to expand on that thinking a bit today. Because we can’t take that burden lightly. It is an honor and a responsibility, that requires us to stay engaged and exercise our power on others’ behalf – within our unique spheres of influence. I’ve been thinking a lot about power this past week. Its shapes and forms, how people use it, the responsibility of those who have it… I had coffee with a coworker on Friday, we talked about this very thing, and I was reminded of advice I got years ago: be careful about wanting power/leadership. Of course, he had been referring to the burden of leadership.  
 
Which took me down another rabbit hole, that of one of my favorite speeches by then President-elect John F. Kennedy, from 1961: “History will not judge our endeavors – and a government cannot be selected – merely on the basis of color or creed or even party affiliation. Neither will competence and loyalty and stature, while essential to the utmost, suffice in times such as these. For of those to whom much is given, much is required. And when at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment on each one of us--recording whether in our brief span of service we fulfilled our responsibilities to the state--our success or failure, in whatever office we may hold, will be measured by the answers to four questions:

• First, were we truly [people] of courage--with the courage to stand up to one's enemies--and the courage to stand up, when necessary, to one's associates--the courage to resist public pressure, as well as private greed?
• Secondly, were we truly [people] of judgment--with perceptive judgment of the future as well as the past--of our own mistakes as well as the mistakes of others--with enough wisdom to know that we did not know, and enough candor to admit it
• Third, were we truly [people] of integrity—[people] who never ran out on either the principles in which they believed or the people who believed in them—[people] who believed in us—[people] whom neither financial gain nor political ambition could ever divert from the fulfillment of our sacred trust?
• Finally, were we truly [people] of dedication--with an honor mortgaged to no single individual or group, and compromised by no private obligation or aim, but devoted solely to serving the public good and the national interest.

 
So if you feel like you’re Yesterday, or even Today, acknowledge your power. With that power comes continued responsibility to share it, to use it in service to others, to develop others on their own leadership journey. Your Chamber strives to provide opportunities to do just that, so please join us! Our Young Professionals, our Ambassadors, our Chamber Connect opportunities and others are intended to bring us together!   
 
See you in the trenches,
B