Profile - Russell Davis

After the 2016 Presidential election in the United States, I took time-off from facilitating workshops and writing weekly blogs to try and understand the challenges, fears, and concerns facing the U.S. and our larger global community. There seemed to be a shift away from engagement and inclusion, and a regression back to entrenched partisanship, borders, and tribalism. I was concerned that the election results signaled a long-term or permanent shift away from respectful engagement, multiculturalism, and diversity.  I wanted to find ways to work toward open dialogue, community building, and leadership development.

This focus on fear, nationalism, and tribalism was not exclusive to the United States. Many countries traditionally seen as open and welcoming produced candidates who ran campaigns based on fear. A re-energized right was determined to move from the fringe to the mainstream: the Freedom Party in Austria won 35.1% of the vote in 2016 and 27% in 2017; the Alternative for Germany party took 14.2% of the vote in 2016; the Danish People’s Party won 21.1% of the vote in 2015; the Law and Justice Party won 37.6% of the vote in Poland; and the Swiss People’s Party won 29.4% of the vote that same year in Switzerland.[i]  Even in the United Kingdom, the 2016 Brexit vote was seen by many as an embrace of borders, exclusion, and “fear of the other,” as it passed with nearly 52% of the vote. 

The behaviors of the candidates and their supporters - their focus on insult, rudeness, and nationalism - was undermining the fundamental ideals of engagement and demonstrated a failure or rejection of real leadership. Their messages were similar; borders not brotherhood, demagoguery not dialogue, “us” not “them,” fear not understanding. There was a demonstrated lack of empathy, connection, dialogue, and understanding. 

Thankfully, these campaigns of nationalism, exclusion, and fear, were challenged by individuals and communities joining together to repudiate those views. The “Women’s March” in 2017 had an estimated participation of over seven million people worldwide;[ii] the “March for Europe” had tens of thousands of participants in 2017, and the follow-up “People's Vote March” drew an estimated 700,000. New leaders stepped forward with a message of positivity, inclusion, and a rejection of fear and hate. The 2018 midterm elections in the U.S. upheld this view; “History was made across the country on Tuesday night [November 6, 2018], as women, LGBT people, Native Americans, Muslims, and people of color achieved political firsts.”[iii] More women were voted into Congress than ever before, “at least 92 had won in the House and 10 had won in the Senate (joining 10 already in the upper chamber) for a total of 112 women — the most women to serve in Congress at once in history. (The previous record was 107.)”[iv] 

My concerns of a long-term shift away from respectful communication and support for diversity and inclusion were proven to be untrue, as many of the progressive and coalition building candidates won with a message of positive leadership and unity. Unfortunately, many of the candidates who ran on platforms of fear, separation, and demonizing the “other,” also used the word leadership as part of their campaigns.

Leadership is more than title, charm, power, or charisma. True leaders demonstrate responsibility, engagement, and goal achievement, while communicating effectively and acting with integrity. Intentionally engaging in divisive rhetoric, community separation, and the scapegoating of others is not leadership.

Webster’s Dictionary defines leadership as, “The power or ability to lead other people.”[v] I believe this traditional definition is connected to an outdated understanding of what it means to lead. It is focused solely on power and ability, and not on how leaders engage with others on the journey. A despot, a boss, an owner, a ruler, and those born into positions of power may have the title of leader and the responsibility of leadership but may not have the skills to lead.

True qualities of leadership are not predicated on wealth, class, race, gender, or position. They consist of intrinsic qualities connected to principled behaviors, personal responsibility, positive engagement, caring, and character. [vi]

I share my thoughts on these and other values of leadership in a new book called, The Leadership Papers: Tools For Effective Leadership, available through Amazon and other book sellers. 

The Leadership Papers creates a framework for understanding the roles, responsibilities, expectations, and challenges of leadership, and provides practical information on how to develop or enhance one’s leadership skills.

I define leadership as, “The ability to effectively and responsibly engage with people, processes, and programs, to achieve organizational, team, or individual goals.” Developing or enhancing the skills of effective leadership is a life-long journey and requires a commitment to key values demonstrated through behaviors.

The key values of leadership are accountability, character, effective communication, understanding of self, understanding of others, understanding of the objective(s), practice, and patience.[vii]

If our “leaders” adopted these values, there would be less of a focus on “Us vs. Them” and more of a focus on “We.” Our leaders would build bridges to understand difference, create systems that support all individuals, and value human dignity above personal gain.

There are no simple solutions for the challenges we face today, but engaged positive leadership is crucial to problem-solving. 

"Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself. It is precisely that simple and it is also that difficult." – Warren Bennis

The Leadership Papers includes conversations with leaders, articles, book reviews, definitions, quotes, tools for engagement, and information I have found helpful in my leadership development. 

Some believe that leadership is an exclusive characteristic reserved for the privileged or elite, connected to one’s station in life, family name, education, or other measures of status. I believe that leadership is inherent in everyone, but only those who practice and hone their skills become the best leaders.[viii]

The Leadership Papers is designed: 

• To help those in positions of power recognize the responsibilities associated with power and act appropriately. 

• To inspire a new group of leaders to demonstrate the courage to lead.

• To provide tools to enhance leadership skills, communication effectiveness, and understanding.

• To support a global community of leaders working to promote collaboration, individual, and organizational success.

Engagement not combat, community not isolation, and leadership not power, are the hallmarks of the new leadership model. 

Whether you are just starting on your leadership journey or are a seasoned veteran, The Leadership Papers is designed to provide context for your continued growth and development. 

"In real life, the most practical advice for leaders is not to treat pawns like pawns, nor princes like princes, but all persons like persons." – James MacGregor Burns

[i] The New York Times; How Far Is Europe Swinging to the Right? By GREGOR AISCH, ADAM PEARCE and BRYANT ROUSSEAU UPDATED October 23, 2017; https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/05/22/world/europe/europe-right-wing-austria-hungary.html[ii] 2017 Women's March; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Women%27s_March[iii] https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/7xypjz/midterms-2018-historic-firsts-for-women-poc-and-lgbt-people[iv] It’s official: a record-breaking number of women have won seats in CongressThey made history Tuesday night. By Li Zhouli@vox.com Updated Nov 7, 2018, 11:10am EST; https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/11/7/18024742/midterm-results-record-women-win[v] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leadership[vi] Russell L. Davis, The Leadership Papers: Tools for Effective Leadership (Paperback), Create Space Independent Publishing Platform (November 3, 2018), p. 7[vii] Ibid., p. 19[viii] Ibid., p7