Note to Government Leaders: Control Won’t Work Any More

May 14, 2012

I attended the annual dinner of the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C. this week. There are significant challenges facing government leaders as a result of ease of communications, which is politicizing the world’s people. People today believe they can make a difference.

Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations, said in his keynote address, “There is a deficit of leadership. Seldom, if ever, have our principles and shared purpose been more relevant…Power is shifting. The old order is breaking down and we do not yet know the shape of the new.

Let’s consider the implications of these comments. We observe a dispersion of authority, in fact a disdain for the establishments of business and government (remember that the two least trusted spokespeople today are government officials and CEOs). The means of production in media is now equal parts traditional, social, hybrid and owned as part of a clover leaf. The new expectation of radical transparency implies an exposure of process, not simply the delivery of end product or achievement of goals.

Here are a few guidelines for leaders in business and government:

1) Agility—When Vice President Joe Biden endorsed gay marriage over this past weekend, President Obama had to change his plan to advocate for the new social policy in a policy address to a major gay and lesbian group in New York City that Monday. He went on national television (ABC) and made the case for his evolving thought process. In short, go with the flow.

2) Establish a Road Map—You have to say where you are going. Every action has to be judged against a plan. The best plan is one that is vetted by the broader community (including NGOs) before implementation.

3) Do Fewer Things Better—One of the problems of President Clinton was the perception of a new policy initiative every week. By contrast, President Reagan had two or three policy mantras (lower taxes, less government spending, strong defense to outspend the Russians)

4) Principles Trump Rules—A set of organizational beliefs is so much stronger than strict rules. If you are a basketball coach, you want your players to be free enough to improvise when confronted with unexpected situations. If they have to look to the bench for guidance at every turn, they are not playing the game with sufficient initiative.

5) Accountability—Risk-taking and entrepreneurial behavior should be encouraged; failure in the pursuit of excellence is fine. But deliberate circumvention of the rules must be punished in a public manner.

6) Candor and Courage—If you make a mistake (Jamie Dimon and JPMorgan Chase) explain why it happened and how you have adjusted the system for the future. If you make a bad hire, end the relationship and get up the next day determined to do better.

The inversion of the traditional pyramid of authority, where all real power lay with elites, is a positive for society. Key to this development is social media, which should not be causing congenital discomfort. The new model of governance is more truly democratic, to paraphrase Lincoln (and David Weinberger), of the people, by the people and for the people. Those of us in public relations have an important role to play in this evolution of behavior by leaders, who are now responsible for strategic thinking and having the courage to explain the true situation.