Effective Leadership after a Disappointing Loss

On November 6, 2010, The Washington Post, ran an article titled "Advice for Obama on His Next Move" in which six leadership experts were asked what they thought Obama should do to be effective the next two years. I suggest you read the entire article, but here are some direct and paraphrased quotes I found applicable to wildland fire leadership:

• Focus on "What were we trying to accomplish, and why?" (Charles D. Allen is a retired Army colonel and a professor of cultural science at the U.S. Army War College)
• Strategic level planning should be tied to our values and principles. (Allen)
• Think beyond the present; focus on the next generation. (Max Nardini, Coros Fellow engaged in a graduate-level leadership training program)
• "The best response is candor." (Carol Kinsey Goman, executive coach, author and speaker)
• "Good leaders seek new answers--and for those answers they might not like, they figure out both why they don't like them and why they're being said." (Susan Peters, vice president of executive development and the chief learning officer at GE)
• "There is no better avenue for swift strenghtening of one's leadership than to uncompromisingly review the immediate past." (Michael Useem, professor of management and the director of the Center for Leadership and Change Management at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Useem benchmarked our organization in his response.)