Friends,

Today, via Brian Mulroney, former Prime Minister of Canada I bring you a subtle but powerful idea that could tear open great new paths for your leadership.  The context will take a moment to set,  but bear with me.

Over the last 18 months I have watched how my wife, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, is like a kind of magnet attracting people's deep feelings about many things.  It's as if she wears a suit, and the suit has an attractive quality.  People see her in this suit as a representative of women, Democrats, politicians, authorities and any number of other categories about which they have strong feelings.  Most important, she represents Michigan itself, about which every Michiganian has powerful, sometimes irrational, and often unconscious feelings; feelings about its economy, schools, environment, past and future.  People are attracted-- almost magnetically-- and approach her with letters, phone calls, and in person to share their joy, hope, anger, frustration, pride, and worry about all that she seems to represent.

This past Friday my wife and I occupied a remarkable position in the west balcony of the National Cathedral for the State Funeral of President Ronald Reagan.  On this occasion, others were wearing the jacket.  We were drawn, before the ceremony began, to the floor by similar magnetic forces, to shake the hands of Presidents Carter, Ford and Clinton, and their wives (the Bush's had not yet arrived).  Each wore suites threaded with the fibers of hundreds of stories of hopes, expectations, regrets and triumphs that we (Jennifer, me, and all of America) saw in them, and in their and our times.

Prime Minister Mulroney remembered President Reagan.  He said, "I always thought that President Reagan's understanding of the nobility of the presidency coincided with the American dream."  He spoke of what Francois Mitterand had said to him about President Reagan:

"'Il a vraiment la notion de l'Etat.'"  Rough translation: 'He really has a sense of the State about him.'  The translation does not fully capture the profundity of the observation:  What President Mitterrand meant was that there is a vast difference between the job of President and the role of President...No one more eloquently summoned his nation to high purpose or brought forth the majesty of the presidency and made it glow, better than the man who saw his country as a 'shining city on a hill'*

So, you're not the Governor, let alone the President.  But the lesson applies:  there is a vast difference between your job and your role.  You do a job, but wear a suit.  People see their authorities - parent, priest, teacher, boss, as well as CEO or mayor - as so much more than people doing a job.  And it is what you do in relationship to the role, the suit - and the complex expectations around it - that matters as much or much more than execution of the job.  As parent you feed 'em, put 'em to bed, save for college.  That's the job.  But the role, or suite, is so much more.  Do you bring "forth the majesty" in the role of their parent?  Do you "glow" to be their parents?  Do you imagine your family as a "shining city on a hill?"  People long for such a vision of greatness.  As a head of a work unit, what's the suit you wear for it?  Do your people feel you're with them, proud of them, that you wear their jersey?  As school principal it's not just smooth schedules and instructional insight, but pride in the place and in the possibility of the people.  Do you beam at what you see they can be?

President Reagan loved the suit.  Prime Minister Mulroney's assessment was brilliant.  He wore not just the suit of the Presidency.  He always seemed to know he was wearing the suit of America.  As you wear the suit of boss, parent, teacher, try to remember that to them you're wearing the suit of the team, or of their family, or of the classroom of kids they care deeply about.  It's their suit!  Wear it well.
 
Dan

*The full text of Prime Minister Mulroney's eulogy can be found at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/06/11/mulroneyeulogy.DTL

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Daniel Granholm Mulhern
First Gentleman
Office of the Governor
State of Michigan
(517) 241-0534

"Seeing the magnificence in all people -- dedicated to their fullest success."

Copyright 2004 Daniel Mulhern.  I distribute RFL without charge to friends, clients, and others with an interest in leadership, and grant permission to these recipients to distribute copies of these works to personal contacts for non-commercial purposes only.  All other rights are reserved, and requests for copying and distribution of these works may be made to FirstGentleman@Michigan.gov.  The views of this and other RFLs reflect my personal beliefs and may or may not reflect the views of my wife, Jennifer Granholm, or any other officials of the State government.