songs of experience

In her comment on A Woman Named Paula, Anne asked about the podcast on “leading from the middle” and after Google-ing (is that spelled “Googling?”) for it I now realize it was a radio show I was listening to, not a podcast. But in my search I did come across an interesting piece on leading from the middle that was written by the First Gentleman of Michigan. Turns out it’s a very small world, indeed, because not only is the First Gentleman, Dan Mulhern, a runner … he is also an old friend of the family (my older girls’ dad’s classmate from University of Detroit high school). So, here’s what Dan had to say about leading from the middle:

Someone at the meeting asked her how fast a certain celebrity runner was, and she said, “Oh, he’s not fast at all.” Now, you have to understand that Pat spends a lot of time courting, following, and supporting the elite runners who move at incredible speeds — like 5-minute miles for the entire 26 mile race. The person asking the question said to Pat, “I just wanted to make sure Dan could keep up with him.” Pat clarified the celeb: “He only runs a 9 minute per mile pace.” Just as she was saying it, she and I shared a look of hope: she was hoping that I was fast, and I was hoping she would say something like “the guy runs a 12 minute pace.” So, our look of shared hope quickly turned to one of mutual embarrassment, as it was now my turn to clarify. Drawing on my small supplies of humility and self depreciating humor I said, “I’m hoping to tear the course up at a 9 minute pace.” The truth was out and I had to accept it: I’m just slow!

This should not have come as news to me. During the summer I ran a couple of timed races, and at the end I checked out the results sheet printouts. In my first half-marathon I finished 126th out of 170 in my age group. And in a race on Mackinac Island, I was 15th out of 29 — the perfect midpoint. Sometimes, I think I was given a huge ego in life to learn this critical lesson: You can lead from the middle, too.

The truth is: the middle is where most of us find ourselves all the time. If I had the time, I could argue quite persuasively that even a powerful governor, like my wife, is more accurately seen as “in the middle” than “on top.” She must set goals, stay positive, motivate, and empower. And she must do this even while she is pressed in upon by the legislature, the opposing party, the media, and even competing thinkers and advisors in her own circle (including, sometimes, her husband and kids). The truth is, we’re all leading from the middle.

Often, we act as though leadership must come “from the top.” And, so we miss opportunities. Sometimes, we wish we were at the top, and we’re busy making our moves to get there. And, so we miss opportunities. From the time we were children, we avoided full responsibility by hiding from the authorities, blaming the authorities, or occasionally taking on the authorities. Some seem never to realize that they may always be in the middle, yet they still have the ability to be on top of their game. It is more challenging and more fruitful to lead from where we are, than to grouse about where we’re not. In the end we are all in the middle. And for those who appear to be “on top,” the other side of this challenge is never far away: how do you get the masses in the middle to realize that the organization will move forward only to the degree they feel empowered and responsible and lead.

To check out the First Gentleman’s blog, go to: http://michigan.gov/firstgentleman/0,1607,7-178-24402-102401–,00.html