Page 71 - Leadership Secrets of Hillary Clinton

LEADERSHIP SECRETS OF HILLARY CLINTON

x SECRET 2: WALK THE TALK z

There is no question that Hillary has transformed herself
as a leader over the years. Her work and her marriage often
took her away from familiar ground and forced her to adapt
and adopt. Yet with all these changes in her life, she has
maintained her authenticity by staying on course with her
true values and core beliefs, including her dedication to
specific causes that she has supported since her early days
at Wellesley: health care, women’s rights, and child care.
This may well be what led her to choose a life of public
service. Reggie Van Lee, senior executive of health services
at Booz Allen Hamilton, has had the opportunity to work
with Hillary on various policy issues over the years. He
shared with me that one of the biggest factors in Hillary’s
authenticity is her ability to hold on to her convictions in
spite of challenges. He has witnessed her doing this both
on a daily basis and throughout her career. One example he
cited was health care. After putting her heart and soul into
the health-care issue as first lady and being unsuccessful,
she still worked vigorously on health-care reform nearly a
decade later as a senator. I think this exemplifies how you
show your authenticity by staying the course and continu-
ing to “walk the talk” over time. While it’s easy for you as a
leader to become distracted from the things you believe in
and care about, it’s important that you maintain your focus
and continue to act in accordance with them.

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