Page 168 - Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows

LEADERS ENERGIZE THEIR PEOPLE

When her White House Fellowship came to a close, Schenk
returned to California, determined to emulate Rockefeller and leave her
own trail of enthusiasm. At age thirty-three, she became a member of
Governor Jerry Brown’s cabinet as secretary for the Department of Busi-
ness, Transportation and Housing. She was elected to the U.S. House
of Representatives and served from 1993 to 1995. In 1998 Schenk was
tapped by California Governor Gray Davis to be his chief of staff, a
position she held until 2003. She currently practices corporate law and
sits on a variety of boards.
Just as Jami Floyd, Bob Joss, Frederick Benson, Lincoln Caplan, and
Lynn Schenk learned the power of positive energy during their time in
Washington, D.C., so did I. White House Fellows cocreator John Gardner
once spoke to our class, and each of us had the privilege of asking him a
question. This was mine: “What do you think is the number one trait of
a great leader?” I imagined he would say integrity, competence, courage,
or optimism. Instead, he said the one common trait of every outstanding
leader he ever worked with was energy. Without energy, a leader physically
cannot accomplish all the things he or she sets out to do. In John Gardner’s
opinion, energy is the most essential leadership trait. “Physical vitality,
stamina, good constitution—the moral is to stay in shape,” Gardner said.
“It not only gets you through a tough schedule, it comes through to the
people you’re working with. They get vitality from your vitality—there’s
no question about it. Very few people follow a tired leader.”
A great leader needs stamina and vitality to be physically energized,
emotionally connected, and mentally sharp. Physical energy is the key to
mental sharpness, which boosts one’s confidence and enables one to get the
job done. As General Petraeus taught his young leaders, the number one
leadership priority is to develop a high degree of personal energy through
physical fitness and a healthy lifestyle, which provide fuel for emotional
and mental skills. Leaders like Jami Floyd, who reported for ABC News
in the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11, are often under intense
stress and need to have deep emotional reserves if they are to be capable
of displaying empathy, patience, and optimism to their subordinates. As
she set out to motivate her team in the gut-wrenching moments, days,
and weeks after the Twin Towers crisis, Floyd often recalled the way Vice
President Al Gore’s focused determination energized his staff and tried to
emulate that approach.

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