3 Reasons Why Voting Is Leadership
Issue 277 — October 28, 2024
This is a nonpartisan statement, and I believe it to the core of my being.
Voting is #leadership.
Do you agree? Or does it sound far-fetched?
Maybe you think my mind is simply addled from the media barrage of political ads and stories leading up to Election Day, November 5. Yeah, they are quite annoying.
I know who I’ve voted for (yes, I already cast my ballot) and why, but that’s not the point of this message.
Those of you who have taken any version of my 9 Leadership Power Tools course will remember: my low tech definition of a leader is “someone who gets stuff done.” So this message applies to you because you are a leader whether in a company, a nonprofit institution, or your own life.
By the way, I know I have one more installment of my series on how Kamala Harris uses the 9 Power Tools even though she probably has never heard of them. Next week, I’ll analyze how she uses Power Tools 7 through 9: Create a Movement, Employ Every Medium, and Tell Your Story. Election Day seems like an appropriate time to publish it. Here are the links to the first two if you want to read them: “Kamala and the 3 Counterintuitive Power Tools She Never Heard Of” and “How Kamala Harris Aces the 9 Leadership Power Tools (Even if She Doesn’t Know It)”
Let me tell you three reasons why I say voting is leadership, and indeed part of our obligation as leaders.
1. Leaders have to make decisions. Often you may feel that you have inadequate information. That’s normal. More often, you have competing information that makes your decision unclear at first. So you ultimately cannot shy away from making decisions about for whom you will vote. That extends to ballot initiatives and referenda if your state has them. We all as leaders have to do our best to get the information, weigh alternatives, and then make a firm decision.
2. Leaders must be aware of our most deeply held values and include them in decision making in order to be seen as authentic. It’s also a matter of being in tune with our own integrity about the matter being decided. People follow people who are authentic, and have a point of view. You don’t have to share who you’re voting for, but it is important to share the commitment to democracy and civic engagement that motivates you to value voting.
3. Leaders must act. It doesn’t matter what we believe or what we think if you don’t act on it. Our leadership responsibility is to model your engagement in the civic life of our community and country by voting and encouraging people in our organizations to vote. Taking the time to vote and inspiring others to do so, is genuinely a leadership action. It’s also important to plan ahead to provide safe and respectful spaces for people in your organization after November 5. After all, given the divisions in our society today, approximately half of us will be elated and half will be deflated or angry after the votes are counted. It is also likely that we won’t know all the outcomes for some time after election day, and that legal challenges will further delay the conclusions.
I could have voted by mail as I often do, but this year feels so important that I wanted to go to my polling place and drop my ballot into the secure box. There was a long line of people waiting to vote early in person in addition to those of us dashing in to drop off our ballots. It felt so good to see this picture of democracy in action — it actually made me teary!
How about you? Have you voted? If not. What’s your plan?
Don’t tell me you’re not sure if you will vote. Remember:
Leaders make decisions, know their values, and act on them. You’re a leader. Let’s get on with it.
Here are some resources to use as needed and to share with others:
➡️ If you have any questions or concerns while trying to cast your ballot, call or text the Election Protection Hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE.
➡️ Take The Lead is a partner with the nonpartisan organization When We All Vote. You can quickly find polling places, check your registration, get voting timelines and regulations, and discover other information about voting in your location here. The nonprofit organization Do Something has also aggregated information with clarity, especially noting that 41 million Gen Z’ers will be eligible to vote this year.
➡️ Here’s good advice from Edelman Global Advisory for how to prepare for those all-important internal communications before and after November 5.
GLORIA FELDT is the Cofounder and President of Take The Lead, a motivational speaker, a global expert in women’s leadership development and DEI for individuals and companies that want to build gender balance. She is a bestselling author of five books, most recently Intentioning: Sex, Power, Pandemics, and How Women Will Take The Lead for (Everyone’s) Good. Honored as Forbes 50 Over 50, and Former President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, she is a frequent media commentator. Learn more at www.gloriafeldt.com and www.taketheleadwomen.com. Find her @GloriaFeldt on all social media.
