When asked what his best leadership quality is, Former Maine Governor Angus King told an audience of high school sophomores that he has been told that he is accessible. Since he was able to hold the attention of 100 young volunteer-oriented people at the Maine Youth Leadership summit by using the life of Joshua Chamberlain as an illustration of ten important elements that make a good leader, the descriptor is an accurate one. King, a lecturer at both Bowdoin College and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, is famous for his groundbreaking initiative with regard to putting a laptop in the hands of 7th and 8th graders in the state (7th through 12th was proposed, but eventually compromised upon). Of the now-revolutionary program, he explained that it was met with much skepticism. “‘Dear Governor, This is the stupidest project you’ve ever had. What are you smoking?’ 9 out of 10 emails I received were against it.’” He defiantly pushed the plan into place anyhow, claiming that if we expect students to be contenders in the 21st century, we need to give them 21st century tools.

Here, paraphrased with the utmost care and respect for the governor, are his 10 suggestions for what makes for a good leader and some of the context he put them in.

1. Establish a vision.
2. Build your team. No one can establish their vision their self. One can’t do anything without putting together a team. You need good people that you can trust.
3. Persevere, which is essentially to say, “Keep on keepin’ on.” Don’t quit. Joshua Chamberlain tried to leave Bowdoin College, where he was studying, and tried to take leave to go into the army to keep America united. He was told that the experience would not be educationally enriching. This was not the first and certainly not the last time that a college administration would do something stupid. He went back again several weeks later to tell the board that he wanted to study in Europe. “That’s more like it,” they told him. And to the state capitol he went to enlist. Don’t take no for an answer.
4. Do your homework. Again referring to Chamberlain, on his own volition he read books on troop tactics and behavior that belonged to a higher ranking soldier. He taught himself West Point in six months. When challenged at Little Round Top, where the decisive battle of the Civil War took place, he knew how to handle himself as a result of his education, effectively changing American history.
5. Listen. I hate when people say, “I hear what you’re saying.” Right. Of course you do. But are you listening? People get into a position of authority and they stop listening. Further, surround yourself with people who don’t tell you that you’re right all of the time. I’ll save you a lot of time and money on hiring people who do that. Buy a mirror.
6. Build trust. Sometimes there is not time for a meeting and you need a decision. When Chamberlain ordered his soldiers with the one word command that turned their position around, yelling “Bayonets!” to his ammo-less soldiers, they didn’t question him or call for a meeting. They charged down the hill and ran at the Confederate Army and found themselves in a fortuitous position.
7. Communicate clearly. You cannot be the leader if you cannot communicate. You don’t have a vision unless you can share it.
8. Be decisive. No one will follow you if you’re not sure. On that note, be optimistic. Napoleon said “A leader is a dealer in hope.” There’s a story about two little boys during Christmas, where one of them gets a ton of presents, opens them all and asks “What’s next?” The other only finds a small pile of horse manure and he begins jumping around excitedly and his parents ask, ‘Why are you so happy?’ He responds, “Because there’s got to be a pony here somewhere.”
9. Be creative. This doesn’t mean that you have to reinvent anything. Look at the iPhone. Nothing there is new. It is essentially a series of old inventions cleverly rolled into one by Steve Jobs.
10. Character. Chamberlain had it. He had believed in principles, had honesty and integrity. This isn’t about speeches. You can’t travel around and speak about integrity than come back and not act accordingly. It is 365 days a year thing.

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Several nights ago I dropped in on Portland [Maine] Green Drinks. The event, familiar to many environmentally interested/friendly folks in several US major cities, is a fascinating networking phenomenon that brings together great elements of the old and the new school of organization. It is organized by a dude named Elliot who reported having recently moved to Portland from the West Coast. While the gathering has been happening under the official banner of “Green Drinks” for several months now, it has until recently been going on locally under the watch of a Maine-based sustainable building company for a few nears. Elliot’s emergence, however, has been responsible for growing the gathering to above 100 folks (up from 20) per meeting.

The reason Elliot has found so much success, it seems, is due both to his tenacity and his making available free beer (provided by Peak Organic - the former collective meeting met at bars where beers cost some cash). Every month the event is cosponsored by a local business that helps to provide space and food and in exchange gets noticed by a slew of sustainability-interested folks. Information about Green Drinks is spread through word of mouth, locally designed posters and various forms of internet outreach. People are brought together to drink beers, network, and discuss their interest, passion for and career in sustainable living.

The meeting was exciting in its positive melding of online communication technologies with the “old school” face-to-face networking (that some of the organizers we’ve talked to have claimed is the only way to go). The yoga studio (and creative tech company) that sponsored last week’s happening was full of people exchanging. While it may been largely organized online,the sharing that occurred in a person-to-person way was refreshing to experience after having based so many organizational efforts solely online. I am excited to bring and present a campaign to talk about with each person I meet the next time that I attend.

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