Earlier this week, I had the chance to visit the "forum" at the Harvard Kennedy School to listen to a conversation with former Vice President Al Gore. The discussion was Presidential Leadership in the 21st century and a celebration of the academic and advisory work of Dick Neustadt.
Neusdat was a political scientist at Harvard. He served as adviser to several presidents including JFK. His most famous book is Presidential Power: The politics of leadership from FDR to Carter.
When Al Gore was a student at Harvard, he went to Neustadt and asked if he could take his class. But Gore did not meet the class requirements.
Neustadt said to Gore that he woud create a course just for him and be his professor. He assigned the then young Graham Allison as his teaching assistant, who later became the Dean of the Kennedy School.
Gore was also then as a student a contemporary of Doris Kearns Goodwin the famous historian who published the bestselling and influential book Team of Rivals, about President Lincoln.
That individually tailored course by Neustadt led to many long one-on-one conversations between the two of them. This experience was what propelled Gore into politics; and to eventually go in to become Congressman, Senator, Vice President, Presidential Candidate who won the popular vote (like Hillary Clinton) and also the Nobel Prize for his work on the environment.
Gore said there are 4 qualities of a leader (he was talking about presidential leadership):
1. Knowledge of history
2. Ability to listen to people surrounding him
3. Understand the consequences of the decision far into the future
4. Build bridges to a diverse set of constituents (and not just to their core base).
During the Q&A he was asked where hope lies for progress in the future.
He firmly put his faith in the next generation - that is those in college right now who are determined to set society back in the right path.
For example, he congratulated the 16 young Republican Associations on campuses around the country who have petitioned the Republican Party to change its platform on climate change.
This got a HUGE ovation from the audience.
All in all, it was a spectacular evening. I was just lucky to have a second row seat to this.
In 1991, I had similarly a near front row seat to listen to then Governor Bill Clinton who delivered his first economic address as a presidential candidate at the University of Pennsylvania.
I have always loved Bill Clinton’s policy mind. Now, I love Al Gore’s mind equally, especially his thoughts on leadership.
A terrific bookend to my experience with these two terrific leaders, 28 years apart!
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