I had a different article queued up to publish today. It’s a good piece and I’ll publish it soon, but not today. Our community is inflamed and our city is burning. I find it hard to think about anything else right now.

I’d rather not write about George Floyd and the Minneapolis riots, but I am compelled to. Like many of my readers, I am deeply disturbed by what is unfolding. As usual, I look at everything around me through the lens of leadership. This article is about what I see.

Fear

I am not a fearful person. I live an adventurous lifestyle. I admire fearless leadership. I teach others to conquer fear. I build a culture at work that is free of fear and intimidation.

I’ve had very few encounters with the police. Like most people, a few times in my life, I’ve been pulled over because I was driving too fast. When that has happened, I’ve responded with frustration and regret, but not fear. I don’t need to be afraid in that situation. After all, I am a white man. I trust and believe that I will be treated fairly by every police officer. If only everyone could have that same confidence.

Earlier this week, there have been violent riots in Minneapolis and St. Paul. While I live very close to Minneapolis, my house is outside the city limits. Then yesterday, it changed. The stores in my neighborhood got boarded up. The stores in my neighborhood got looted and destroyed. Last night, I put my four kids to bed to the sound of sirens.

I will not condone the violence of the riots, but I will make an observation: Riots produce fear. Riots produce fear for those that typically do not need to experience fear: People like me.

Here’s a lesson to learn from the Minneapolis riots: There are a lot of people in our community that face real fear every day for their entire lives. The rest of us got a taste of that fear this week. Make sure you take the time to taste it. Let the bitterness bother you.

Rhetoric and Silence

We live in a polarized political society. All day, I hear sound bites and rhetoric from opposing sides of the political spectrum. I don’t post polarizing content. I don’t comment or share other people’s polarizing content. I don’t unfriend people because they hold different views than I do.

On one hand, this is wise restraint. On another hand, it is unacceptable silence. As a leader, I’m learning to find the right approach. This blog article is a baby step in a forward direction.

I aim to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. Not speaking at all, isn’t a viable option.

Many find it hard to educate themselves on these matters because intellectually approachable material can be hard to find. Personally, I’ve learned a lot from the writings of Malcolm Gladwell. Particularly Blink and Talking to Strangers opened my mind and my eyes to things previously opaque.

Community

I didn’t personally know George Floyd, but a friend of mine did. He wrote a moving piece about their friendship. I encourage you to read it if you are interested.

So, in a sense, I could consider George as a friend of a friend. Two degrees of separation. That’s it. We are a community. As a member of the community, we cannot afford to make external observations as if it were someone else’s problem. This is our problem. The faces on the news are the faces of our friends and our neighbors. If you call yourself a leader, then you have a responsibility to find a way to be a part of the solution.

Leadership

What do leaders do in a situation like this? Do they take control with force? Do they take to the streets with violence? Do they stick their heads in the sand until it all blows over? This is what leaders do:

1. Leaders build inclusive communities. We value diversity of thought. We understand that the best teams are built upon trust, respect, and creativity.
2. Leaders uphold the oppressed. Leaders have power and with that power comes responsibility. We need to look out for those that need to be defended and encouraged.
3. Leaders have empathy. We all have our perspectives and opinions. It takes hard emotional and intellectual work to see things from another’s perspective. When we do that work, we have the opportunity to make a real connection and impact. There’s no shortcut there.

In conclusion

Make no mistake friends, what is unfolding before us is in-fact a leadership issue. Most point the fingers and judge the actions of those that make headlines. Leaders look within and ask the question: What will I do? Even if you don’t come up with an immediate answer, keep asking until you do.

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