A week ago, a friend offered me last-minute tickets to the Obama Presidential Center museum, and I ended up in the Sky Room staring at Chicago and Lake Michigan. The theme of that room comes from Obama's 2015 speech in Selma, and it is spelled out across the building's exterior in five-foot concrete letters. The word that stuck with me all week is "we." In this episode, I talk about how easily leaders say it without checking who it includes, and the one question that fixes that.
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I was gifted surprise tickets to the Obama Center last week, and there's been one word that's been stuck with me ever since.
Hey, folks. I'm Bernadette Smith. I am CEO of Equality Institute, host of Good Vibes Leadership. Welcome to the show.
So last week, a friend of mine offered me last minute tickets to the Obama Presidential Center here on Chicago's South Side. So my family and I had visited the grounds earlier in the summer. The museum itself actually opened on Juneteenth, just this past June 19. It's been sold out for months. But shout out to my friend, Max Miller, because Max gifted me tickets to the museum a couple weeks ago.
We spent about four hours just walking through the exhibits. There were exhibits on Michelle and Barack's childhood experience and some of the things that shaped them as they grew into professionals. There was an exhibit that focused on Barack's habit to write a commitment to review 10 letters from constituents every night. So he received about 10,000 letters from constituents a day, and his staff was asked to find 10 every night for him to read so he could stay in touch with a pulse of what was concerning the average American. Anyway, so there was an exhibit of what 10,000 letters a day actually looked like.
And then you make your way up and you end up on the 8th floor, which is called the Sky Room. And the first thing you see, you look around and it's basically a panoramic view of Chicago, beautiful Lake Michigan, absolutely spectacular view. And then you notice these words on the wall as you look up at the skylight. And these words are in blue, and they're clearly part of a story, part of something. And those words are an art exhibit. And the words are part of Obama's speech, We Are America. Now that was a speech he delivered in 2015 in Selma, Alabama.
The words of that speech aren't just in the art piece in the Sky Room. They're not just on the wall of the Sky Room. They're actually spelled out across the building, on the outside of the building. That's how much this speech meant to Obama. He described this speech as his greatest speech during his presidency.
So here's part of what those words say. "The single most powerful word in our democracy is the word we. We, the people. We shall overcome. Yes, we can. That word is owned by no one. It belongs to everyone."
And I figured out later, I looked it up later, how those letters on the outside of the museum got made. Turns out there's 52 unique molds. Took almost five years of work with the architects and the engineers. And they even used Gotham, which was the same typeface as Obama's 2008 campaign. So nearly five years to put the words of one speech on the outside of the museum. And someone decided that that word we, we the people, we shall overcome, yes, we can, the power of we deserves that much care. So the power of we has stuck with me all week.
You know, a word that belongs to everyone, it gets used by everyone, including me, including you. But does it actually fully represent everyone? And that's the thing that I've been thinking about. When we say we, do we actually mean everyone?
You know, so picture a work meeting. The boss might say, "We're all on board with the new schedule." And everyone sort of nods, but is everyone actually on board? You know, some people might be nodding because they just wanna get the meeting over. Some people might be nodding because they don't feel psychologically safe to say otherwise, to have any disagreement. Right?
But the thing is about we is that while it can invite people in, it can also speak for people without actually asking what they need. A leader might say, "We're all family here." But do they actually mean all of us? Do the people who are part of the we feel like they are truly part of the we? Because you know what? There are people who probably hear we and then wonder, hey, does that actually include me? They probably don't say anything, but they might stop talking. They might check out a little bit.
So, you know, this is something that I think we should all be mindful of. When we say we, do we actually mean everyone? And does everyone feel like they're part of that we?
You know, I've spent, you know, decades now as a leader and helping other leaders connect across difference. And what I see over and over again is that we make assumptions about what other people need to be successful. And we make assumptions about others who are part of our we. Right? So, you know, the most powerful word or approach a leader can have with someone is a spirit of curiosity.
When a leader says we and is referring to the team, but doesn't actually involve everyone on the team in this process, they're gonna fail. They're gonna run into some problems. They might run into some resistance, or there might be some turnover. So having a spirit of curiosity about the people who are part of the we is a great leadership strategy.
So, you know, that comes back to my tool, the ARC Method, which stands for ask, respect, connect.
You know, before you put a whole lot of weight behind a we, get curious. When I say we, who do I actually mean? Who isn't in this room that might be part of this we? Does everyone who is part of this we have what they need to be successful? So get curious. That's the A in the ARC Method.
And then move on to the R, which is respect. So respect whatever you hear. Respect what other ideas come up. Respect what people need to be successful. Don't get defensive. It's not a debate. Just be respectful. Be open.
And then C is about connecting. So maybe, you know, turn what you've heard into a change. Maybe you're finding that you need to change the meeting time for someone on your team to feel like they're part of the we. Maybe you need to change an approach in an element of your leadership style. Maybe you need to accommodate someone in a different way. You know, we wanna find out what does that mean for in each individual to have their we.
So use the ARC Method. And if you skip a step, the ARC falls flat. So you wanna make sure you follow all three steps: ask, respect, connect.
Alright. So folks, here is your practice this week. Pick one meeting, any meeting that you have, and listen for the we's, the we's that you might say that come out of your mouth. You might be surprised by how many we's there are.
And then choose one of those we's. And after that meeting or maybe before a next one, you know, ask the people who were there, "When I said we, did you feel included?" Or "Who did that include?" You don't need to sort of audit all of this, but you know, just be curious about one of those we's that you said. You know, just keep it simple. But use that as a self reflection exercise.
Because when we start to have more self awareness about our behaviors, about our ways of interacting with others, and we bring that kind curiosity, with that self awareness, we can really get some more good vibes into our leadership.
Alright, folks. That is it for this week.
Let's move into this week's good vibe to go. Alright. So speaking of we, how about we all vote together? Make voting more fun by organizing a group voting party within your existing social or community network. Vote Early Day is October 24, and here's a toolkit to help you organize. We'll put that in the show notes.
Alright, folks. If you want more good vibes like this one every Saturday morning, that's what the 5 Things newsletter is for. This week, I have stories about banking that finally listens, opera for all, and more. You can subscribe at 5ThingsDEI.com.
I'm Bernadette Smith. I'm keynote speaker. I'm CEO of Equality Institute, and I am your guide to playful inclusive leadership. Find me at bernadettesmith.com. Thanks so much. Have a great week. I'm cheering you on.