Palin’s Power Outage

Posted On: Thursday, August 6, 2009

You have to wonder if it is becoming more fashionable to be a quitter.

We’ve seen CEOs hired as change agents declaring victory after several months  moving on while the company stays in intensive care.  This week  Los Angeles Police Chief Bill Bratton resigned with three years remaining on his contract and U.S. Senator Martinez (R- Fla) announced plans to leave the Senate with more than a year left of his term.

Sarah Palin’s resignation has caused the greatest stir. A  friend and I got into a discussion of whether her resignation last month was an act of integrity or really an admission that she couldn’t lead when things got tough.  It seems like the definition of a quitter to me.
My friend, not a Palin fan, pointed out that the former Alaska governor’s passing the job to Lt. Governor Sean Parnell was an act of integrity because she resigned rather than stay in office and not be effective. To me, it is a leader’s job to figure out how to be effective in spite of opposition.

In her resignation speeches last month, she portrayed herself as a victim of hostile media attacking her children and partisan politics that she implied kept her from finishing her four-year term…that, and her job carrying the ball was done and could be passed to others.  It is also perhaps a cautionary tale to men or women candidates when they capitalize on their role as parents and pose often with their children, not to be surprised if it backfires when a pregnant, unmarried teen’s drama with her boyfriend feels like a Jerry Springer episode.

Governor Palin shaped her image at the Republican convention, honed by a reportedly $150,000 make over, proudly extolling that the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull is lipstick. She played both cards often. Palin merely proved by stepping down that a pit bull persona is a hard sell in developing the bipartisan relationships needed to be an effective governor or leader on any level.

Her effectiveness as a leader can be contrasted to Congressman Henry Waxman’s; while ideological opposites, they both have played the maverick.  Waxman, in his book, The Waxman Report: How Congress Really Works, addresses the struggles to gain Congressional support for HIV/AIDs legislation, The Clean Air Act, nutrition labeling, and accountability in tobacco advertising, all up hill battles. Whether in the minority, especially during the Reagan years, or as a committee chair, the congressman was no stranger to polarizing issues.

He offers a primer that didn’t appear in the former governor’s play book: how to connect on principles and work with those who don’t agree with you to move through the obstacles to find common ground. That is how a leader gets things done and makes a difference.

Leadership isn’t easy. Bratton and Martinez have weathered long careers. Ms. Palin served a little more than a year as governor before running for Vice President, and had 17 months left on her four-year term when she quit. The job isn’t done for Alaska and it falls to others to do it. And that is the real legacy Ms. Palin leaves behind.

Gael O’Brien is a catalyst for leaders leading with purpose and impact. She is an executive coach with a corporate and public affairs background. Gael is President of Strategic Opportunities Group.

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