Today’s Tuesday Reading is from James Falkofske, Business Analyst for the Office of Data, Academic Planning & Institutional Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a MOR alum. James may be reached at [email protected] or via LinkedIn.
“To be or not to be, that is the question.”
When Hamlet delivers this line, he is in a moment of crisis, considering whether it is better to be alive or better to be dead.
I would like to propose a different context: To be or not to be engaged, that is our question.
Leadership can be toxic or terrific, and its nature is not based on position, but on engagement.
- Are you engaged in active listening?
- Are you engaged in planning for the future?
- Are you engaged in facilitating success in others?
- Are you engaged in acts of empathy?
- Are you engaged in brave acts for just causes?
- Are you engaged in stepping up and serving when others shy away?
There is a lot of responsibility when it comes to good leadership, and far more for great leadership.
Serving As Chief Election Inspector
I’ve been thinking a lot about the current state of our nation. Today, November 3rd, I will serve as a Chief Election Inspector for my township in western Wisconsin. It has become harder and harder to recruit people to staff the polls, and we are at a critical point in which, because we have so few people willing to work the polls, that my service on election day will start at 6:15am and go until approximately 10:45pm without a break.
We used to have more people willing to work, but several have withdrawn their participation because of fear of what might happen at our polling site. There are so many other citizens that could step forward to help in our voting process, but when asked, they choose not to engage.
A Chief Election Inspector is required at each polling site from preparing the site to ensuring all the ballots have been tallied and delivered to the county clerk. A Chief Election Inspector must become certified to ensure there is always someone present who understands the election laws and ensures they are carried out.
If I were not willing to step forward, to take on the training required to become certified as a Chief Election Inspector, our township might not be able to run the election according to the law. That would call into question, and perhaps call into challenge, the outcomes of the election for our township.
Choosing to Engage
What if I had not stepped forward? What if I had not been willing? What then?
The 2024 election had one of the highest turnouts for the state, with approximately 73% of eligible persons showing up to engage in the act of voting. Wisconsin had one of the highest participation rates in the nation. Still, 27% of those who could, or perhaps better stated, those who should, never voted. They were not engaged in the process. Their engagement might have led to very different outcomes, not only for our state, but for our nation.
To quote the band Rush in their song Freewill, “if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.”
Leading From Where We Are
Perhaps one of the most important things that I have learned from my MOR experience is that I not only have permission to be engaged, but I have a responsibility to be engaged.
Our willingness to step forward and take on the responsibilities of leading from where we are might make all the difference in enabling positive outcomes.
We owe it to ourselves, we owe it to our colleagues, we owe it to our departments to be engaged, to take on the responsibility of leadership, no matter our roles.
Our acts of leadership extend beyond our work roles.
We should be willing to be engaged within our communities and where needed, we should be willing to take on the responsibilities of leadership.
We should care about outcomes that our within our sphere of influence to change, and we should engage in actions that support our beliefs.
Engaging on Election Day
I end by asking you to be engaged today. It is an election day. It is important to vote, to be engaged in our process of government, and to demonstrate that you care about your own future.
And let me take it one step further, by saying, the primary elections are by far the most important elections for everyone’s vote. The primaries determine who actually appears on the ballot for office. If you want better candidates, then you need to help those candidates win in the primaries.
To be, or not to be engaged, should not be a question.
We know the responsibility and should act accordingly.
Be kind to yourself and have a great week!
In which way do you most want to increase your engagement as a leader this week?
Last week, we asked which of Kerry’s lessons resonates most with you.
- 36% said leadership is a practice.
- 33% said keep humor front and center.
- 31% said stop taking yourself so seriously.
The balance across these three lessons suggests perhaps one of the biggest lessons that resonated from Kerry’s advice is just that: the balance and integration so beneficial for each of us to find to be engaged as a leader.