Leadership Lessons from John and Elizabeth Edwards

When Senator John Edwards, who is running for the office of the President of the United States for the 2008 election, stood beside his wife Elizabeth to announce that her cancer has returned and reached her bones, many Americans who watched the news conference were impressed with the way the Senator and his wife acted and communicated.

They decided to continue the campaign, which was clearly the wish of Elizabeth. We know that the qualities of leadership become most acute at times of crises. It seems that the Edwards' courageous and classy way of facing this challenge has actually helped their quest for the White House. Here are the lessons of leadership we learned from observing John and Elizabeth Edwards:

1- Candor

The Senator and his wife struck people as naturally honest and forthcoming in talking about their critical and personally painful situation, a quality not seen to that level of honesty in many, if not most, politicians. A leader must, before anything else, be authentic, so that followers can be assured that the vision they are committing to by supporting him or her is a real and possible one.

2- Courage

The courage exhibited clearly by Elizabeth Edwards as she faced her approaching mortality was truly inspiring. She said that she decided not to go to a corner and start dying. She wanted to live a useful life to the last breath. She seemed to feel that continuing her husband's campaign was both a personal fight-back approach for her and an important mission for the couple. Since they have two children ages six and eight, the family challenges and sacrifices are going to be huge. Having the courage to face these challenges and bear the sacrifices is an important quality of leadership.

3- Love

Love might not be often associated with leadership. But having the ability to love someone other than yourself, and love a mission that seems important to others as well as to self, is a capacity only great leaders have. The way Senator Edward talked about and to his wife, and the way she talked about and to him, during that news conference and subsequently in a 60 Minutes interview showed a strong, yet tender, capacity for true love between two human beings. People want to see that their leader is human and can relate to the way they feel, aspire, and suffer as human beings.

4- Role Models

Another almost extinct quality of many public figures in politics and business today is the ability to be a role model for others. Upon watching them on a more human level as they faced their personal challenges, people saw a couple that seemed to be suited to be a role model. While many leaders in politics and business have indulged in personal or ethical scandals and misbehavior, the Edwards seemed to exhibit qualities of decency, honesty, and tenderness. You don't see in their campaigns, past or present, the type of negative, aggressive, and nasty streaks that people find in most other campaigns. They offer a different vision for America, with a different definition of leadership and public service.