Last year, I launched a Spring Leadership Series to think about leadership in nontraditional ways. As 2024 continued, I presented additional ways to think about leadership during my Olympics Leadership Series and Holiday Leadership Series. With a new year upon us, I've invited 25 thought leaders to share their responses to five questions relating to team-building, reading, and leadership. My #SpringLeadershipSeries2025 began the first day of Spring and continues through June 20th, the first day of Summer.
Before we begin, I'd like to applaud two special individuals for providing the inspiration for this series. First, big applause goes to Erika Andersen, a leadership expert and author who I've had the pleasure of knowing for nearly 15 years, and she's appeared on my blog 13 times since 2011. She wrote an article for Forbes entitled, "How Springtime Can Make Us Better Leaders," and that article serves as the core of the series as its first question. Second, I also applaud Joseph Lalonde, a leadership expert and author of a book called REEL LEADERSHIP, for planting the seeds for last year's Spring Leadership Series on my blog. After I read Joe's book, I started looking at movies as well as works of fiction, TV shows, and TV characters with "leadership-tinted glasses."
For today's post, I'd like to introduce Barbara McQuade. Barb is a professor at the University of Michigan Law School, where she teaches criminal law and national security law. She is also a legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. From 2010 to 2017, she served as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. She was appointed by President Barack Obama, and was the first woman to serve in her position. She also served as vice chair of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee and co-chaired its Terrorism and National Security Subcommittee. Before her appointment as U.S. Attorney, McQuade served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Detroit for 12 years, including service as Deputy Chief of the National Security Unit. In that role, she prosecuted cases involving terrorism financing, foreign agents, threats, and export violations. She serves on a number of non-profit boards and served on the Biden-Harris Transition Team in 2020-2021. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan and its law school and calls Ann Arbor, Michigan home.
QUESTION: Leadership expert and author Erika Andersen wrote an article for Forbes entitled, "How Springtime Can Make Us Better Leaders." In the article, Erika compared gardening to management and leadership. What are your thoughts, or was there something that stood out from the article?
BARBARA MCQUADE: I appreciate the author's advice about patience. You have to wait for plants to grow and employees to thrive. You can't expect everyone to perform on your (the leader's) schedule or even the same schedule. It is important to meet each person where they are and give them the resources they each need to thrive.
SHARE THIS: It is important to meet each person where they are and give them the resources they each need to thrive. ~@BarbMcQuade #SpringLeadershipSeries2025 #DebbieLaskeysBlog
QUESTION: What was the most recent example of inspiring leadership that made an impact on you?
BARBARA MCQUADE: In January, cartoonist Ann Telnaes quit her job at the Washington Post when an editor refused to print a cartoon in which she depicted the Post's owner laying bags of money at the feet of Donald Trump. One may agree or disagree with the viewpoint she was expressing, but she later wrote that she found the editor's refusal to publish the cartoon to amount to censorship. I admire her willingness to put her integrity above her ambition and livelihood.
QUESTION: What is your favorite team-building activity, and why?
BARBARA MCQUADE: Ropes courses. People must work together or fail. Positive energy works, negative energy does not.
QUESTION: Which book is on the top of your to-be-read pile, and why?
BARBARA MCQUADE: SAYS WHO by Anne Curzan. I am a student of language and think words matter.
QUESTION: In the past year, has a TV show, film, or work of fiction stood out as a result of its emphasis on leadership?
BARBARA MCQUADE: In WICKED THE MOVIE, Elphaba resists the temptation of power to stand up for animals who are being abused by the wizard, even though it means she will be labeled as a villain.
My gratitude to Barb for sharing her leadership insights and for being a part of my #SpringLeadershipSeries2025. Did these questions open your eyes to think about leadership in nontraditional ways? That was the hope!
Image Credit: Rope-Park.com.
Read Erika Andersen's article, "How Springtime Can Make Us Better Leaders"
https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/2015/05/14/how-springtime-can-make-us-better-leaders/
Read Why I'm Quitting the Washington Post by Ann Telnaes (January 2025)
https://anntelnaes.substack.com/p/why-im-quitting-the-washington-post
Read Barb's previous appearance here on my blog:
Information, Disinformation, and Leadership - Oh My! (September 2024)
https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2024/09/information-disinformation-and.html
Connect with Barb at these links:
Michigan Law: https://michigan.law.umich.edu/faculty-and-scholarship/our-faculty/barbara-l-mcquade
Website/Book: https://www.barbaramcquade.com
Twitter/X: https://www.twitter.com/BarbMcQuade
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