Information, Disinformation, and Leadership - Oh My!

Since today is an important date in American politics: the second Presidential Debate will take place later today, I thought it would be appropriate to feature Barbara McQuade, the author of the new book, ATTACK FROM WITHIN, HOW DISINFORMATION IS SABOTAGING AMERICA. Barbara and I had a discussion about leadership and her book, a must-read for our current political climate, and highlights follow a brief introduction.

Barbara McQuade 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: Since your background is in law, politics, and education, how have you seen the role of leadership change (evolve/devolve) in those fields over the last 20 years?

BARBARA McQUADE: We still have many wonderful leaders in all fields, but it is disappointing to see some people in politics use fear to stoke division in society. By promoting an us-versus-them mentality, we find ourselves unable to address real problems, such as, climate change and immigration. We need compromise to achieve policymaking, and it seems that some leaders would rather resort to simple soundbites than nuanced thinking. 

QUESTION: In your new book, “Attack from Within, How Disinformation is Sabotaging America,” what are three important takeaways you hope readers will have?

BARBARA McQUADE: Here are my three:

First, I hope to raise awareness that certain tactics have been used throughout history to manipulate the public: blaming scapegoats, undermining critics, using fear, and more. Once we can recognize these tactics, we are less likely to be manipulated by them. 

Second, I hope that readers will see the real harms caused to American society by disinformation. Lies and misleading claims are eroding democracy, public safety, and the rule of law. For example, false claims of a stolen election have led to laws in many states making it more difficult to vote. I expect we will see false content generated by AI in the upcoming election. I worry that claims that prosecutors are "weaponizing" the criminal justice system will lead to a loss of confidence in the legitimacy of law enforcement and the courts, leading to vigilante violence, just as we saw on January 6th.

Third, I hope that readers will choose to put truth over tribe. Today, it seems that some people don't care about the facts. They care only about winning. But blind allegiance to a political party is not democracy. We need to encourage independent thinking over the idea that our political system is us-versus-them. As Americans, parties are rivals, but not enemies. We are all in this together. 

QUESTION: At the end of your book, Attack from Within, you wrote, "An informed electorate has always been necessary for democracy." However, with so much polarization, apathy, disrespect, ignorance, inequality, and disinformation, how can we as Americans transform into an informed electorate?

BARBARA McQUADE: It is somewhat ironic that we have never had as much access to information as we do today, and yet, it seems that we are more disinformed than ever. Part of that is due to feeling overwhelmed with information, and so we rely on proxies to tell us what to think. That is a very dangerous place to be, because we cede power to party leaders or media mouthpieces. 

Instead, we need to embrace our duties as citizens to obtain accurate information about issues and candidates so that we can use the power of the people. Great sources for accurate information are your Secretary of State's website and the non-partisan League of Women Voters. 

QUESTION: Which three leaders from business or history inspire you, and why?

BARBARA McQUADE: Here are my three:

[1] Frank Murphy, former justice of the Supreme Court, former governor of Michigan, and other public leadership positions - because he said that he wanted his legacy to be simply that he made government work for the people. 

[2] Liz Cheney - because she put country over party by vice chairing the House Committee investigating the January 6th attacks and publicly stated that we cannot abandon truth and remain a free country. She lost her House race over her commitment to the truth. She is a profile in courage. 

[3] Barack Obama - because he appealed to hope over fear, and unity over division. 

QUESTION: One of my favorite leadership quotes is from author and consultant Mark Herbert (@NewParadigmer on Twitter/X): "Leadership doesn't require you to be the smartest person in the room. It requires you to block and tackle for others." What does this quote mean to you?

BARBARA McQUADE: Too often, people think of leadership as rock star adulation. Instead, leadership means doing the quiet little things necessary to empower others. Obtaining resources, removing bureaucratic obstacles, seeking input in decisions, allowing autonomy and discretion, and creating an environment where it is safe to fail or admit mistakes are the things that effective leaders do to enable others to achieve more than they could on their own.

My gratitude and applause to Barbara for appearing on my blog and sharing her leadership insights.

SHARE THIS: Too often, people think of leadership as rock star adulation. Instead, leadership means doing the quiet little things necessary to empower others. ~@BarbMcQuade #DebbieLaskeysBlog #LeadershipTip

SHARE THIS: Blind allegiance to a political party is not democracy. ~@BarbMcQuade #DebbieLaskeysBlog #PresidentialDebates

Image Credit: Sam Moghadam Khamseh via Unsplash via Wordswag.

Learn more about the 2024 Presidential Debates at:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_United_States_presidential_debates

Learn more about the League of Women Voters at:

https://www.lwv.org

Connect with Barbara 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

Looking at Leadership through a Lens of Balance and Potential

Over the last 12 years, thanks to social media, I have had the privilege to meet a variety of amazing marketing, leadership, and customer experience experts. One of these experts is Jennifer Tsang from San Jose, California. We recently had a discussion about marketing and leadership, and highlights follow below Jennifer’s bio.

Jennifer Tsang is an ICF-Certified Leadership Coach who works with motivated individuals, leaders, and executives as they seek to discover and define their purpose. She strongly believes that conversations can transform lives. Jennifer loves working with leaders who are eager to develop more mindfulness to be able to engage teams, empower themselves and others to discover and define their purpose. She serves her clients by combining her two years of professional coaching experience, 20 years working with leaders at a fortune 500 tech company, and over 15 years of experiential work in therapy. Her website is www.coachwithinsight.com; connect on Twitter @jenntsang; on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/jenn-tsang/; and on her YouTube channel, InTheLead: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLH82NqeTJPyr3Yi_saY3Ng.

QUESTION: On your website, you wrote, "Leadership isn’t only reserved for C-Level executives at large corporate companies. Instead, it can be used as a powerful tool for everyday people to reach higher success, personally and professionally, helping you discover and define your purpose." How do you recommend people who aren’t in a leadership position, or don’t have a fancy leadership title, make a difference?
JENNIFER TSANG: A great leader is someone who can nudge you in such a way that it throws you off balance. The only way to grow and transform is to continually put yourself in situations to stretch forward. Anyone can do this if they have the courage and commitment to being fully present with another.

Some of the best leaders I have worked with were individuals, who didn’t manage teams, but had a way of connecting and building rapport with others to complete projects or just empower them to bring out the highest potential. Great leaders have this ability and can challenge and shift something or removes a roadblock for you to define and discover your purpose.

The ultimate gift we can bring to those around us is to be fully present so that we can listen, reflect and then act in a way that makes someone’s day better.

TWEET THIS: A great leader is someone who can nudge you in such a way that it throws you off balance. -@JennTsang #LeadershipTip #EmployeeExperience #EmployerBranding #DebbieLaskeysBlog

QUESTION: Since the Covid-19 pandemic began in early 2020, how has it impacted the role of leadership?
JENNIFER TSANG: The pandemic was a great reminder of how fragile life can be. Suddenly, we’re living at work, kids are at home, lockdowns, and uncertainty. 2020 was a great reminder that nothing is certain, and we have very little control over our own experience. Over the last year, I’ve noticed that many find it difficult to process the gravity of the suffering and, in that, there have been many opportunities for leadership to impact lives. We’ve seen this across many companies, announcing paid mental health time off, flexible work schedules and more support for individuals and teams. In my opinion, the pandemic has served as a doorway to a new way of leadership, which is centered around courage, empathy, compassion, and people.

I think we have seen many leaders really lean into the uncertainty with Covid-19 by adjusting their policies and creating more space for the conversations that are important to the well-being of the entire organization. I am a part of an organization that responded well to the pandemic, implementing new policies of mental health days off, facilitated conversations around important topics and revising work from home policies.

I think it’s remarkable the shift we have seen across many industries over the last 12-18 months that has been more inclusive, supportive, and empowering for employees. It has taken tremendous courage and leadership to have the difficult conversations and to make moves which put people ahead of profits.

TWEET THIS: The pandemic has served as a doorway to a new way of leadership, which is centered around courage, empathy, compassion, and people. -@JennTsang #Leadership #DebbieLaskeysBlog

QUESTION: How can a President/CEO become an organization's number one brand ambassador?
JENNIFER TSANG: The CEO of an organization can become the number one brand ambassador by living and supporting the brand in everything that they do. To define the value of the brand and ensure people connect to it. This also includes the people who work for the brand. I see many executives that like to talk about what we all should be doing, but aren’t truly embodying those values. Being a brand ambassador means representing the whole, not just the part you want people to see.

A standout example of leadership I’ve seen recently is the remote work policy released by General Motors led by Mary Barra. When I read the new policy, I thought to myself, this is actually what workers need – the flexibility to ‘Work Appropriately.’

Why this is so important is because it acknowledges that we’re not all in the same boat. Some workers are able to thrive in a remote environment, and if their position doesn’t require them to be in the office, it makes sense for them to be remote. There have been many great examples of tremendous leadership over the course of the pandemic. The real stand out examples of leadership will be seen over the next year as we transition back to a pre-pandemic work environment. Stand-out examples of leadership do not end once the pandemic is over, but will define leadership for years to come.

QUESTION: What is your least favorite leadership buzzword, and why?
JENNIFER TSANG: Empathy. I feel like this word has been high jacked in many different spheres and we’ve gotten away from the true meaning of it. Empathy is not something that we do, it is something that we are. Even though it is my least favorite buzzword, I do feel the true essence of empathy is the most valuable leadership skill that leaders can possess. It’s not necessarily something that you can teach or force yourself into doing because “you have to,” rather it’s the ability to develop a deep rapport with someone, which is vital to a more meaningful life.

QUESTION: One of my favorite leadership quotes is from author and consultant Mark Herbert (@NewParadigmer on Twitter): "Leadership doesn't require you to be the smartest person in the room. It requires you to block and tackle for others." What does that mean to you?
JENNIFER TSANG: What this means to me is that leadership isn’t about being the expert or having all the answers, instead having the courage to help clear the path for another to realize their full potential. It feels like an act of service because the assumption is that the person is whole, capable, resourceful.

TWEET THIS: Leadership isn’t about being the expert or having all the answers, instead clear the path for another to realize their full potential. -@JennTsang #LeadershipTip #EmployeeExperience #DebbieLaskeysBlog

My thanks to Jennifer for sharing her insights and for appearing here on my Blog.

For more regarding Jennifer's response to question #3, read "GM's New Remote Work Plan for Emmployees Is Ambiguous, Yet Surprisingly Simple: Work Appropriately"
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/20/gms-simple-message-to-employees-about-return-to-work-work-appropriately.html

Image Credit: Eddie Kopp via Unsplash.