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Diversity of candidates puts a spotlight on race relations
The diversity of our
presidential candi
dates has served to
put a spotlight on race rela
tions in this country. Because
our history of race relations
has to be viewed through the
prism of our legal system, I
thought we might explore its
contributions to our racial
divide and our healing pro
cess.
The great “sin” of our
country is the “three
fifths” principle embedded
(yes, it is still there) in our
Constitution. In Article 1,
section 2, in discussing the
House of Representatives,
the Constitution classifies
African-Americans as equal
to less than a person. The
number of representatives
each state has in the House
is determined by a state’s
population.
This clumsy political “com-
What will they do when you're gone?
Think about the
future of your orga
nization. In what
capacity do you see yourself?
Do you have more responsi
bility? Greater influence?
Now think a little farther
into the future. Go about a
year beyond when you are no
longer part of the organiza
tion. Maybe you’ll be promot
ed or transferred. Perhaps
you’ll retire or resign to put
your energies against some
other worthy effort.
Even if you just keep going
and going and going, some
day you will die. What will
the people who look to you
now for guidance do after
you’re gone?
Every leader needs an exit
strategy. Yet many leaders
don’t have one. Thinking
about leaving an organiza
tion that you’ve shaped and
improved over many years is
not fun!
However, whether you
have an exit strategy or not,
you won’t be a part of your
organization forever.
If you leave, one of two
"If you want your organization's future
leaders to come from within, you need a
strong leadership development process."
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Tht'Law'Man
Jim
Rockefeller
Attorney,
Rockefeller
Law Center
promise” resolved a conflict
between the less populous
Southern states and the more
populous North. The idea
was that slavery was permit
ted exist and the Southern
States would be able to count
some of its black-slave popu
lation towards its number
representatives.
As we all know, this conflict
eventually boiled over into
war and destruction and, at
the end, slaves were freed.
The great “Civil Rights” laws
Building Future Leaders
Dennis
Hooper
Your
Leadership
Coach
ON AIR
Listen to Dennis talk
about this article on
Monday at 12:30 p.m.
on radio 1350AM,-
WNNG. He will be inter
viewed by Todd Wilson
on the Noon News Hour.
things will happen. The
organization will live on or
it will die. If it lives on, the
organization may prosper, or
it may limp along weakly,
or something between those
extremes.
Right now, however, you
devote your physical and
were passed and, in theory,
this trio of Amendments to
our Constitution abolished
racial inequality ending what
we call “de jure” (by law)
racism.
Sadly, the story of de jure
racism does not end there. In
the South, in the advent of
the withdrawal of the occupy
ing Union Army, “Jim Crow”
laws were passed obliterat
ing the newly-conferred
freedoms. Most significant
ly, these laws they robbed
African-Americans of voting
rights through a series of
intentional impediments.
However, as we turned
the corner in the 20th
Century, the United States
Supreme Court struck down
laws demeaning the rights
of African-Americans. This
process reached its crescendo
in 1954, when “separate”
school systems were elimi
emotional energy and huge
amounts of time to your
organization. You don’t want
the organization to struggle
to survive, now or in the
future!
After you leave the orga
nization, you want to have
established a culture with
systems that allow the
organization to continue
to thrive, even though you
are no longer personally
involved.
Some organizational lead
ers are not strategic think
ers. Entrepreneurs especial
ly are focused on finding
a need and filling it NOW.
Maybe you think the world
is changing too quickly to
spend valuable time plan
ning! Who predicted gaso
line would be selling at $4
a gallon? Who imagined you
could order just about any
thing in this world with just
a few clicks on your com
puter?
Further, you are probably
too busy with today’s prob
lems and opportunities to
think about what will hap
pen when you are gone! “Let
the folks who are around
then worry about replacing
me!”
When you leave, one of two
things will happen. Either
somebody already associ
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nated as a tool to institution
ally separate the races. After
this, Congress finally stepped
in and passed another wave
of civil rights laws governing
elections in some Southern
states, seemingly outlawing
the last vestiges of de jure
racism.
A new wave of reform
gripped the nation, spurred
by the “dream” envisioned
by Martin Luther King: the
dream of a country of people
not judged by the color of
their skin. Eventually, this
desire for equality manifest
ed itself in the ironic grant
ing of preferences in oppor
tunities based on skin-color
and gender.
White Americans, partic
ularly white men, resented
finding themselves los
ing out on opportunities in
education and employment
because their skin was too
ated with the organization
will replace you, or some
body from the outside will
be hired. “It happens all the
time, so why should I be
concerned? Who ever thinks
about succession planning
anyway?”
Maybe you should. You
have a relationship with
all the people under your
authority. They assume that
you are looking out for their
future welfare. These people
assume you have a plan for
continuing the leadership
they’ve come to expect from
you!
Okay. Let’s say you are
concerned about the future
leadership of your organi
zation. What could you do
about it? I suggest one (or
both) of the following action
steps.
Work to generate a very
strong hiring process. If
a future leader is going
to come from the outside,
you’ll have to find a compe
tent, dedicated individual to
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light or their gender too
male. Courts, again, stepped
in to correct these excesses
and try to bring us closer to
Dr. King’s ideal of society of
equality.
The “rub” of course is that
courts cannot eliminate a
more subtle form of separa
tion of the races called “de
facto” (by operation of fact),
which is not, in many ways,
racism. De facto separation
of the races appears when
we view the outcome of the
O.J. Simpson trial through
the lens of race. It governs
what neighborhood we live
in or the church we attend on
Sunday. It is subtle because
we are not making choices
based on skin color or preju
dice, but it can have the same
impact.
As you can see, we have
come a long way from our
embarrassing roots as a
fill your shoes. You’d better
establish a strong recruiting
and selection process.
If you want your organi
zation’s future leaders to
come from within, you need
a strong leadership develop
ment process.
If you don’t have a cou
ple of obvious replacement
candidates already, that’s an
indication that you haven’t
been putting appropri
ate energy toward building
future leaders.
Conduct a brief strategic
planning session with your
colleagues and immediate
direct reports. Think collec
tively about the advantages
of hiring future leaders from
the outside, and about the
Assessing Your
Leadership Skills
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SATURDAY, JUNE 14, 2008 ♦
country. The legal decks have
been cleared and we can live
today in a society where the
races can legally compete on
an equal footing. However,
we will not truly be united
until we live, play, eat, and
pray in a multi-racial com
munity. We are getting there;
maybe some day soon the
color of a candidate’s skin
will no longer be a campaign
issue.
Local attorney Jim
Rockefeller owns the
Rockefeller Law Center and
is a former Houston County
Chief Assistant District
Attorney, and a former
Miami Prosecutor. E-mail
confidential legal questions
to ajr@rockefellerlawcenter.
com. Visit www.rockefeller
lawcenter.com for Frequently
Asked Questions and
Jim’s blog, The Rockefeller
Report.
advantages of developing
your future leaders inter
nally. Then generate a plan
to strengthen your hiring
systems or your leadership
development systems - or
both!
Dennis Hooper helps lead
ers build organizations of
excellence. E-mail him at
dhooper2@juno.com, or call
him at 478-988-0237. His
website is www.buildingfu
tureleaders.com.
Char-Broiled
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t-75 E*R 1M * B*7-8877
F. Dennis Hooper
Certified
Leadership Development Coach
Building leaders and
organizations of excellence
(478) 988-0237
5A
164605
164713
dhooper2@juno.com:
64887