Of Presidents and Culture

How the Culture of John McCain, Barrack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton Might Affect their Presidency

What kind of President will John McCain, Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton be? The answer may lie, in part, in the culture that they are a part of. Culture affects leadership and this year’s election for President of the United States has never seen such stark cultural differences between the 3 remaining candidates. Culture is determined by a number of factors – world events in formative years, geography, religion, ethnicity, family, peers, and profession. By understanding the factors that make up a person’s background, we can begin to understand how would lead and manage the talent around them.

Hillary Clinton

Biographical facts: Hillary Clinton was born and raised in Park Ridge, Illinois in 1947. Hillary’s father was a successful textile manufacturer and entrepreneur and she grew up in Park Ridge, an upper middle class suburb of Chicago that is typical of many Midwestern suburbs in the 1950’s and 1960’s that were largely white, protestant and conservative. She is the oldest of three children and the only girl. Her father was a college football player from Penn State who succeeded in a competitive market (textile) and left his childhood home and college town. Her family was a traditional 50’s ‘Father Knows Best’ family with church on Sunday, a conservative father and a stay-at-home mother who had more ‘liberal’ leanings. There was an expectation of success which the daughter absorbed. Hillary came of age in the mid 60’s, attending an Ivy League school (Wellesley). Books like the Feminine Mystique and the rise of Ms Magazine began a time of unprecedented opportunity for women. No longer were they confined to professions as teachers, nurses and housewives. They could become doctors, lawyers and engineers too. Hillary was expected to excel at school and the excitement of a new era showed that anything was possible. In many ways, she was the average American of the time. Nuclear family, middle class upbringing, and growing up in a suburban community with a close-knit family, Hillary felt protected enough to succeed and confident enough to embrace the change of women becoming equal to men. Her husband is Bill Clinton, himself Yale lawyer and ambitious politician who served as the last Democratic President and has 1 daughter Chelsea.

Words to describe Hillary Clinton’s people management style – protective, strong, tough, smart, demanding, competitive

Hillary’s parents were both educated. Her father was tough, competitive and winning meant a lot to him, which Hillary absorbed. Although her middle class background allows her to relate better to the ‘common’ person, her peers at Wellesley and Yale were the elite. She grew up in a protected environment makes and she is protective of her family. This is why, until recently, you rarely saw her daughter in the public limelight. It would also explain her standing behind Bill Clinton when his infidelity was exposed.

As a leader, Hillary will be demanding, tenacious and tough. She will is willing to make the hard decisions and take the heat. She demands from others no less than what she expects from herself. She can be very direct and will argue her point effectively. Having to succeed in a male-dominated world, she can sometimes overcompensate on the ‘macho’ to prove she belongs. Although demanding, she will be protective of those around her.

Barrack Obama

Biographical facts: Barrack Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961. He was raised mainly by his mother, Ann Dunham. Ann Dunham, originally from Kansas, moved to Hawaii with her parents. The Dunhams were a largely agnostic family. Ann greatly valued education and was a free spirit. His biological father was Barrack Obama Sr. a Harvard-educated radical economists from Kenya. They met while Obama Sr. was studying at the University of Hawaii and Ann was an undergraduate, married and divorced two years later. To understand Ann Dunham it is important to comprehend that in 1961, at the height of segregation, she had a black husband and mixed race child.

She later met and married Lolo Soetoro and moved with her son to Indonesia and enrolled her son first in a Muslim school and then in a Catholic school in Indonesia. Her second marriage produced a daughter (Maya) and also ended in divorce. The family then moved back to Hawaii where Ann received a PhD in anthropology. Upon completion of her doctorate she moved back to Indonesia but Barrack chose to stay in Hawaii with his grandparents and complete high school there at an exclusive private school. His wife is Michelle, who also graduated from an Ivy League school (Princeton) and 2 daughters, Malia Ann and Natasha.

Whereas both Hillary Clinton and John McCain came of age in a time of great optimism in the U.S., the America that Barrack Obama came of age in was much more cynical. The Viet Nam war was over and public office was defined by Watergate and Nixon. Obama, like Clinton, went to Ivy League schools (Columbia and Harvard). Because he was brought up in different countries, Barrack Obama has more of an ‘international’ viewpoint than a traditional American one. Barrack also had the difficulty of fitting into a single ‘demographic’. He was neither white nor black and, although he chose to align himself with the black community in Chicago, he had a strong understanding of the white world he grew up in.

Words to describe Barack Obama’s people management style – logical, consensus-building, analytical, motivational, private/hidden

Barrack Obama grew up in a family that valued science over religion. His anthropologist mother could take a detached look at a culture and understand it from a scientific point of view. That cool, detached, academic viewpoint is also the way Barack Obama is able to see the world. As a leader, he believes in trying to understand the person and can be swayed through logic and reason. He would be more of a consensus builder, trying to understand the different points of view, even if they may seem extremist to other people. He is adaptable and able to relate to whatever audience he is with. Although raised by an agnostic mother, he was able to adjust to a Muslim school, a Catholic school and an exclusive private high school in Hawaii. His ability to adapt to any group and his strong intellect allow him to motivate those around him with his vision.

Although the Senator from Illinois, he has more of a laid-back Hawaiian style. whereas Hillary Clinton is more of an aggressive Illinois-type politician. Because of the number of changes in his environment, Barrack Obama tends to guard who he is and what he really thinks except from those closest to him. As a manager, he might seem aloof and wanting to be ‘above it all’. He would resist making quick decisions, instead preferring to gather a number of opinions and then take some time to think it over before moving forward.

John McCain

Biographical facts: John McCain was born at a Navy base at the Panama Canal in 1936 and is the son and grandson of the first 4 star Admiral father and son combination in the history of the United States. Both his father and his grandfather served as admirals during World War 2. Like Barrack Obama, McCain grew up in a number of different places. Like Hillary Clinton, he grew up in the traditional ‘nuclear’ family with more traditional roles. Like his father and his grandfather, he attended the Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1958, becoming a ‘Top Gun’ Navy pilot. Pilots, because of the nature of their work where they often have to make life and death decisions in a matter of seconds, need to be very self-assured.

John McCain came of age in the 1950’s, where the world was seen in stark contrasts. It was democracy versus communism, the Soviet Union versus the United States. It was also a time when Americans believed in their country and military. They had a president (Dwight Eisenhower) who defeated the greatest totalitarian threat the world had ever known – fascism. There was a certain optimism that America could defeat its enemies and that public sector and military service were honorable callings.

McCain served as a Navy fighter pilot during the Vietnam War, where he was shot down and captured. Held as a prisoner with his men and tortured for 4 years, he was a public relations prize for the Viet Cong because of his lineage. Even though he was offered the opportunity to be released early, he refused and insisted on being treated the same way as his men. John McCain was married to Carol Shepp, whom he divorced in 1980, and married Cindy Hensley. He has seven children from the 2 marriages (Doug, Andrew and Sidney with Carol and Meghan, John, James and Bridget with Cindy).

Words to describe John McCain’s people management style – loyal, ethical, uncompromising, direct, self-assured

As the heir of a prestigious military family, John McCain lives by the values honor, tradition and loyalty. Semper fi would be a good description of John McCain the person as well as John McCain the aviator. He has a very well defined idea of right and wrong and will not compromise it, even if it is politically expedient to do so. He will fight for what he believes is right, regardless of political expediency, opinion polls or party affiliation. This is why he is seen as a maverick. He is comfortable making quick decisions and can appear dismissive, even condescending, to those who disagree with him. He is, however, very loyal. His sense of loyalty goes beyond ideology and politics which is why he has been able to work with colleagues regardless of their political affiliation. John McCain can be very demanding. 2 words used can be used to describe John McCain’s leadership style – follow me. This is evident in sending his son to Iraq, even though he could have easily pulled the strings necessary to have him serve elsewhere.

Why does any of this matter? Because as much as a culture affects a leader, a leader affects the culture. The history of the next president of the United States and how it has taught them to manage the talent of those around them will has a profound affect on their effectiveness and our future.