What We Can Learn From Hillary Clinton

I admire Hillary Clinton’s ambition, her intellect, and her devotion to her daughter. I do differ with her politically. I don’t begrudge her or judge her the decisions she’s made to get where she is today. What I am going to write next has nothing to do with her political views and everything to do with a problem women carry with them into the workplace. It’s a problem that pigeon holes and stereotypes women – emotional outbursts.

Two weeks ago in New Hampshire Hillary let down her guard. In the now famous diner scene, Hillary was asked how she keeps going on with a grueling campaign amidst criticism. Hillary responded with an answer bereft with “I”. She welled up. Her voice cracked:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/07/clinton.emotional/
The answer was about her. She tried to turn it towards something bigger by saying she didn’t want to see the country go backwards but the majority of her answer was about her. She paid dearly in criticism from the press and pundits for this display of emotion that some say included tears. Some contend it is what propelled her to victory in New Hampshire but that it is impossible to prove. Some pundits, many of them women, including Hillary, have claimed there is a double standard for female leaders as opposed to male leaders when it comes to displaying emotion. But I contend that there isn’t a double standard rather the motivation for male tears and female tears differs. In recent memory I have seen Ronald Reagan, George Bush (41), Bill Clinton, and George Bush (42) all display mournful emotion and some tears. But it’s been the context of human loss or national tragedy. The difference is that the male leader’s emotion was not evoked by self-pity. Their emotion was not evoked by a sense of self pity their tears were for something greater than themselves.

Vulnerability between co-workers, peers, leaders is a gift. There is a fine line between self-serving vulnerability and vulnerability that belies sensitivity to the plight of others. The latter creates a more collaborative atmosphere by invoking the idea of legacy or destiny and escalates your efficacy as a leader. Female emotion in the workplace or on the campaign trail is distasteful when it is rooted in self-pity. The alpha male and other onlookers have little tolerance for this. The next time you find yourself thinking that your tears or tirade may sway the opinions of your co-workers, supervisors or staff your way, ask yourself if your pending outburst is focused on you or on something bigger than yourself? If it’s rooted in self-pity, choose to let it go and focus on how you can make an impact by encouraging those around you towards excellence and focusing them on the greater goal.