By Paul Greeley
817-578-6324, Paul@NewsBlues.com

NOTE: This was posted on social media by Meredith Conte, former VP of marketing for Tegna, and a marketing executive for Discovery and National Geographic channel, posted on social media her thoughts about the situation in Minneapolis.

News Blues obtained her permission to share her thoughts as a guest commentary.

News Blues does accept submissions for Guest Commentaries, but we reserve the right to publish or edit them. Send your commentary to Paul@NewsBlues.com.

What’s Unfolding in Minneapolis Deserves the Attention of Every Leader

By Meredith Conte

Set aside, for a moment, our civic obligation to stay informed about what’s happening in the world.

What’s unfolding in Minneapolis right now deserves the attention of every leader—regardless of industry or ideology.

No matter where you stand on immigration, law enforcement, or the state–federal balance of power, the leadership lessons are nonpartisan and abundant.

Watch the tension between strategy and execution.

The tradeoffs between empathy and humanity versus driving a stated objective forward. The challenge of making real-time decisions under intense media scrutiny, incomplete information, and rapidly shifting local dynamics.

Now do the exercise:

If you were a city official. A federal agency leader. A protest organizer. A faith leader. The CEO of a local business or national brand who call Minneapolis home.

What would you do?

Each of these leaders is making consequential decisions by the second in an extraordinarily complex and noisy environment. Whether or not I agree with their positions, I feel for them. Leadership is hard. It’s messy. And they are showing up, making the best choices they can with the information they have in the moment.

I wish for them and really for all of us …

Clarity of purpose
Courage to act in alignment with their values
Humanity to see the people behind the positions
Humility to adapt as conditions change
Wisdom to balance authority with compassion
And most of all, steadiness in the chaos.

To Auschwitz Survivors, Especially One