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AG LEADERSHIP >> L4 Seminar
BE A RESONANT LEADER
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Today’s world is fast-paced, challenging and
rapidly evolving. According to leadership expert
Dr. Annie McKee, we are at the very edge of a
massive change in what our world looks like –
and leaders need to be ready.
“We have to look deep inside ourselves to
figure out what it will take to lead in a world
full of opportunities, changes, problems and
unpredictability,” said McKee. “What are
we going to do to step into today’s world
with power, influence, and an ability to move
people and face challenges with hope and
optimism? Great leaders move us. Unless
you engage people’s hearts as well as their
minds, then you’re not going to move them
and inspire others.”
McKee is a leading authority on leadership
and a bestselling business book author. She
advises global leaders from CEOs of Fortune 50
companies to government officials to nonprofit
board members. She helps people become
better leaders and helps corporations become
more successful. McKee has written extensively
on leadership, including “Primal Leadership”
(required reading for fellows), “Resonant
Leadership,” and “Becoming a Resonant Leader.”
McKee’s newest book is “Management: A Focus
on Leaders,” a textbook used in universities
across the globe.
In March, McKee spoke to Ag Leadership alumni
and friends at a Life-Long Leadership Learning
(L4) seminar at UC Davis. She shared personal
stories, research and valuable advice about
leadership, and she engaged audience members
in interactive breakout sessions.
Resonant Leadership
McKee emphasized that the best leaders create
resonance – “a reservoir of positivity that inspires
passion and motivates people to perform at their
best.” Resonant leaders foster an environment
where people can achieve at their highest level
in a climate that is characterized by hope and a
shared belief in a compelling vision.
“Resonant leadership is a catchy phrase,
but it really means something,” said McKee.
“Resonance in music is when everything comes
together to make a beautiful sound. Resonance
between humans is that sense of harmony and
power, and the whole is more than the sum
of its parts. We look at leadership as a holistic
experience: bringing mind, body, heart and
spirit together allows you to create resonance in
yourself and resonance with other people.”
According to McKee, what differentiates
outstanding leaders from average leaders is
that they understand and develop emotional
intelligence. Emotional intelligence can be
understood as interpersonal competencies of selfawareness,
self-management, social awareness
and relationship management. “When you
look at results – organizational, institutional,
community, political – in terms of getting things
done, the skills that make a difference are related
to emotional intelligence.”
The Importance of Emotions
Emotions are part of being a resonant leader,
explained McKee. Emotions are contagious and
can have an impact on relationships. “If you’re
in a position of power, you have to pay attention
to your emotions,” she said. “The mood you’re
in is transferable to other people. When we are
in a state of positive emotions – enthusiasm,
optimism, hope and happiness – we are
smarter and we function better cognitively and
physically.”
If emotions and emotional intelligence are at
the heart of great leadership, then we each have
a part to play, said McKee. “The smallest act in
the spirit of ‘pay it forward’ can make a huge
difference, not only in individuals’ lives, but also
in the outcomes we’re seeking to achieve in our
communities and companies. A leader’s behavior
– and the creation of a climate and culture that
allows people to be at their best – accounts for a
huge amount of an organization’s performance.”
Renewal: Mindfulness, Hope and
Compassion
Key to sustaining resonance is renewal – bringing
yourself back into a state of well being and
existing as a fully functional person. McKee
cautioned that leaders shouldn’t try to “do it all”
in today’s world, as that can be exhausting and
stressful and lead to dissonance.
“We talk about the ‘sacrifice syndrome’ – we
give and give and have stress and pressure.
People can get trapped in their personal and
professional lives and they’re no longer the leader
they want to be. There are simple, everyday,
straightforward practices that everybody can do
related to mindfulness, hope and compassion.”
Mindfulness is being aware of what is
happening within your body, mind, heart and
spirit. Whatever the path is – prayer, exercise,
meditation, gardening, being in nature – McKee
recommends reflective breathing and thinking
about experiences of gratitude or hope. “It’s a
state of serenity that may help you deal with
stress better.”
With hope and compassion, “it’s simple care
and concern for self and others, and acting on
that care and concern. That’s what we do as
leaders. When people believe we are awake and
aware, hopeful and optimistic, and that we are
compassionate and care about them, they will
walk through a wall for you and with you.”
McKee ended with one of her favorite quotes
from Gandhi (Be the change you want to
see in the world) and asked, “If we each did
just a little bit more of that, wouldn’t we have a
wonderful world?”