For those of you who are not familiar with Major Cory Booker, he is the incumbent mayor of Newark, New Jersey; and since his arrival on the scene in 2006, has earned the reputation as a “supermayor.” (Walker, 2012). Earlier this year, Mayor Booker rescued one of his neighbors trapped inside her burning home, carrying her to safety. Suffering from smoke inhalation and second degree burns, Major Booker dismissed any suggestion that he was a hero, saying “I think that’s way over the top. I’m a neighbor who did what most neighbors would do, jump into action to help a friend.” (Roberts, 2012). Recently during Super Storm Sandy, Major Booker could be seen riding rode through the streets of Newark handing out supplies to residents in need, picking up medication for people, delivering diapers and more. He opened his home to his neighbors who were without power, offering them food, shelter and a safe haven from the storm. (Walker, 2012).
I don’t about you, but from my experience dealing with elected officials, I would say that Major Booker is a “supermayor.” His behavior and leadership style appears to be genuine and as real as it gets. He is honest and good and he is fulfilling the needs of Newark residents, specifically their need for trustworthy leadership. (Northouse, 2013). In a word, his leadership style is – authentic.
As we learned in this week’s lesson on Authentic Leadership, it is a relatively new approach to leadership, and while it seems simple, it is more complex than imagined. For me, the easiest way to understand Authentic Leadership came through reading the approach used by Bill George. The “George” Approach is practical in that it describes the qualities of Authentic Leadership and how individuals can develop the qualities needed to be an authentic leader. Through his research, George found that authentic leaders posses five basic characteristics: 1) they understand their purpose; 2) they have strong values about the right thing to do; 3) they establish trusting relationships with others; 4) they demonstrate self-discipline and act upon their values; and 5) they are passionate about their mission. (Northouse, 2013). According to George, authentic leaders know their “True North.” They have a very clear idea of who they are, where they need to go and most importantly, they know the right thing to do. (Northouse, 2013). In the case of Mayor Booker, I would say that he earned a hat trick with a score in all three of these areas.
In terms of the basic qualities and characteristics of an Authentic Leader, Mayor Booker lines up quite nicely: He understands his purpose; with a law degree from Stanford and also a Rhodes Scholar, he chose public service as his calling. His values and ability to build trusting relationships are evident in most of the things he does – shortly after his mayoral inauguration, Newark police arrested three juveniles for painting the words “Kill Booker” inside a public school (which none of them attended). Instead of sending them off to juvenile hall, Cory Booker stepped up, bargaining with the Prosecutor to drop the charges in return for his mentoring of the boys. Mayor Booker demonstrates self-discipline and acts upon his values – modeling and also tweeting his actions for the residents of Newark. Throughout his career as mayor, he has been passionate about his city – fighting every day to reduce crime and violence and create educational opportunities for the next generation of citizens. (Jacobs, 2007). Mayor Booker is the real McCoy.
References:
Jacobs, Andrew (2007), In Newark, the Mayor’s Crusade Gets Personal. The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/03/nyregion/03boys.html?pagewanted=1&ref=corybooker&_r=0
Northouse, P.G., 2013. Leadership: Theory and Practice (6th Edition). Los Angeles. Sage Publications.
Roberts, Joel (2012), Newark Mayor Cory Booker Saves Woman from Fire. http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/newark-mayor-saves-woman-house-fire-061355006.html
Walker, Hunter (2012). Inside Cory Booker’s Hurricane Sandy Slumber Party. The Politicker. Retrieved from: http://politicker.com/2012/11/inside-cory-bookers-house-afte-hurricane-sandy/