Lessons In Leadership

Lessons in Leadership—Jimmy Carter’s Legacy

The passing of Jimmy Carter, our 39th President, left me pondering the leadership lessons and the legacy he leaves behind. Carter’s impact extended far beyond his presidency as he worked to eradicate disease, foster peace, and build homes through his work with Habitat for Humanity, building houses well into his nineties. In 2002 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development."

He founded The Carter Center which lists his accomplishments with the organization including:

• Leading a coalition that has reduced the incidence of Guinea worm disease by 99.99 percent, making it likely to be the first human disease since smallpox to be eradicated.
• Observing 125 elections in 40 countries to help establish and strengthen democracies.
• Furthering avenues to peace in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Liberia, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, the Korean Peninsula, Haiti, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Middle East.
• Helping to establish a village-based healthcare delivery system in thousands of communities in Africa that now have trained healthcare personnel and volunteers to distribute drugs and provide health education.
• Strengthening international standards for human rights and the voices of individuals defending those rights in their communities worldwide.
• Pioneering new public health approaches to prevent or control devastating neglected diseases in Africa and Latin America.
• Advancing efforts to improve mental health care and diminish the stigma against people with mental illnesses.

Additionally, he authored 32 books on a wide range of topics from his childhood to negotiating peace.

Carter’s leadership style was to lead by example. He did not seek recognition for his work, but used the influence he gained, in part through his presidency, to build coalitions that addressed the causes he believed in. He did so, without fanfare, always with the mindset of serving people, transforming lives, and building a better world.

Regardless of political viewpoints, Carter’s post-presidential life and accomplishments provide a lesson to all. Keeping people and their welfare at the forefront, be it our work colleagues, our community, or the larger world, can bring about life-changing results.