Listener-in-Chief

[sheshe2]

I wonder if any of you - like me - grew up being told that children are to be seen but not heard. If so, then you'll understand why I find these to be some of the most powerful pictures of President Obama.

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And here is perhaps my very favorite picture. It was taken back during the 2008 primary when not many people were paying attention to that skinny guy with the funny name. I imagine that all this little girl knew was that she had his undivided attention.

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Recently Jim Stuart has written about the fact that one of the characteristics of an integral leader is their ability to engage in deep listening.

It's hard to describe this deep listening that is the foundation of the integral leader's personal power. You the reader need to reach into your personal experience for a time, a moment when you felt totally seen, totally heard - as if the person listening to you was offering you a safe, even sacred space in which to be heard.

If only for a moment, that is what I believe we are witnessing in these photos - President Obama offering children "a safe, even sacred space in which to be heard."

Posted Yesterday by Nancy LeTourneau

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http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2014/02/listener-in-chief.html

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