Renewal: From Crisis to Transformation in Our Lives, Work, and Politics
Speaker(s): Slaughter, A. (New America)
Date: 14 December 2021
Speaker Session Summary
SMA hosted a speaker session with Dr. Anne-Marie Slaughter (CEO, New America) as part of its SMA General Speaker Series.
Dr. Slaughter commented that a country that truly allows its citizens to take risks and be entrepreneurial should also provide enough support for them to fail. For a country to make advancements, it is important for leaders and citizens to be able to receive and listen to criticism, understand and accept a country’s true history, and look forward to future opportunities. In fact, if a country creates a standard security net that allows citizens to fail, then it will create a more entrepreneurial culture. For example, the entrepreneurial culture in California’s Silicon Valley is mostly driven by individuals who took massive risks but also had family resources that could provide a safety net.
Leadership is a deciding factor of whether individuals in an organization or country will take risks. Dr. Slaughter commented that there are two main styles of leadership: a) leading from the top, and b) leading from the center. While both styles of leadership work in different organizations, it is important for leaders to understand what is occurring at the at all levels of an organization. Also, encouraging individuals to face their fears and realize that they can fail if there is a security net will increase risk acceptance. People will also remain risk averse if their leaders continue to focus on issues that do not affect them directly. National leaders are often too focused on great power competition (GPC); however, GPC does not affect average citizens in most countries. National leaders should instead focus on collaboration relating to global issues that affect citizens, no matter what country they reside.
Speaker Session Recording
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