Marshall Memorial Fellowship: Global Leadership - This is Not a Simulation, This is a Real Drill

Photo: Kremlin.ru

Leaders have great power and great responsibility. This is an area of interest in my professional career and a theme I explored throughout my transatlantic experience.

Throughout my travels across various European countries as part of the Marshall Memorial Fellowship regardless of the social, economic, or political issues that a country faces, resolving key policy issues is about leadership. Simply having the “right” policy solution is not enough. That golden moment in our histories is created by the right leader, at the right time, with the right strategy.

This concept of critical leadership was punctuated in every aspect of my Fellowship experience. Strong leadership grounded in values, vision, and diversity of thought are critical factors in navigating complicated systems and solving complex problems. Traveling across the Atlantic this powerful statement was reinforced throughout my experiences.

In Brussels, it took leadership in every corner of the city to move forward as the community continued to reel from the recent terrorist attacks.  In the broader scope of the European Union, leadership is constantly challenged – they perform a delicate dance – one to carefully balance systems that are simultaneously supranational and intergovernmental.

In England, the values of leadership are being tested at the highest level as the country grapples with the historic decision of the Brexit. The world awaits the decision Britain will make as the country moves to the vote.

In Italy, I witnessed the strength of Italian leadership finding its way through economic crisis. As the country moves from survival to prosperity, I learned one valuable takeaway: The importance of financial and economic literacy carries the same significance as learning to read and write following the Industrial Revolution.

In Montenegro, the leadership of civil society inspired me. A nation dedicated to exist beyond corruption and complacency showed progress and democratic advancement.   Democracy has been achieved over a period of time and leaders are working to assimilate democratic values across the whole of society. 

In the United States, leadership is implied and expected. Many consider the President of the United States to be the “leader of the free world.”  Yet Americans themselves are experiencing a crises of values as they nominate the leadership for the respective political parties.

All of these examples demonstrate that the challenges facing global leaders are national challenges, yet they carry global implications.  Never have the ripple effects of leadership been more powerful than today in our globalized world. Our economies, our families, and our safety are inextricably linked together, across national boundaries.

A global leader in today’s world must respect the complexity of societies and humanity without losing sight of the common thread: the global desire to educate, work and advance our families. We must lead individual nations while holding on to the fundamental belief that what happens to the other happens to you. Leadership taken as a great responsibility is a great power.

Olivia Mendoza, Director for Strategic Partnerships at the Latino Leadership Institute in Denver, CO, is a Spring 2016 American Marshall Memorial Fellow.