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

BOG

[classof56]

1. I love these photos and what they tell us.

How fortunate are these children, having our nation's President as their Listener-in-Chief. Thank you for making my day feel much more tolerable.

Blessings.

[Historic NY]

2. He always gets down to their level & thats big mojo for kids.

[Marie Marie]

3. Looks to me like he is not only listening -

but listening with compassion and understanding. Beautiful pics sheshe.

[Cha]

4. President Obama is absolutely the "Listener in Chief", she!

good to have smartypants' sage posts back aka/Nancy LeTourneau .

These are awesome pics of the President listening intently to children..


She's found some brilliant examples in PBO's history of record!

Mahalo for posting~

[mopinko]

5. he finds kids interesting.

usually the most interesting people in the room. i know that's what i think.

[IrishAyes]

6. Often that's the case.

One of the most miserable afternoons of my life happened on a forced visit to my (then) husband's family reunion. I found myself stuck in a living room with a bunch of women who seemed determined to talk about nothing else except the virtues and horrors of their various maids! Finally I could stand no more and gathered the children and took them on a lonnnng hike. How I dreaded returning to that house, where the pressure to tell those silly twits to shut the hell up had become almost unbearable. That's the way they ran things, not unusual in those days; women and men collected in separate areas all day long for the most part. The kids basically ran wild. I decided to join them. We played kick the can and all sorts of fun stuff.