Bridging The Gap- President Barak Obama’s Leadership, 2009–2017 (HealthCare)
Fun fact about President Barak Obama: when he was 16 years old, he worked for Baskin-Robbins in Hawaii.
Welcome back everyone. I hope you enjoyed my story about Donald Trump, our 45th United States (US) President. Though his leadership efforts to drive and navigate the American people in the COVID-19 Pandemic was unsatisfactory, we must learn from his administration’s blunders during this critical time in America. Why? So that we do not repeat the same mistakes again on every level of leadership (Entry, Middle, Executive) in any venue when we have the next BIG Problem. This is what Great Leadership Stands-For. Mistakes must not stop us from learning and looking for ways to solve the problem in front of us. Our families, teams, constituents, and customers need us to keep moving — keep leading — keep learning, so that they can keep moving — keep leading — keep learning.
Now, let us learn how Barak Obama, the 44th US President, solved a problem in the highest office of leadership in America. Humor me for a moment…all the Presidents up to this point, were Caucasian males. One could adopt the mindset that the face of the President was supposed to be this picture. Not Barak Obama: he did not have this thinking. He knew the office of President was not about a color, gender, or ethnicity. He also knew that thinking this way would have minimized his platform, restrained his voice, and shortened his leverage to meet and or exceed the needs of Americans. So, him being an African American was not a hindrance or a pass to become the President. Instead, it was his character; his sound political ambition; his insight on social issues; and his keen sensibility to listen to the needs of the American people. Above these qualities, he knew the United States was a great nation that demanded a leader who could sustain her value, solve problems, and improve the way of life for the people. As a result, he served two terms and converted his ideas into reality, as the first African American President in US history.
He and his Cabinet were confronted with various challenges, such as the 2008 financial crisis, economic health-stimulus, healthcare problems, fair pay act for women, and more. The one we will address in this story will be on HealthCare, as it is essential to sustaining a quality life. Simply put, people want good health by caring for themselves in the best possible way. To make this a reality, they need to have the assurance that they can afford holistic healthcare services. This is where several administrations before President Obama tried, but failed. They were unable to isolate the problems that prevented 50 million people from having insurance. This current state fueled President Obama to build a viable future state for Americans, where they could have an improved, quality life through cost effective healthcare.
In 2009, healthcare reform was underway. He and his administration dove deep into working with Congress to establish legislation to address and remove the problem. Congress debated it for various reasons, but finally passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) into a law in March 2010. This was a victory for America, as these 50 million people could now obtain affordable insurance to meet their healthcare needs. Kudos to President Obama and his team!
Per the four leadership attributes for this Project, I rated President Obama, accordingly, as shown in the table. His administration succeeded in their response to the HealthCare problem. When he signed the PPACA law, he fulfilled a promise to the American people and today, it is still standing and empowering them to live a healthy and quality life.
Though the previous presidential administrations were not able to develop legislation for healthcare reform in America, the problem still existed. Therefore, the leadership of President Obama did not allow the past misses to prevent him from taking lessons from them and applying new and timely wisdom for the present landscape in 2009 to pass the PPACA into a law. Like President Obama, many leaders before you will not be able to solve a problem for various reasons and because you are next in line to hold the position, you must believe in yourself, add the right value, and do your best to solve it. Doing nothing could be a greater cost to your constituents, as problems are dynamic and take on different shapes, making them more difficult to resolve.
As customary in my stories, take an inventory of your leadership toolbelt and assess your position on the four attributes. Add them if they are missing; Adjust them if they are unhealthy; Sustain them if they are solid; and Improve them to continue to grow. Your Team; Your Constituents; Your Customer; and Your Family need you to stay engaged.
[1] The White House Historical Association. “Barak Obama”. The White House Historical Association.org Website, 16 January 2019, Barack Obama
[2] US News. “10 Things You didn’t Know About Barak Obama”. US News Website, Shelbi Austin. November 8, 2017, 10 Things About President Obama
[3] NCBI. “Changing Patterns of Health Insurance and Health-Care Delivery”. NCBI Website, National Academies Press. March 1, 2018, About Affordable Health Care
[4] The WHITE HOUSE President Obama. “Improving Health for all Americans”. Obama White House Archives Website, Historical Material. Health Care Reform
[5] The WHITE HOUSE President Obama. ”The Aim was simple: That every American could share in the promise of quality health care”. Obama White House Archives Website, Historical Material. HealthCare in America
[6] Health for California. “Barak Obama Health Care Reform Bill Explained”. Health Care for California Website, California Health. HealthCare Explained
[7] Creative Common License, Baskin-Robbins. Baskin-Robbins
