Vicki Anderson

The House of Representatives has succeeded in passing the Senate bill on healthcare with the vote down party lines. Who knows what future historians will say about this act. We don’t know if it will be the positive culture change of past acts like civil rights, ADA, or Social Security, but one thing is clear, any major change comes from someone or a group of people driving it.

Whether in business or in politics there is a fine line between strong leadership and bullying. Your viewpoint depends on which side of the issue you stand. If you want to gain support you have to be sufficiently strong to pull people to your side. Bullying depends on pushing people to your side or dragging them to your side.

As each side tries to persuade, the tactics may change from leading to bullying as the stakes get higher and the participants become more invested in their own beliefs. I think we saw a lot of that in the struggle to pass healthcare. Revolutions rarely come without great struggle.

The true test of leadership will begin now in how the change is played out. Will we find that the threats of bad consequences will occur or not? Will we find that the healthcare for those who could not previously have it will ultimately be the gift to society as a whole or not?

Recently a friend was injured in a skiing accident and has spent the last several weeks in a wheelchair and then with a walker. Her husband said he was thankful for the Americans with Disabilities Act that made it so easy to get around with ramps and handicap parking spaces. He is now more aware of those amenities. How many people thought the passage of ADA would be so expensive with all the accommodations that it would drive people out of business? Yet, today, we take for granted the mainstreaming of the disabled. This was only 20 years ago.

It will be interesting to watch the next year or two to see how this plays out and see the results of both leadership and bullying.