Obama's USP: The 'trust' factor

I just finished reading two books. Both are written by Bob Woodward and describe the decision making process followed by Obama administration to make critical policy decisions. The first book, ‘Obama’s Wars’ describes how Obama arrived at the decision to send additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. The second book, ‘The Price of Power’ describes the failed negotiations that accompanied the debt ceiling debate in 2011 between the White House and Republicans.

While the decision making process in itself is fascinating, what I found really interesting was the way Obama handled the two situations. At one point during the debt ceiling negotiations with John Boehner, the speaker of the House, Obama tells Boehner that he has immense confidence in his ability to connect with the American people. John was astounded at Obama’s confidence. When Obama finally went on to win the re-election, this notion that he possessed a special bond with the American people was re- confirmed. It was evident that even though his record in the first term was patchy and the economy still weak, enough people were willing to give him another chance.

Ever since, I have been wondering about what about Obama’s personality makes him trust worthy. It is difficult to establish trust with people. People are fickle by nature; they have different interests and motivations. There are different reasons who they trust people. It also depends on your relationship with the person – there are different reasons why one trust a friend vs say a boss or a politician. This is the personality trait that is especially fundamental to a leader. The role of a leader is to not only to develop a vision but also to align and inspire people. If people don’t trust their leader, then they won’t believe in his or her words and would always second guess his or her intent. So the question is how do you establish that trust?

A successful leader is the one who is able to tailor his message in a way that appeals to a majority of people. For instance, while choosing between politicians during elections, most people would vote based on whom they trust more instead of who they think has better policies. Good policies matter but most people don’t have the skills that are required to distinguish between good and bad policy. So even though people might rationalize their choice on the back of good policies, the question that they are answering in their mind is simply this: Who do I trust more?
Obama was able to establish trust among people through his extraordinary life story that made him relate to different segments of people. To some he was a symbol of post racial unity, to others he symbolized middle class aspirations but to most he was the embodiment of the American dream – a dream that says that it does not matter who you are or where you are born or what is your racial profile or how much money your parents earn; if you are willing to work hard, if you are willing to dream and if you have the belief that things would be better in future vs in the past, there is no limit to what you can achieve. There are many who expound this dream but there are only few who live it. Barack Obama definitely lived this dream in his lifetime.

Even though it is difficult to gain trust, once people trust someone, they find it difficult to revert back. Unless there is evidence that points to a character flaw in a leader, people generally stick with their choice. That helps explain why Obama was able to win the re-election despite, by most accounts, fairly ordinary policy performance in his first term. People were disappointed by the policy outcomes but they did not doubt Obama’s intent. They knew he worked hard and tried his best, not unlike them, who spent their entire life working hard but could not achieve the rewards that they would have liked or expected from the effort. The overwhelming narrative was that Obama like them had the right intent but faced significant obstacles e.g., the Republicans that prevented him from achieving his goals.