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About the Episode
As true Agents of Hope, former Tennessee governors Phil Bredesen and Bill Haslam reveal their methods of achieving common ground and accessing hope through empathetic and ethical leadership.
Empathy. Integrity. Community. 
Former Tennessee Governors Republican Bill Haslam and Democrat Phil Bredesen join host Dr. Greg Jones to expand on the ideas and motivations behind You Might Be Right, their podcast dedicated to discussing both sides of difficult topics in an effort to understand and connect with others.
“Your life gets narrow when you only listen to certain things or get people to tell you what you already believe to be true,” Haslam shared.
“I think that an essential element of hope is having the opportunity to see a larger world. One of the things that can be most important for kids who grow up in very restricted circumstances is just understanding what the rest of the world thinks,” Bredesen added. “That is the basis for creating hope -- that you can do something about it.”
This episode covers…
- The power of empathy and understanding other perspectives
- How productive leadership requires integrity
- The importance of community and support
“An essential element of hope is having the opportunity to see a larger world. One of the things that can be most important for kids who grow up in very restricted circumstances is just understanding what the rest of the world thinks. That is the basis for creating hope -- that you can do something about it.”
Empathy Is Key
Haslam and Bredesen suggest that the willingness to understand opposing perspectives is vital to effective leadership (political and otherwise) and to foster a sense of hope when faced with challenges.
Both attribute the breakdown in our current political climate on a lack of empathy for those with differing viewpoints. “What we have is this increasing sense that not just the other side's wrong, but they're wrong with bad motives,” Haslam offered. “You get there when you can't empathize at all with somebody else's life experiences.”
Their unlikely friendship, demonstrated by their commitment to empathize and relate to each other, allows them to transcend political boundaries.
“This is a guy who is doing this for the right reasons. He genuinely cares about it,” Bredesen explained, referring to Haslam. “We might differ on the strategy to achieve this end, but I think we probably wouldn't disagree on what the ends were and what we're trying to accomplish.”
“What we're trying to do with You Might Be Right is have dialogue that people understand on these difficult issues that are separating us as a country,” Haslam said. “Maybe if I just understood the argument better and approached it with a little humility, we might end up in a better place.”
Take Action With Integrity
As former political leaders, Bredesen and Haslam also emphasize the importance of personal integrity in leadership. They share how a strong sense of self has guided their own political decisions and promotes productive decision-making and action.
“Your life is in part about serving other people and helping other people,” Bredesen said. “It started out with family members, but it's a natural extension then into a wider group. If you can find ways to help them, you should.”
Haslam suggested the power in recognizing the vast number of people who genuinely care about their communities outweighs those who are solely focused on division. And by focusing on the percentage of people who actually care, rather than the few who don't, we can find encouragement and motivation to make a positive impact.
“You go to some small community in Tennessee and the number of people who really care about their hometown is amazing and encouraging, and the same thing across the state,” Haslam shared. “I just always choose to be way more impressed and encouraged by the percentage of people who care versus the small number of people who feel self-centered, narcissistic and just want their side to win.”
Both leaders emphasized the need to detach personal identity from their work, allowing them to approach it with a sense of purpose rather than being driven solely by re-election or personal gain.
“We're both people whose lives were complete without being governor or mayor," Bredesen offers as an example. “I hope and I want to accomplish some things that are meaningful to me. If I don't get reelected I'll be sad for two days, but the world is not going to change, and my life is not a disaster as a result.”
Lean On Your Community
Building a strong sense of community is vital when pursuing a goal for the greater good, and Bredesen and Haslam explain how their friendship, as well as support from the communities around them, has provided them with a renewed sense of hope.
“One of the things that help you get past the fact that there's a whole lot of people that don't like you or what you're doing is to have people who like you regardless,” Haslam said.
Bredesen highlights, “It can be a little discouraging, no matter what side you're on, because you see how polarized and partisan everyone is and it’s not just that the other side is wrong, but they're wrong and they're bad people.”
“I just keep in mind that there's just so many different ways of living your life and seeing your world, and that's part of the wonderful thing about being a human being," he added.
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