Leadership Lessons from David Ensor, former Director, Voice of America
By Quincy Nang
The last time I was on the hot seat in front of a camera, I was filming a small promotional video for an upcoming student event. My heart raced, my body temperature skyrocketed, and my face flushed. I wondered, ‘How do those journalists do this?’
When Mr. David Ensor, a professional journalist, former diplomat and leader of Voice of America (VOA) took the stage at Harvard Chan School Leadership Studio for the Voices in Leadership series, I was watching carefully. I wanted to see it. Some semblance of hand tremor? Perhaps an increase in perspiration? A voice crack? But if Ensor experienced anything of the sort, nothing disturbed the perfect balance he displayed. Clearly within his element, Ensor sat down with the Harvard Chan community and granted us the chance to decide for ourselves what lessons from his career path matter to the aspiring public health leader.
Right away, Ensor admits that as the head of VOA, he was not immune to the challenges of leading. Imagine working with talented peers, each with individual goals and ego. Now add in the fact that they are experts from very different cultural contexts. Finally, consider that these people are journalists, trained to be critical and analytical. More than good intentions will be required for organizations such as this to embrace a shared direction. It takes the type of sincerity Ensor demonstrates when he unapologetically affirms that he stood by his journalists no matter what. He believes in the power of acknowledging an exemplarily accomplished task, and the importance of showing humility, introspect, and action when his team or himself failed to meet expectations set individually, or by the world.
What left the deepest impact on me was Ensor’s courageous stance on what VOA should or should not be. Because VOA’s programs are disseminated in many different languages, they also reach audiences in countries where strong anti-American sentiments exist. Some argue that since our current war on terror is also a war of diverging ideologies, VOA’s reach should be used to convey specific American messages. However, for Ensor, being funded by federal government does not mean VOA was to become a mere eulogist of American positions. Ensor points out that credibility is central to ethical journalism and he refused to sacrifice that. Their audiences tune in to their programs because they trust VOA to stand for fair reporting on all fronts — domestically and on foreign soils. Withstanding significant pressures in order to stay true to one’s deontological core values is indeed inspiring.
Ensor’s story reinforced the realization that both public health experts and ethical journalists stand to benefit the world they live in, albeit through different routes. Our greatest public health foes (non-communicable diseases, climate change, global pandemics, etc.) will continue to advance if we fail to translate knowledge into calls to action strong enough to mobilize policy makers and populations. Next time you find yourself in the ‘hot seat’, realize that the ethical journalist in front of you could be one of your strongest secret weapons.
For more from the Voices in Leadership (@VoicesHSPH) series at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (@HarvardHSPH), visitwww.hsph.harvard.edu/voices.
Story edited by Emilia Ling, check her out on twitter @emjling
