Whether you agree with President Obama’s polices or not – last night’s State of the Union Address can teach you a few things about how to be a better leader within your organization.

Good leaders lead by painting a vision, identifying what needs to be changed and why, and valuing and leveraging the diversity of their team to generate new ideas and solutions.

Here are 3 key moments of last night’s State of the Union Address where President Obama did just that and what you can learn from it:

Paint a Vision

“The future we want — opportunity and security for our families; a rising standard of living and a sustainable, peaceful planet for our kids — all that is within our reach. But it will only happen if we work together. It will only happen if we can have rational, constructive debates. It will only happen if we fix our politics.”

President Obama describes the end goal and outlines the steps needed to reach that end goal. He is inclusive. He speaks to how we (both Congress and the American people) can all play a critical role in achieving the goal. He doesn’t just share a vision he also tells his audience who needs to be involved and what needs to  happen to make the vision a reality.

Identify the Change

“We’ve got to accelerate the transition away from dirty energy. Rather than subsidize the past, we should invest in the future  —  especially in communities that rely on fossil fuels. That’s why I’m going to push to change the way we manage our oil and coal resources, so that they better reflect the costs they impose on taxpayers and our planet.”

Change is hard. Sometimes…you’re changing things that people have known their entire life and have resistance to changing. Change is also a process. It doesn’t happen over night. The process begins by leadership stating the reasons, and making the case for the change, as President Obama did with his remarks.  Once the case for change is made – the what and the why –  you can then lay out the processes and people needed to make the change a reality.

Value Diversity

“We need to reject any politics that targets people because of race or religion. This isn’t a matter of political correctness. It’s a matter of understanding what makes us strong. The world respects us not just for our arsenal; it respects us for our diversity and our openness and the way we respect every faith.”

Organizations – and the people within them –  are like snowflakes. No two are the same. If everyone was the same we wouldn’t learn much and life would be pretty boring. Embracing diversity within your organization and valuing the different backgrounds, ideas, and experiences of those you lead is critical to success. Multiple view points provide new ways of solving problems. Finding new ways to solve problems leads to innovation.  Innovation leads to reaching your end goals – success.