Sometimes, for some people, it’s not clinging to a job or an idea that requires strength - it’s knowing when to let go. For former Oklahoma congressman J.C. Watts, that meant knowing when to leave Washington. In a Wednesday morning question-and-answer event, Watts reflected on his political life and shared with students the things he learned about himself through a career of public service.
The 2010-2011 Isabella Cannon Distinguished Visiting Professor of Leadership made his Whitley Auditorium remarks at the end of a two-day visit to campus that included an evening lecture on Tuesday and visits with Leadership Fellows.
Wednesday’s Q&A provided Watts a more informal setting to field questions from Elon students who asked for advice as the prepare to start their own careers. Watts’ overarching point was that students should find a way to educate themselves every day, even if it’s simply “opening a dictionary” to learn a new word.
The prominent Republican also listed several marks of quality leadership.
“Sometimes, leadership is just listening,” he said. “I learned that as a dad, being a good listener. I learned it by my daughter saying, ‘You’re listening to me but you’re not hearing me.’ We often listen to respond. We don’t listen to hear. There’s a big difference.”
Perhaps the hardest decision to make was leaving Washington, he said. Pressure from colleagues and friends weighed on him.
“People get in relationships they know are bad for them. It’s not the hanging on that’s tough. It’s the letting go that’s tough,” Watts explained. “Leaving Congress in 2002 after eight years was tough, and it was tough because President Bush and Rosa Parks and my pastor friends and constituents were calling me to say they wish I’d stay. I’ve never looked back. But I knew that if I stayed for another term, I wasn’t just signing up for another term. You start thinking, ‘Maybe I could become Speaker of the House.’”
“I knew had I done it, I‘d have been doing it for all the wrong reasons. I wanted to make memories with my grandkids. I wanted to get to know my family again. Public service is not a family friendly business, and I don’t care if it’s municipal government, county government, state government. It’s just not a family friendly business.”
“I had convinced myself that I was saving the world. And while my family was never threatened, I concluded that you’re a fool if you’re out to save the world and you lose your family.”
The Watts question-and-answer gathering was moderated by Steven Mencarini, director of Elon University’s Center for Leadership.
Watts, a standout quarterback for the University of Oklahoma, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from the fourth district of Oklahoma in 1994. In 1998, he was elected by his peers to serve as chairman of the Republican Conference, the fourth-ranking leadership position in the majority party in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Watts is the chairman of the J.C. Watts Companies, providing strategic focus and program leadership to the company’s business partnerships, joint ventures, engagements, alliances and initiatives. He works with partners, customers and clients to execute market development, communications and public affairs strategies.
He co-founded the Coalition for AIDS Relief in Africa and serves on the board of Africare. He also serves on the boards of the Boy Scouts of America and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and he created the J.C. and Frankie Watts Foundation to focus on urban renewal and other charitable initiatives.
A native of Oklahoma and a University of Oklahoma alumnus, Watts led the Sooners to two consecutive Big Eight Championships and Orange Bowl victories. He was voted the Most Valuable Player in the 1980 and 1981 Orange Bowls. From 1981 to 1986, he started for Ottawa and Toronto in the Canadian Football League and was voted the Most Valuable Player of the Grey Cup, the CFL’s Super Bowl, his rookie season.
After returning to Oklahoma, Watts served as a youth minister at Sunnylane Baptist Church in Del City, Oklahoma from January 1987 until December 1994, when he then became associate pastor. In 1990 he was elected to the Oklahoma State Corporation Commission and became chairman before running for Congress in 1994.
Watts is the seventh Isabella Cannon Distinguished Visiting Professor of Leadership. Former visiting professors are Dee Dee Myers, John Alexander, William W. “Bill” George, Ben Bradlee, Christine Todd Whitman and David Gergen. The professorship brings nationally recognized authorities to campus to share insights about the nature, potential and responsibilities of leadership.