Wired has an open debate - Do leaders teach? or Do teachers lead? - between Bill George, Professor at Harvard Business School and Wendy Kopp, President, Teach for America. In the quest of building customer-centric organizations, I feel it is important that there are enough leaders at every level in every organization who have a mission in mind and work towards that purpose relentlessly. This article has some interesting points on leadership which resonated with my thoughts a lot. Hence, I felt it will be a good read for you:
- In my studies of leaders who have failed, these leaders fell prey to the pressures and seductions they faced. It wasn't that they lacked leadership skills, style or power, but that the extrinsic rewards of leadership (money, fame, glory and power) went to their heads.
- Their egos, their greed, their craving for public adulation, and their fear of loss of power overwhelmed their responsibility to build their institutions.
- In contrast, authentic leaders understand that leading is not about advancing themselves and their personal interests, but serving others and bringing them together around a common cause. In the end they create great organizations because people are inspired to step up and lead.
- Perhaps leaders are more likely to stay on course when they're pursuing their passions.
- "Why is it so hard to lead yourself"? The answer lies in differences between your idealized self--how you see yourself, and how you want to be seen-- and your real self--how others actually experience you. The key to being able to develop yourself as a leader is to narrow that gap between your idealized self and your real self by developing a deep self-awareness that only comes from straight feedback and honest exploration of yourself, followed by a concerted effort to make changes.
- Teaching successfully is an act of leadership, and I often hear our corps members and alumni describe the moment they broke through as a teacher as the moment they realized that this work is not about them, but rather about their students.
I think the article really provides insights into how we should plan, prepare, practice and evaluate ourselves honestly, if we have to become great leaders.