From Wall Street Journal’s Juggle Blog – author Min Jin Lee talked about a difference in mentalities born of the inheriting Elite versus working class:
“I attended a meeting for applicants to Harvard Business School. What was striking to me was the constant talk about leadership. I realized, for two years these kids get the message they are being bred to lead. This is what happens when you are fortunate enough to be an elite person. It takes a certain mindset to believe you have this right . . . I thought, thats why I felt so uncomfortable all through [Yale.] I had seen myself as a worker, not a leader, from my parents and from working in their store.”
I suppose it all depends on the definition of “leadership” our future “leaders” are indoctrinated with.
We can look at many of today’s “leaders” to deduce whether “Leading” means a One-Hit Wonder of:
- Controlling others’ interests for your own gain
- Exploiting others’ weaknesses for your own bargaining chip
- Talking big in public but yielding to pressure in private
- Plagiarizing and publishing it as your own “management rules”
- Manipulating rules because you believe you own the game
Or whether:
Leading is relative.
An enlightened professional knows
when to inspire with a vision,
when to follow the better expert for the occasion, and
when to get out of the way
It’s funny how in the business world, the One-Hit Wonders often make more waves and money than the Versatile Virtuoso.
