A recent Harvard Business Review video sheds some fascinating light on what makes a great leader today (Leaders with Values, November 1st, 2011 - http://blogs.hbr.org/video/2011/11/leaders-with-values.html)
A number of experts were asked to choose one leader they most admired and to explain why.
Below is the list and the reasons for the choices.
- Lee Kuan Yew, Prime Minister of Singapore (1959-90) because he was not hampered by “pre-judged views”. Humility was also cited as one of Lee’s attributes as well as helping to shape a generation of political leaders in Singapore who were “mindful, pragmatic and honest”.
- Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were picked for their extraordinary ability to engage with people and motivate them as well being open minded and thoughtful political leaders.
- John F. Kennedy was singled out for his social conscience and sense of purpose.One of his quotes referred to was: “A great society is one in which men and women of business think greatly about their responsibilities and the consequences of their actions.”
- US Major Gen. Frederick B. Hodges picked General David Petraeus. As commander in Iraq, Petraeus had showed courage by visiting his troops in the battlefield. He showed initiative and did things differently. He was also, recalls Hodges, a great communicator and relentless in the way he drove his soldiers to perform better. But he was also able to supply the resources they needed to get the job done.
- Sara Matthew, President & CEO, Dun & Bradstreet was picked for her “deep willingness to learn”, to take feedback and focus on what matters.
- On a more personal note, Buie Seawell, professor, Daniels College of Business, University of Denver chose his father-in-law, a successful businessman, a PhD in economics and a teacher of ethics. On the question of business ethics, his father-in-law always said that there was only one subject that mattered and that was distributive justice; he encouraged wealth creation but he wanted to see a fair distribution of wealth.
- Two inspirational leaders from the voluntary sector were also selected: Greg Van Kirk, founder of Community Enterprise Solutions, an organisation that helps entrepreneurs in the developing world and the Reverend Paul Regan who set up a social centre to help new immigrants to the UK in the 1970s and onwards. Then, aged in his 70s, Regan launched the Living Wage Campaign.
