I published Deeper Learning in Leadership in 2007 with multiple purposes in mind - to encourage leadership educators to get more serious, to challenge prevailing higher education organizational and conceptual frameworks, to summarize the previous contributions of leadership scholars, and to point the way toward a focus on leadership learning attentive to learners' presence, flow, and oscillation in life. I defined leadership in this book as simply as I could - "leadership is conviction in action."
In the intervening 13 years I still believe that the ideas in this 2007 book were on target then and now. Particularly when it comes to viewing leadership as a deepening exploration of purpose in one's life, I believe I was absolutely on target.
Slam poet Sekou Andrew, with a Grammy nomination for his "Sekou Andrew & String Theory," eloquently describes how leadership is about inspiring others through accessing the ideas that inspire us. The interview with Forbes conveys the necessity for leaders to dig into their own story and then tell it so that others might be inspired.
Leadership is conviction in action and this view could not be more relevant for today's world. Those who have not explored their own convictions risk failure to themselves and those who would follow them. When you look at someone who seeks to lead you, what do you see? Do you see purpose that transcends the individual, that seeks to create a better world, or do you see a person striving to advance themselves and meet their own goals? Most of us know the difference and Sekou Andrew's calling us to explore ourselves and tell our story is challenging us all to do this work.
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