Comfort in Conformity

Society plays a huge part in the leader/follower teeter totter of life. If you're going to split from the wave of normal society, you better make sure you can swim on your own. Taking on a leadership position, to me, has always meant that you knew how to get people to do positive things on their own. Taking joy in assisting people to do positive things without asking "what do I get out of this," that's someone who should be leading. I think people tend to take leading roles in hopes of being the center of attention when, in reality, a leader should want the task at hand to be the center of attention, and those he or she is leading to shine before he or she does. 

"To lead the people, walk behind them." ~ Lao Tzu 

- GiGi Wickline, Manhattanville College Leadership Conference Committee Member

Leading Others

"I must follow the people. Am I not their leader?" - Benjamin Disraeli

 The above quote provides us with a very unique perspective on leadership. Whatever a leader seeks to achieve, it cannot be obtained solely by him/her. The people that the leader works for have to be willing to accept the change that the leader wants to bring. Thus, the most important quality of a leader is to be able to listen to the ideas of his people. If the majority of the people want to do a certain thing a certain way, then as a leader you need to be able to cater to their wants. If the ideas of leaders and the people do not intersect, then the leader always has to make a compromise. Thus, what the quote really means is that a leader heads in the direction pointed by his followers and leads them to their desired destination.

 - Dikshya Parajuli, Manhattanville College Leadership Conference Committee

Pre-Leadership

     “…and the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”- Anais Nin

     We aren’t born leaders. Sure, there are a select few individuals with innate qualities their peers silently envy, such as confidence and charisma, but those are just characteristics. Leadership is a choice. It is a conscious decision to act upon the persistent longing for more. Leaders are the men and women who were once everyday people dissatisfied with mediocrity. They are the people who, instead of stopping at the mountaintop, search for the next highest peak. They made a decision to act on their hunger. But what was the main catalyzing characteristic to push them towards this bold pursuit? Courage.

     The quality that separates leaders from everyone else is their courage: their ability to be bold, unique, and different. Too often, we find ourselves afraid of judgment. Perhaps, we are afraid of failure. Whatever the fear is, it often prevents us from our calling. We tend to play it safe, never doing anything out of the ordinary, going along with the pack. However, we were not meant to fit in! Each of us has something unique and brilliant to offer the world. The desire you can’t let go of? That’s your calling. You can’t allow your fear to inhibit you from your destiny. You must press forward towards your dream. As Marianne Williamson once said, “Your playing small does not serve the world…as we let our own light shine; we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same”. The only thing is, leaders do this consciously. They live to inspire others. The next time you are afraid, remember, this could be your chance to become a leader.

- Monique Mitchell, Manhattanville College Leadership Conference Committee Member

Why Character is an Important Leadership Quality

“Most people say that it is intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is character” – Albert Einstein

From the beginning, Albert Einstein knew it was not just smarts that enabled him to become successful. It was character. In leadership, character counts. Some characteristics of leaders are fixed such as being trusted by followers, being ethical, and at the same time conveying a strong vision but character is constantly evolving. After gaining or acquiring someone’s trust or commitment, in order to maintain it, leaders must also display a good sense of character composed of various beliefs, values, skills, and traits.

Leaders also do not command excellence; they build excellence. Leaders do not only pursue excellence but also, with those same characteristics, enable others to do the same. To be able to give a rise to other leaders can promote a chain reaction where those leaders teach others to become leaders, so on and so on. This is what makes a good leader and personally, this is the characteristic I favor the most.

- Leona Cheng, Manhattanville College Leadership Conference Committee Member.