When Are Leaders Only Human?

“I am merely human; this makes my god-forbidden action understandable”. 

Aha! 

How many times has this phrase come out of our mouths? Well, maybe not this exact phrase per se, but some similar version of it. You guys get the idea. We do something considered wrong and then blurt out these words hoping it might make the situation slightly better. Or maybe we say this to ourselves so that we feel better of that horrible thing we just did… like getting French fries instead of vegetables at the cafeteria. How dare we participate in such atrocious acts! 

Anyway, what I’m trying to do is understand when this line is acceptable. When can we really judge ourselves or others based on our inevitable human instincts? 

“I’m sorry I breathed, I’m only human and don’t know better”, or maybe “I’m sorry I spent all night on Facebook and Twitter and didn’t do my homework. I’m only human and therefore can’t fight Mark Suckerberg”.

Ok, so these might be slightly dramatic examples, but when is it really ok to cut ourselves or others some slack? And even more importantly, when is it ok for leaders to use this? I mean, they are human, right? As far as I know I’m not traveling with Doctor Who inside his TARDIS heading to Dalek Land where leaders in fact aren’t human (although that would be pretty cool). 

Oh well, if any of you have an answer for this, please let me know! 

- Karla Boza, Manhattanville College Leadership Conference Committee Member

Remember the Titans: A Cinematic Model of Leadership

Hello Everybody! I am really excited for Leadership Conference. It is only a few months away. We've been working really hard to have a great Leadership Conference. I have to say last year's keynote speaker was amazing. But I have seen videos and read reviews from this year's speaker and wow, I can't wait. One of my favorite movies is Remember the Titans. I hope everyone has seen that movie because it is one of the best leadership movies in the world. The story is about a high school football team in Virginia. Denzel Washington is the coach of the team and throughout the movie you can see how he works on a one on one basis with each team member to make sure that everyone gets along. It is important to mention that a leader never leaves his or her people behind. As a leader you need to make sure that you are able to fulfill everyone's need, but always keeping in mind that it is hard to stay in good terms with everybody because people expect too much from others. A quote that reflects exactly what I want to say is "Do what you feel in your heart to be right- for you'll be criticized anyway" by Margaret Thatcher. Make sure that you see the movie. Have a great day!

- Daniella Valdes, Manhattanville College Leadership Conference Committee Member