president

1.	What is a leader?
a.	Googling the word “leader” will give us a simple definition; ‘the person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country”.
b.	While true, this is a rudimentary definition.

2.	Are leaders born, created, or grown?
a.	Some people think leaders are “born” and that leadership is something “mystical” or “magical”
     But, is this really true?
b.	We will begin with an inductive approach. Which means collecting data or observations, and then stepping back from our data and observations to see what patterns exist, and finally, formulating some generalizations on what it is that makes certain people “leaders”. In other words, we will be moving from specific examples to generalizations.

3.	Definitions of Leaders
a.	 “Leadership is not a magnetic personality; that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not “making friends and influencing people”; that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to higher sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.” — Peter F. Drucker
b.	“All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership.” — John Kenneth Galbraith
c.	 “Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.” - Stephen R. Covey
d.	“Leadership is hard to define, and good leadership even harder. But if you can get people to follow you to the ends of the earth, you are a great leader.” – Indra Nooyi
e.	“Leaders are not just born. Sure, some people are born with strong competencies and strengths for leading in certain situations, but it is very clear that leadership can also be developed. That means everyone can strengthen their skills and abilities to lead and influence.” – Dr. Susan R. Madsen
f.	“I know of no single formula for success, but over the years I have observed that some attributes of leadership are universal and are often about finding ways of encouraging people to combine their efforts, their talents, their insights, their enthusiasm and their inspiration to work together." – Queen Elizabeth II
g.	In general, leaders influence other people (followers) toward some collective action. Leaders may or may not have formal authority or official titles. The key is that they effect change and move people to action.

4.	Case Study of 6 Different Leaders

a.	Mikhail Gorbachev
1.	Born into a poor family, but through joining the Komosomol (a young communist league) he jumpstarted his career.
2.	At the peak of his career in the Soviet Union, he worked with President Ronald Reagan to work to end the Cold War by destroying nuclear tipped missiles and he withdrew Soviet troops from Afghanistan.
3.	As the President of the USSR he had the incredible job of restoring relations with the west while fixing his country’s diminishing economy and social life.
4.	Won the Noble Peace Prize in 1990 for diminishing the Cold War.
5.	On December 25, 1991 Gorbachev resigned from his presidency in the Soviet Union and on the same day the Soviet Union ceased to exist.
6.	Talk about the complexities of leading a crumbling economy with unrest from citizens. Although in some areas unsuccessful, Gorbachev was able to bring balance to a restructuring Soviet Union. Why does this make him a good leader, what are the exceptional qualities he grew into?

b.	Thich Nhat Hanh [photo]
1.	Born in Central Vietnam, he quickly became a member of a Zen Buddhist Monastery at age 16.
2.	Founded the School of Youth for Social Service.
3.	In 1960 came to the U.S. to study at Princeton.
4.	Worked with Martin Luther King to speak against the U.S.-war in Vietnam. Though his key features are that he is a global leader in activism, Buddhist teaching, and mindfulness.
5.	He became world-renowned for his teachings on mindfulness while in France, where thousands have traveled to participate in his trainings.
6.	In 2014 Hanh moved back to Vietnam, were he still works to inspire others even after suffering a severe stroke.
7.	Talk about leading through nonviolence and religious Buddhist teachings. He has spent his life teaching others about mindfulness and compassion, and his writings have opened Buddhist teachings to the world.

c.	Satya Nadella
1.	Grew up in the city of Hyderabad in India.
2.	Studying electrical engineering at Mangalora University (B.Sc), later moving to the U.S. to pursue a master’s degree in computer science at the University of Wisconsin.
3.	He became known as the man who could “span a breadth of technologies and businesses to transform Microsoft’s products”.
4.	His career steadily rose at Microsoft; by 1999, he became the Vice President of the Microsoft bCentral small business. In 2001, as the VP of Microsoft Business Solutions. In 2007 he became a senior VP of research and development and then an executive VP over cloud computing, Bing, and Xbox Live.
5.	In 2014 he became the CEO of Microsoft – only the 3rd person to do so behind Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer.
6.	Nadella runs one of the biggest companies in the world, and with astonishing success. What qualities does he possess that allow him to do this, what is the philosophy that works so well for Microsoft that they are able to stay consistent and sustainable? Talk about experiences working at Microsoft.

d.	Joan of Arc [photo here]
1.	Born in 1412, never taught how to read or write, Joan had an extreme love for the Catholic Church.
2.	At age 13 she began to hear voices when she believed to have been sent by God to give her a mission; to save France and assure that Charles became King.
3.	After traveling and disguising herself as a man, Joan was able to quickly gain a following, amounting to Charles granting her an army to lead.
4.	In March 1429, Joan would lead her army into battle. She would arise victorious, having forced the enemy to retreat across the Loire River. She would continue to fight alongside Charles and enabled his coronation to King Charles VII in 1429.
5.	In 1430 Joan was captured in battle. She faced charges of witchcraft, heresy, and dressing like a man. The court found her guilty and sentenced her to death, knowing of her fate King Charles still would choose not to act to help Joan. After a year in captivity she would say that she had never received divine intervention.
6.	Unfortunately, mere days later she defied orders and wore men’s clothes. Resulting in her being burned at the stake on May 30th, 1431 – at the age of 19. Twenty years after her death Charles IV cleared her name, and she would go on to attain mythic stature in France, where she is considered the country’s patron saint.
7.	Joan of Arc was a young, religious leader – and a woman, during a time period where women rarely led, she was able to be a dominating force of the time. Was it divine intervention that allowed Joan to be successful or something else?

e.	Shirley Ann Jackson [photo here, video?]
1.	Born in Washington, D.C. she graduated valedictorian of her high school. Going onto become one of only a few African American students at MIT – she would receive her BS, Master’s, and PhD in theoretical elementary particle physics.
2.	She would begin her career at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and then moved to AT&T bell laboratories.
3.	Eventually working her way up to being named as the head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 1995 by President Bill Clinton.
4.	Eventually, in 1999 she would become the 18th president of the prestigious Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She still holds the position today. In addition she is a former vice chair of the board of regents of the Smithsonian institution, a trustee of the Brookings Institution, a member of the board of the council on Foreign Relations, and member of the board of the World Economic Forum USA. She has also been inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.
5.	Jackson set a precedent for other African Americans, and she showed a prejudice America that she belonged (along with other POC) at a prestigious university. She has gone on to become one of the most successful women in STEM. Discuss how leaders have had to overcome adversity in order to succeed.

f.	Empress Dowager Cixi
1.	Born into a Manchu ethnic minority, Cixi had to become part of Xianfeng’s (the ruling emperor’s) harem. At 16 she was selected as a low-ranking consort and moved into the Forbidden city. She would give birth to the emperor’s only son, instantly raising her status. She would also become friends with the Empress Zhen, the chief consort.
2.	When the emperor died Cixi’s son became the next emperor. However, Cixi and Zhen would work together to stage a successful coup against the men who were assigned to oversee her young son. Cixi would become the empress dowager.
3.	Over the next 50 years, Cixi set much of the policy of China. She believed that in order to be a power in the world, the country needed modernization.

4.	After her son died, her nephew took power. He would eventually try to assassinate Cixi, although he would be unsuccessful. Allowing her to put forth a series of reforms that transformed the country (banning foot binding, legalized marriage between Han and Manchu, expanded freedom of press, and transformation of the government into a constitutional monarchy).

5.	Empress Dowager Cixi largely did a lot of good for her country, and her impact was positive. However, she has been criticized for some of her less friendly leadership tactics. What makes a leader’s effects positive? What causes a leader to be a hero, or a villain?


6. Conclusion
a. Discuss topics learned in lecture (what a leader is, how a leader comes to be, popular definitions, and 6 different leaders).
b. End by telling them to investigate further into leaders.
c. Remind them they can investigate by completing their upcoming assignments.
d. Thank you and goodbye.