In this interview, Desmond Tutu appears as a quiet leader in leading philosophy. He approaches leadership as “leader as servant” In this video LINK he brings up, “leading from the back” as in letting the people go their direction and identifying behaviors and getting to know individuals and guiding the group gently. He likens to how to heard cattle, which is an industry both used in Africa and in the American West, which makes a strong visual argument showing the power of a leader, is being the follower. In improv, we frequently speak of “following the follower” Here, Richard Branson comes across as the classic, visionary, leader, male, white. He is an energetic speaker and also speaks of ideas that are revolutionary to traditional leadership expectations. He speaks of the looking for good in employees rather than focusing on what people did wrong. As a leader, he takes it upon himself to create a fun workplace and to make everyone feel supported. Similarly, to Desmond Tutu, you could say this also “leads from the back” because it’s about supported the team, rather than glorifying the leader. This interview specifically interviews Madeleine Albright's opinions on women as leaders, instead of leadership in general, which for me makes it not an exact comparison of the other two videos. Even through this interview is on an adjacent subject to leadership, Madeline does make a great case that if someone is put in leadership, like she was Secretary of State when other didn’t think a woman could do it, that if people wanted to take to the US they had to talk to her. For me this shows the importance of taking leadership for oneself if you fall outside of the “assumed” look of a leader and to also take the risk to give other people those positions of power. Leadership styles, appearances only change when someone makes that change. One can surmise from the Madeline interview that she made herself valuable, even though women had not be in the position of Secretary of State before. This sense of purpose without knowing the "how," is also the mark of a leader. Overall, what is apparent is shift away from the classic idea of the young royal galvanizing his troupes a la Henry V and giving way to a more one for all, vs an all for one mentality in leadership. Leaders are recognizing they are surrounded by strengths different from their own. And cultivating their teams with supportive, connective, honest behaviors. Leadership models are ever-evolving due to societal expectations of what a leader should look like and behave. Even more so, leadership changes with the individual leader. These interviews highlight the variety and similarities in the new ideas of what leadership can be. It proves that, leadership is not a checklist. Nor a business suit, or behaviors as much as a mindset and flexibility. Heather Meyer 9/8/17 Creative Leadership Minneapolis College of Art and Design
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