I've been scouring the web for articles about leadership in the political realm and surprisingly most of them have to do with Barack Obama vs. Hillary Clinton. The comparison being made is that one candidate offers "authentic leadership" while the other "proven leadership". All this got me to thinking about leadership in business vs politics.
In business, we tend to believe that results and charisma lead to great leadership. In politics, however, is that the case? Can you get by with being charismatic alone if you surround yourself with the right people? To be honest, isn't the president merely a figure head? To what extent do you believe that our readings to date can be applied to the political realm? How do you prepare someone for leadership in politics vs business? Finally, what are the key characteristics of a good political leader? How do they compare to that of a business or social sector leader.
Any thoughts that you have are welcomed.
Please note: In no way am I looking for a political debate, I am just curious what people think given that in politics we always talk about the right person to lead.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I like to keep it fairly simple and say the qualities that distinguish great leadership in a business sector is the same for that of the political sector. I don't believe that charisma alone is enough to sustain any great leader. As we saw with Enron, several executives, though charismatic, made bad decisions and implemented poor business initiatives that hurt employees and shareholders. Likewise, a political leader cannot be considered great (at least not in my eyes) based on charisma alone. A great political leader should be pragmatic, strategic, and able and willing to clearly communicate goals and objectives to the nation--much like a business leader should communicate corporate vision and missions to the broader organization and shareholders.
This is a really good topic, it is also very appropriate since both type of leadership roles tend to be very public and we can easily make comparisons.
I believe that different skill sets are required. Politicians are able to use charisma to gain success to a greater degree than a business person. While networking and relationships do impact business as well; politics tends to be much more of a popularity contest.
I also believe that rarely does a good business person make a good politician and vice versa.
Post a Comment