Quote of the day: Lonely at the top
This is from William Deresiewicz’s lecture to West Point’s plebes in October 2009, as carried in spring issue of The American Scholar: … solitude and leadership would seem to be contradictory things. But it seems to me that solitude is the very essence of leadership. The position of the leader is ultimately an intensely solitary, ...
This is from William Deresiewicz's lecture to West Point's plebes in October 2009, as carried in spring issue of The American Scholar:
This is from William Deresiewicz’s lecture to West Point’s plebes in October 2009, as carried in spring issue of The American Scholar:
… solitude and leadership would seem to be contradictory things. But it seems to me that solitude is the very essence of leadership. The position of the leader is ultimately an intensely solitary, even intensely lonely one. However many people you consult, you are the one who has to make the hard decisions.
I suspect he is right, though I think his conception falls outside the American military’s view of the leader as the cooperative, group-oriented coach of the team.
Thomas E. Ricks is a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy. Twitter: @tomricks1
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