Pinning on gold bars or receiving the MBA diploma is great. But (wake-up call!), it does not make you a leader. Neither does the law degree. Or the PhD. Or the MD. Sorry, but as significant as these accomplishments are, they only mark the beginning of the journey.
Many (most) of the best leaders in history had none of these external validations. Many were college dropouts at best. The fact is, these external “tickets” that have been punched are only testimonies to the status quo. And the status quo is not where leadership happens.
Now, some are able to overcome the handicap of education (look at Ellen Langer of Harvard). Most are simply not able to overcome their conditioning and because of their influence (wildly misplaced), they set us back by 50 years because of their insistence on the validity of flawed models of thought.
Where are you on your leadership journey? Where are you stepping forward to create greatness while overcoming your own conditioning?
