An avid writer, John’s work has appeared outlets including Forbes and the Harvard Business Review. He coauthored a 2009 book on communication. And, he is an author of Passion & Purpose: Stories from the Best and Brightest Young Business Leaders (Harvard Business Review Press, 2011).

In 2010, John graduated with a Master’s in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School, where he was both a Zuckerman Fellow and a George Leadership Fellow with the Center for Public Leadership. The same year, he graduated with a Masters in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School, where he received the school’s highest awards for both leadership and service (Dean’s Award) and academic achievement (Baker Scholar). He was the 2010 HBS Class Day speaker.

He is currently an Engagement Manager with McKinsey & Company in Atlanta where he lives with his wife Jackie.

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There are many ways in which you can learn more and interact with this project:

1. Pick up a copy at Amazon, HBR, or your local bookstore.

2. Write a review at Amazon or your preferred review site.

3. Join the conversation about next generation leadership on their blog “Passion and Purpose” at HBR.org.

4. Find their Facebook.

5. Visit their book signing and panel on February 2nd at Harvard (more details to come)

Leadership is moving sustainable communities forward ethically in their missions.

A few things are emphasized in this definition. The first is similar to Eric’s definition in that we both acknowledge the importance of pursuing missions or goals in leadership. Clearly, this is a crucial aspect of leadership.

The biggest difference lies in something emphasized in mine that exists in Eric’s but not as forcefully. True leadership can be done by anyone in the organization regardless of authority. Anyone can be a leader because opportunities to move communities forward permeate the communities. In my definition, there is no specific reference to position or motivating others (although motivating others would help move communities toward their missions). But I think this point is important.

Under traditional understandings of leadership, communities are broken into leaders and followers. The leaders make decisions and motivate, and the followers do what they are told to do. But imagine a low-ranking freshman member of some magazine. Her official duties entail putting in a few hours on the magazine a couple days each week. But let’s say that this student knows that the paper is really pushing a deadline, and, unasked, she goes in at night on her own accord and helps put a key article together without being asked because she really wants to help the paper have an excellent issue. In my view, her actions was a leadership act, even though she did not necessarily (though she might have) influenced anyone else.

So, why do I like my definition better? Because my definition encourages and empowers everyone in a community to be alert to add what they can to their missions any time that they can. It encourages everyone to be entrepreneurial in their approach to their world. A follower would, as follower, wait for instructions. Paradoxically, I think that my definition itself motivates everyone in the way that Eric says leaders do: it motivates them to move their communities forward. In an important sense, my definition is itself an act of leadership, rather than being a mere description of how most people use the word.

Under this definition, anyone can be a leader. In fact, under this definition, I think everyone would agree that they want to be leaders. Why would anyone want to be neutral towards their communities, much less act in detrimental ways?

Imagine being a part of a community where everyone thought this way. Imagine how productive this community would be. Imagine how happy everyone would be. Bullying vanquished, laziness conquered, and innovation rampant. Just think about that.

So I should explain the wordiness of my definition. The words ‘sustainable’ and ‘ethical’ are crucial. Why? Without them, Ken Lay would have been a good leader as Enron’s stock continued to rise, even though it was rising because of as-yet-unexposed unsustainable accounting fraud. I would argue that any practice or mission that can’t be sustained will make the community implode, and, thus, no real leaders would ever involve themselves with them. In a sentence, moving your community towards unsustainable or unethical goals are detrimental to the health of the community itself and are therefore not leadership acts.

I love talking about this. I could go on forever. If I had another page or two, I would definitely unleash the beasts that are ‘Eudaimonia, internal goods, and external goods.’ But I don’t. Maybe next post.

Does this stuff interest you? Email me. itani@college.harvard.edu. I would love to discuss this stuff more. Do you disagree? Email me. I love to (respectfully) argue.

Name: Reid McCann
Position in LIHC: Vice President, formerly on SO
Year: 2013
Concentration: Statistics
Hometown: Dallas, TX

1. What made you first decide to join LIHC?
It was January of my freshman year when I first heard about LIHC. The Social Outreach committee was starting its second semester of teaching with Citizen Schools and was looking to expand the teaching team. I love working with kids and was passionate about the idea of leadership being a skill that can be learned.

2. What leader do you most admire and why?
Emily Harburg, Disney Imagineer, and former LIHC VP/Social Outreach Chair. I’ve always enjoyed reading quotes from famous CEO’s and politicians, but working in LIHC was my first experience with true leadership. I’ve never seen someone with the ability to motivate and inspire others like Emily does. She’ll be running a Fortune 500 company in a few years.

3. Looking back at your time with LIHC, what has been the most meaningful experience you’ve had?
Traveling to Bhutan with the Social Outreach team in January of 2010. It was incredible to think that it started over pizza at Oggi’s 9 months before. I didn’t even know where Bhutan was, and it seemed like it was just another optimistic idea that would never get done. Working with the Minister of Education, we were able to turn dreams into reality and spent 2 weeks with over 100 of the top Bhutanese youth. On a side note, Bhutan’s measure of Gross National Happiness is really something incredible. I’ve never met more caring people in my life.

4. Since coming to Harvard, what’s the oddest thing you’ve seen?
This OccupyHarvard movement seems pretty odd to me. We go to one of the most incredible places in the world and are surrounded by the most hard working passionate students. I love my classmates, teachers, staff, and faculty. We should be taking advantage of all of the great classes, workshops, trainings, and friendships. Not sitting in a tent!! We’ll see what happens when winter rolls around.

5. Finally, tell us about your hometown and what makes it cool.
We have chicken fried chicken, chicken fried steak, steak, and the best Mexican food in the world. Besides the fantastic food, we are the reigning NBA champs, and home to Jerry’s World (Cowboy’s Stadium), with the largest TV in the world. Most importantly, Dallas is the home to Ben Brinkopf, the famous LIHC president a few years back.

Lightning Round:
6. Favorite restaurant in the square: Noch’s, best pizza on Earth
7. Celebrity crush: Taylor Swift, you belong with me!
8. Languages you want to learn: Chinese, it’s where the business opportunities are
9. Mac or PC: Mac. Do they still make PCs!?
10. iPhone or Blackberry: iPhone (Can’t wait to talk with Siri)
11. East coast or West coast: Texas
12. Britney Spears- crazy awesome or just plain crazy: Who knows…
13. Ideal vacation spot: Home. You can never have enough time with family and friends.
14. Actor that would play you in a movie about your life: Gerry Berteir from Remember the Titans
15. Favorite Internet meme or Youtube video:
ESPN NCAA College Football Images of the Decade 2000s (2000-2009)
I spent my childhood dreaming of being a part of this. There is nothing better than college football.

Many thanks to Reid for being featured on this week’s LIHC spotlight! Look for our next installment of LIHC Spotlight in a week.

In addition to the speakers, LIHC was proud to announce the 2011-2012 YLC Teen Change Makers Challenge. The Teen Change Makers Challenge invited YLC participants to submit applications outlining a leadership project they wish to carry out in their community, which could range from a community service project to a peer-to-peer empowerment initiative in their school. Along with submitting a complete project description, dedicated team members signed a pledge, crafted a budget, and created a timeline all before November 20 in a rigorous application process. Throughout this application period, LIHC received many outstanding applications that presented innovative social change ideas with detail, clarity, and passion.

Although the selection process was difficult, three project groups have now been chosen as participants of the inaugural YLC Teen Change Makers Program. Criteria for selection included dedication to the project, feasibility, scope of impact, and sustainability of project. As participants of the Teen Change Makers Program, the three projects will receive formal guidance and financial support to turn their ideas into reality. Specifically, LIHC will provide these groups with undergraduate mentors and funding, as well as retreats and workshops, to hone their leadership skills and help them develop their projects. In addition, LIHC will support other applicants not selected for formal support through an informal mentorship program that will operate alongside the Teen Change Makers Program.

Look for future blog posts on YLC to hear more about the three selected projects!

Interested in applying for next year’s program? Check out our website: http://www.harvardyouthleadership.com/

• Dealing with “Bad Apples”
• Motivating Others to be Leaders, Even If They Do Not Have Leadership “Titles”
• Areas of Influence

3. Dealing with “Bad Apples”

Will Felps and his colleagues from the University of Washington discovered that groups with bad apples performed 30-40% worse than groups without a bad apple and that some team members even begin to eventually  take on the traits of the bad apple. For any organization, it is important to make sure that everybody is on the same page, even the “bad apples” because they can be detrimental to group productivity. In band, we dealt with members who we felt were misbehaving or “slacking off” by confronting them in a professional manner: we politely approached them asking if we could talk to them in private, got straight to the point and told them how we thought they were acting, and gave examples of how they were misbehaving. In the end, we made sure to include positive reinforcement by telling them how valuable they were to the team. Never, ever humiliate the individual or confront them in public: it makes other people feel uncomfortable, makes the targeted person resent you even more, and is not an effective long-term solution to the problem.

4. Motivating Others to be Leaders, Even If They Do Not Have Leadership “Titles”

Successful events happen because of teamwork, which involves everybody. In marching band, drum majors and section leaders have to make sure to motivate everybody, from seniors to freshman, to work hard and not be lazy. Getting members motivated to work beyond their “assigned” roles can be difficult at work, but through positive encouragement and leading by example, it can be done. If members see older members, who don’t have official leadership titles, going above and beyond in their work, new members too, will become motivated to work harder.

5. Areas of Influence

As important as it is to motivate students to go above and beyond in their assigned tasks, people also need to be aware of their “area of influence” and not step beyond it and become “overbearing.” In band, our area of influence starts with ourselves. Before we start worrying about other people or try and do their work, we must focus on our assigned tasks and perform them well. Then, once other people start to notice that you are reliable and always do your work on time, then they will start to trust you more and your “area of influence” grows, and people will start to entrust you with bigger and more difficult tasks. “Areas of influence” goes along with respect in that it’s not demanded, it’s earned.

So these are some of the things I learned from marching band and I can’t say enough how much it has impacted my life. I hope you are able to learn something from reading this and apply it to your organization as well!

First impressions count. A lot. When people recruit new members to organizations, the new members will immediately look at the existing members around them to see how they should act. After all, they want to be accepted as quickly as possible and will try their best to follow what their older peers are doing. Thus, it is important that students in any organization make a good first impression to new members during meetings and events. If you have a disorganized and rowdy meeting, then new members will also behave similarly, leading to less productive meetings. However if you start off immediately with an organized and efficient meeting, then new members will quickly realize how they should behave, and will treat meetings more seriously.

2.      Enthusiasm and Energy

In marching band, I learned from leadership workshops that a person, on average, only returns between 20-30% of the enthusiasm that you give them. Therefore it is very important that anytime you communicate or give presentations to others, that you actively make sure to be upbeat and energetic. Think about all the conferences/workshops that you have ever gone to? What were your favorite ones and why were they your favorite? Did any of your favorites have speakers who were boring and monotonous? Exactly.

In band, I had to make sure to always appear enthusiastic and energetic to members, even if I wasn’t feeling so great myself. I had to learn to put the stress of school and life aside and focus on the tasks at hand. After all, the people in an organization will always look up to their “leaders” for instructions and advice, and it does not create a positive group dynamic if they see the person in charge down or depressed. Although it may be very hard to “push out” the other events in your life, it is very important that people learn how to do this; if members see that you are always positive, upbeat, and enthusiastic, they will start to trust you more because you are always consistently enthusiastic and reliable.

Tomorrow, I will continue with part II where I detail more about my experiences in band and leadership.

This week, I interviewed Eric Michel, one of our outgoing Vice Presidents, about his time with the Leadership Institute and his interests outside LIHC.  In this interview, Eric spills about his dream job and favorite classes at Harvard, as well as why he thinks LIHC is so special. Read on to learn about Eric’s favorite superhero and the dining hall dessert that makes him swoon:

Name: Eric Michel
Position in LIHC: Vice President, formerly on LDI
Year: 2012
Concentration: Economics
Hometown: Solon, OH

1. First question: what leader do you admire most and why?
   George Washington. First, he was able to lead the troops to an incredible victory in the Revolutionary War. Later he was elected President. He set many precedents in the first term of office, including using the title “Mr. President” instead of alternatives such as “Your Highness.” Even though he probably could have stayed President for decades more, he set the precedent of stepping down after two terms and went back to his farm in Virginia. He knew both how to use power and when it was right to give it up. That is something that ought to be admired.

2. And what is your personal definition of leadership?
   The art of empowering and mobilizing others to want to accomplish a mutually agreed-upon goal while advancing the group’s integrity and morale.

3. What has been your favorite part of being a member of LIHC?
   I love all the people. LIHC has the greatest group of undergraduates and advisors I have ever met. Everyone is so passionate, so interesting, so great to work with that I have really enjoyed getting to know everyone in the organization. While the personal leadership development opportunities and chances to meet renowned leaders are wonderful, what really makes the experience so great is the LIHC family that I share it with.

4. Now that you’re a senior, looking back what has been your favorite class at Harvard?  Why?
   There have been so many! Probably my favorite was Sociology 109: Leadership and Organizations. Professor Ager does an incredible job in this class showing the importance of leadership in various situations. The class uses a case study model which allows for a truly interactive class discussion and the ability to apply classroom learning to real life situations. In addition to this course, I am also a big fan of Constitutional Law, Politics of Congress, Science and Cooking, American Economic Policy, and Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

5. Let’s say you could have any job in the world, and money didn’t matter at all…what would you be and why?
   Cruise reviewer. You get to travel, eat good food, and have a good time on the job.

Lightning Round:

6. First thing you do every day when you wake up: Read Wonkbook
7. Wii or XBox: N64–they just don’t make game systems the same way anymore.
8. Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy: Jeopardy–always learn something new
9. Favorite Superhero: Jack Bauer
10. Favorite TV show: Currently, either The Daily Show or How I Met Your Mother. But I also loved Alias, Ed, The West Wing, 24, Lost, Boston Legal, and Who’s Line Is It Anyway when they aired.
11. Favorite Dining Hall dish: Chocolate Cream Pie
12. Favorite Sport: Tennis to play, football to watch
13. Favorite Board Game: Settlers of Catan
14. Favorite Card Game: Euchre
15. Early Bird or Night Owl: Night owl

Many thanks to Eric for being featured on our first LIHC spotlight of the year! Look for our next installment of LIHC Spotlight in a week.

Enjoy food and family!

                                                                                               -Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

For Steve Jobs, persistence and innovation were key factors in being successful as a leader. Among other tasks, a powerful leader strives to develop a sense of trust, commitment, and loyalty among his group members by establishing stable relationships that also help ensure the sustainability of an organization. Leaders are those whose

“actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more.”

                                                                                                          -John Quincy Adams

These were the characteristics of a leader and goals of an organization that the Leadership Institute at Harvard College aimed to promote and accomplish through both the Presidents’ Forum and the leadership conference at Columbia University.

Key Factor #1: Persistence

Persistence is a necessary component of leadership and an enduring quality that exists in every step on the path to success. Last month, the Presidents’ Forum of the Leadership Institute at Harvard College held its first meeting with a select group of leaders of the largest and most influential student organizations on campus. This included the presidents from organizations such as the Institute of Politics, the Undergraduate Council, the Philips Brooks House Association, and more. Through brainstorms and discussions, we organized plans to address the most critical student issues at Harvard, including (but not limited to): developing a campus-wide event calendar, designing a monthly newsletter or semester report to circulate among the administration in order to promote awareness of student group activities, ensuring that the student voice is heard, creating a foundation for institutional memory, and adjusting the re-registration process of student organizations. One of the most difficult aspects of attaining these goals is the plethora of obstacles blocking one’s way – but one of the easiest ways to address these problems is persistence.

Key Factor #2: Innovation

An innovative thinker is able to combine his creativity and leadership qualities to develop a sustainable organization in which all members, new and old, can benefit and learn. On November 12, 2011, the Leadership Institute at Harvard College held a leadership workshop at Columbia University. As part of the Millennium Campus Network’s effort to support the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, we worked to extend student leaders’ knowledge of sustainable development, leadership, and networking. We facilitated discussions involving original case studies to teach workshop attendees the importance of a leader’s perspicacity, commitment to members, use of resources, and eyes on progress. We showed how innovation allows a leader to develop new ideas to maintain interest among members and to approach various conflicts differently in order to find the best solutions.

The number of people who are able to inspire those around them to strive for higher boundaries are few. Even fewer are those who dare to be different, dare to be heard, and dare to continue trying to reach a goal that may seem impossible. But those are the ones who others look up to, and call their leader.

For more about the event, see The Crimson article here!