THE QUESTION
A Nobel Prize for Leadership?
If there were a Nobel Prize for Leadership, what would the criteria be and who would you nominate?
Posted by Ben Bradlee and Steve Pearlstein on October 12, 2009 9:40 PM
FROM THE PANEL
Nominee: Gates, Kopp and Mayor Greg Nickels
If there were a Nobel Prize for Leadership, it should go to individuals and teams whose ideas, communications and actions actually improve lives or propel others to release their talent to improve the world.
Posted by Patricia McGinnis, on October 16, 2009 10:02 AM
Nominee: Fred Adams of Utah
Fred Adams did the improbable: Build an affordable, popular Shakespearean festival in rural America.
Posted by Ken Adelman, on October 15, 2009 4:34 PM
Everyday Servant Leaders
Servant leaders make huge sacrifices and risk their lives for the benefit of humanity -- often laboring in obscurity.
Posted by Robert Goodwin, on October 15, 2009 4:29 PM
Champion of the Poor and Voiceless
There's no great challenge in leading those who are able to fight their own battles.
Posted by Bill Shore, on October 15, 2009 4:18 PM
Nominee: White House Usher
There should be a Nobel Prize for leadership for the best "servant leader" we can find, and my nomination is White House Chief Usher, Rear Admiral Stephen W. Rochon.
Posted by Daisy Wademan Dowling, on October 14, 2009 3:22 PM
The Best Executives
The financial crisis showed us the enormous power of corporate executives to create or destroy value. What we need is a global leadership prize to recognize the best of them.
Posted by Angel Cabrera, on October 14, 2009 5:35 AM
No Prize for Norwegians
If the Norwegians meant to bolster Obama's ability to change the world for the better, I doubt they have succeeded.
Posted by Michael Maccoby, on October 14, 2009 5:16 AM
A Burden, Not a Reward
Leaders like President Obama are under enough pressure as it is without winning a prize that places the hopes of the world on their shoulders.
Posted by Joanne B. Ciulla, on October 13, 2009 2:37 PM
Nominee: Social Entrepreneurs
A Nobel Prize for Leadership, in my view, would be awarded to those who bring about change for the good of humanity -- today, that means social entrepreneurs.
Posted by Howard Gardner, on October 13, 2009 2:00 PM
A Disturbing Silence
My Nobel Prize for Leadership would recognize not achievement broadly defined, or abstract qualities of leadership, but clear and undeniable moral authority.
Posted by Alan M. Webber, on October 12, 2009 10:35 PM
The Best Disappointer
The Nobel Prize for Leadership should be awarded to those who have demonstrated unusual courage in disappointing their own people in pursuit of a solution to an intractable problem.
Posted by Marty Linsky, on October 12, 2009 10:31 PM
Nominee: Ben Bernanke
Under tremendous pressure, Bernanke calmly helped fashion a U.S. policy response to the financial meltdown that brought the world back from the brink.
Posted by Paul R. Portney, on October 12, 2009 10:26 PM
Nominee: U.S. Armed Forces
Our military is made of imperfect people who acknowledge their faults and learn from past mistakes.
Posted by Col. Charles D. Allen, on October 12, 2009 10:20 PM
The Pedestal Problem
By exalting singular public figures, we ordinary people tend to distance ourselves from the idea of leadership, not realizing we ourselves are capable of it.
Posted by George Reed, on October 12, 2009 10:06 PM
A Confluence of Traits
If you were giving out a prize for leadership, the likely recipient would be someone who possesses not just one outstanding quality but a confluence of strong traits.
Posted by Yash Gupta, on October 12, 2009 9:53 PM
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