About On Leadership

Leadership is one of those magic things that's hard to define but pretty easy to identify when you see it. And in recent years, it seems to have been in short supply. Now, with the United States engulfed by a serious economic crisis and struggling with two overseas wars against terrorism, there is an even greater yearning for leaders who have the character and the vision and the ability to inspire us to overcome these challenges.

At the Washington Post, our hope is that On Leadership will serve as an open and lively forum for an discussion of what makes for great leadership. Over the years, there have been many books written on the subject, and there are now a good number of academic programs and consulting firms that have sprung up to study it and try to teach it. The world is also full of successful leaders who have developed their own sense of what works and what doesn't. Our aim is to tap into that knowledge, understanding and experience and apply it, in real time, to an online conversation about real world developments.

Discussions about leadership most often are conducted in the context of specific fields of endeavor -- government and politics, business, the arts, education, the non-profit sector, sports and the military. At On Leadership, our mission is to break down the walls between silos by getting experts and readers with varying backgrounds and perspectives to address the same topics at the same time and at the same place.

Each week, we pose a question about how leadership is affecting the most pressing issues of the day and post answers from members of our distinguished panel of nearly 100 leaders and leadership experts. It's an impressive and articulate group, drawn from diverse fields, with very different notions of what leadership is about. We hope readers will join in the conversation with their own comments and reactions to what the panelists have to say. Readers and panelists are also invited to suggest topics for future discussion.

Each week, we also feature a video interview with a leader or leadership expert. Rather than talk abstractly about leadership, we ask our guests to share success and failures from their own experiences and wrestle with the trade-offs that get to the heart of what leadership is all about.

Through our Guest Insights column, we invite individuals to tell their own leadership stories, share their research findings or make an argument on a timely leadership topic. We also publish the Leadership Playlist at least once a week, where we highlight new books, events and insights on leadership. If you'd like to contribute, please be in touch.

We're also pleased to have Scott DeRue and Maxim Sytch of the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business hosting a twice-weekly discussion group, The Leadership Seminar, where they pose challenging leadership question based on the day's news and the latest research findings.

Launched in December, 2008, On Leadership is very much a work in progress. Let us know what you think of and how you think it can be improved. Our hope is that you find it enlightening, engaging, challenging and unpredictable enough to become a regular part of your routine.

By Steve Pearlstein and Raju Narisetti

 |  October 19, 2009; 10:50 AM ET
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