The 3 Currencies of Leadership
Written By: Christian Talbot, President & CEO, MSA
Over a decade ago, I was speaking at a faculty meeting at Malvern Prep, where I was a new Head of School. Not long before I had shared a short paper describing a vision for student-centered learning.
“We need to develop entrepreneurial students,” I said during this faculty meeting. “In a world like ours, they will need to solve problems critically and creatively.”
One teacher—whom I tremendously respected—erupted.
“Why in God’s name are we talking about teaching kids business skills?” he practically shouted. “This is a college prep middle school and high school! Let them be kids for a little while! They can learn business when they go to college.”
I turned crimson with embarrassment. Business education was not at all what I had meant by the term “entrepreneurial.” Hadn’t he read my short vision paper? I had meant the term to describe critical and creative problem solving skills.
But it didn’t matter. The horses were out of the stable and it would take me quite a while to bring them back.
The episode marked the dawning of an essential insight for me: without shared understanding, a vision will fail.
It would take many more years before I learned a tool for developing shared understanding: annotating texts in small groups. If only I had known that tool when I was at Malvern!
I share this anecdote because it reflects Adam Bryant’s belief that there are only three currencies of leadership: insights, stories, and tools.
Adam’s wisdom has been on my mind lately because he also just published a wonderful piece in the July-August 2024 issue of the Harvard Business Review: “Power, Influence, and CEO Succession.” Although Adam is writing about a corporate context, almost all of his insights are transferable to K12 independent school boards of trustees, Heads of School, and would-be Heads of School. I highly recommend it.
As the summer slows you down and gives you more space for reflection, I’d love to know: what are your three currencies of leadership?
