Keith Grint opens the 2019 GTC Lectures with an engaging and witty history lesson
By Carlos Outeiral, Doctoral candidate in Statistics, Green Templeton College
Green Templeton opened the 2019 Lecture Series on Leadership on Thursday, 17 January with an engaging and thought-provoking lesson on the history of leadership by Keith Grint, Professor of Public Leadership at Warwick University.
Sparkled with brilliant irony, his account explored the main conceptions of leadership in the last two millennia, starting with the ancient concept of a leader – the Platonic philosopher king, or the medieval monarch chosen by God.
The lecture continued with the cynic neoclassical view of the leader as a mere symbol, and the romanticised views of leadership as a collective act representing the power of the people, leading to the ever-present problems of populism.
Professor Grint summarised the main developments in the last century, relating them to their indissoluble historical, scientific and cultural context. The lecture ended with the concept of leader as an anti-hero, in an almost biblical reference: if the ancient leader was the Messiah, the current leader is the one that will die for our sins. Or, in Profesor Grint’s witty view, “leadership is about letting people down at a pace they can cope with”.
There are three further talks to take place in the 2019 GTC Lectures on Leadership. They’re open to everyone so please do register and join us.
Further lectures in this series
Educating leaders
Thursday, 31 January, 18:00 – 19:30
Dr Andrew White, Governing Body Fellow, Green Templeton; Associate Dean for Executive Education and Corporate Relations, Saïd Business School; and Jon Stokes, Senior Fellow in Management Practice, Saïd Business School.
Insights from female CEOs on their leadership journey
Thursday, 7 February, 18:00 – 19:30
Dr Andromachi Athanasopoulou, Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Organisational Behaviour, School of Business and Management, Queen Mary University of London.
Hidden from view: senior leaders’ experiences of depression and anxiety
Thursday, 14 February, 18:00 – 19:30
Sally Maitlis, Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Leadership, Saïd Business School.
