FINAL BLOG TOPIC by Onder

I think this class should be a required class, rather than an elective, for the MBA program.  “Leader” and “Leadership” are misused quite often, and most people (I was one of them) do not have a good idea about what leadership really means.  The media routinely refers to “political leaders” and “business leaders,” without regard to whether they really deserve the title.  The fact that leadership is not the territory of a few at high places and it is an essential part of everyone’s personal development is a well-kept secret.

The textbook for the class “Leadership Challenge” is a good one.  However, I think it is unnecessarily long as if the author was paid by the number of words in the book.   By the time one comes to the end of a chapter, he or she (at least me) forgets how the chapter started.  I found the reader very useful.  I particularly liked the articles about interpersonal relationships and emotional intelligence.  I think usefulness of the reader would be enhanced if each article was briefly discussed in the class before it was to be read as to what it was about and how it related to the overall scheme of things.

I liked the class discussion on ethics and noticed that a lot more people than before wanted to participate in the discussion.  Perhaps other students liked this topic as well.  But I also think that students wanted to participate more in the discussion because they knew each other better by the end of the semester; at least they knew more about each student.  If that was true, then it would make sense to encourage students to learn more about each other at the beginning of the semester.  I personally liked the approach taken by Dr. Wilson in the communications class, which was the first class in the program for most students.  At the beginning of that class, each student had to give a presentation about him or herself.  The students who said “hi” and actually talked to me in this class were the ones who took the communications class with me.  There are students who set within few feet of me throughout the semester and still look through me.  May be it is because I look a bit older than I am!!!

I really enjoyed reading “Drive,” as it addressed self-motivation as well as motivating others.  Of course, I had a personal interest in the part about the baby boomers.  After all, I recently started a new business called “BOOMERESE REALTY.”  For those who are curious about what it means, Boomerese is the language of the baby boomers, and it is not a word in any dictionary.  Between the books other groups presented I like the “Predictably Irrational,” as it relates to our everyday behavior.  I will read it in the near future.

“Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun” by Wess Roberts has been one of my favorite books for many years.  Although the first reaction to the title is “you must be kidding,” it is actually a very good book about leadership.  It acknowledges why a western person would be skeptical that a barbarian would have any leadership skills and proceeds to trace Attila’s life step-by-step, describing how he acquired and used the various leadership skills in each step.  It is one of the few books and articles that bring up the point that leadership is in the eye of the beholder; that is, one people’s leader is another’s barbarian (I have a cousin named Attila and another named Cengiz).  In any case, it is a small, humorous book that is easy to read; I highly recommend it.

I am terribly biased about Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, but he is my example of a true leader.  His last name means “Father of the Turks.”  It was given to him by the Turkish Congress, and nobody else is allowed to have that last name.  His biography “Ataturk:  A Biography of Mustafa Kemal, Father of Modern Turkey” by Lord Kinross is an unbiased story of this great man.  It is a long book and requires at least some familiarity with the History of Ottoman Empire and Europe during late nineteenth century and early twentieth century.

It has been a pleasure to participate in this class and interact with our small group.  My best wishes to you all for the Holidays.  My special thanks go to Dr. Johnson for her Leadership.  A couple of quotes from Ataturk seem appropriate to end this blog:  “Teachers are the most respectable people in our society,” and “I will be eternally indebted to anyone who teaches me just one word.”