To Lead is to Live Dangerously

Originally published by RallyPoint; authored by Alex Gallo

The title of this piece are the words of Harvard leadership professor Ron Heifetz. I took his course titled “Leadership on the Line” over 15 years ago while in graduate school, and I can say – without any hesitation – it has been the single most important leadership course I have taken in my life. Why? Because Heifetz does not romanticize leadership.

Heifetz understands leadership is not a purely inspirational pursuit – an act of getting group of humans to work together towards a higher calling. He also does not contemplate leadership as an exclusively technical activity – one that relies on existing knowledge and a series of strategies, milestones, processes, and tactics. Rather, the central, core assumption underlying Heifetz’ work is that when you’re leading –particularly leading innovation and change– someone is trying to take you out.

Therefore, the key question for Heifetz is: How does one lead and stay alive?