The association of leadership
with an office, whether atop a government or a corporation, is so tight that it
is easy to overlook U.S. President Carter as a leader rather than as a micromanager.
Carter’s leadership by example, and thus by symbol, came after he lost
re-election. Nelson Mandela of South Africa had led as a symbol in civil rights
before he was elected president, and Gandhi effectively exercised
ethical political, moral and religious leadership without holding any office.
The reductionism or, at the very least, the mere association of leadership with
holding an office biases how we evaluate leaders, as distinct from governors.
The full essay is at "Jimmy Carter."
