Leadership lessons from Harvard’s president
Do the right thing, even when it’s hard. Invest in the success of those around you. And never underestimate the persuasive power of reframing controversial questions. Those were the take-home messages Wednesday from Harvard President Larry Bacow, who, despite having led both Harvard and Tufts and having been MIT’s chancellor, said he still considers himself something of an “accidental president.” Bacow, who appeared on a webcast of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Voices in Leadership program, responded to questions from Chan School Dean Michelle Williams that spanned everything from his personal experience of leadership to controversies and challenges along the way to tips for students who hope to lead someday. Bacow said he claims the “accidental” mantle because for the first two decades of his career on MIT’s faculty he studiously avoided the leadership ladder, happily focusing on his research and teaching. That ended when he was asked to become MIT’s...