Leadership in a Global Society: Habits of Mind, of Heart, and of Action.

Abstract: If the world is flat, what, then, are the implications for and obligations of educational leaders? Leaders in Bangalore, India offer habits of mind, of heart, and of action that can serve as the bases for a model of educational leadership for the twenty-first century. A New Alexandrian Meets the Flat World The best and noblest gifts of humanity cannot be the monopoly of a particular race or country. --Rabindranath Tagore Ideagoras, The New Alexandrians, Prosumers, Peer Networks, Weapons for Mass Collaboration, Mash-ups (Tapscott & Williams, 2006). If these terms seem to be little more than Greek, then consider these questions: What must I know and be able to do to lead in a global society? What must those whose scholarship and learning I guide know and be able to do? How do I, as a leader, prepare a generation of children for a world that I will not see? Clearly, no multiple guess answers to these questions exist. While on its face there may seem to be little relationship between ideagoras and the questions of leadership in a global society, I submit that they are inextricably linked. The clarity of their convergence, however, will require some background context. Less than two years ago as I began preparing to teach a doctoral course for educational leaders on transforming organizations in a global society, a triptych of themes emerged. First, implicit in the notion of transforming organizations was the idea of leadership--the habits of mind, of heart, and of action that a global leader would embrace. Second, there was the organization itself--the attributes of one that embodied global perspectives. Finally, there was the matter of a global society--its meaning and its implications for leadership and for organizations. I examined any research that seemed to address these questions. I sought the counsel of leaders of global organizations and began to consider the work that these individuals did, seeking possible analogues to serve the educational community. President and Chief Executive Officer Samuel R. Starr of Sterling Commerce, Inc. suggested I read Tom Friedman's, The world is flat (2005). Friedman (2005) posited that in only the past several years, ten forces have served to flatten the world and, "It is this triple convergence--of new players, on a new playing field, developing new processes and habits for horizontal development--that . is the most important force shaping global economics and politics in the early twenty-first century" (pp. 181-182). As I began poring through Friedman's book and considering his thesis, a model for leadership emerged that spoke to the needs of educational leaders of the twenty-first century. The questions that resulted were: 1. If we embrace the assumption that the world is flat, then what are these new rules, new roles, and new relationships of which we must be aware to be successful? a. What must young people know and be able to do? b. What must educational leaders know and be able to do? 2. What are the implications of these new rules, new roles, and new relationships for the nations of the world? a. How should this knowledge serve to inform educational policy in our nation? b. How should this knowledge serve to inform the training of educational leaders in our nation? In an effort to begin exploring these issues, I considered the role that two emerging powerhouses--China and India--were playing on the global stage. I initially found India to be the more compelling of the two, for it was the world's largest democratic nation state. The third question that emerged then was, If we look at leaders in India, are there habits of mind, of heart, and of action that can help us understand these new rules, new roles, and new relationships? When Sam Starr (personal communication, January 10, 2006) declared, "If you would you like to meet the people in Friedman's (2005) book, I can make the introductions," the many questions about leadership in a global society moved beyond the library databases to the fragrant, jasmine-scented gardens of Southern India. …