leadership with meaning

There is an increasing emphasis across campuses on fostering leadership, and yet one of the things that seems to be missing from so many of these leadership efforts is the idea of leadership with compassion, of leadership with a heart. It would seem in the face of the economic crisis faced by most universities that we need to reconsider the meaning of leadership in a world where teaching our students simply in terms of profitability, efficiency, effectiveness and marketability is not working. That the neoliberal logic with its emphasis on unfettered greed and profitability has its limits has been demonstrated very well by the current economic crisis. That our students with MBAs need to be taught about issues of ethics, responsibility, accountability etc. is something that has been brought to the forefront in the face of the economic crises, corporate malpractices and economic downturns. The place where this needs to happen firsthand I believe is the academe. As we teach our students skill sets, technologies and the ability to make strategic decisions, we also need to teach them what it means to be engaged citizens, what it means to engage in the world with compassion and empathy, and what are the implications of meaningful engagement in the world.