Davina Jones

Leadership is ultimately about influencing a group to accomplish a goal. While this course focuses on leading within organizations, I believe the size of the group and the setting are less important than the ability to influence people toward a vision. Success also requires having trusted individuals you can rely on to help with implementation. I also believe it's possible to be a great leader in one realm, but a more effective manager in another (e.g. leading an organization, managing family finances, volunteering, etc.)

One insight that I can relate to is the myth that top performers make excellent management candidates. I agree that it is not necessarily true. I've known people who were very productive and highly successful as an individual contributor but struggled to lead a small team. They had a hard time relating to the different personalities of their team along with the varying skill sets. I've also seen people who were promoted to management because they were charismatic and had the gift of gab, but struggled to grasp the technical details of the work that their team did on a… >>>