I attended the graduation ceremonies of The Holderness School, on a beautiful Sunday, May 23. The featured speaker, Dr. Pearl Kane, the Klingenstein Center Chair, Teachers College, Columbia University made a terrific speech. In short, her major theme was that your leadership impact are directly proportional to one’s effort, to one’s emotional intelligence (can you inspire others; can you identify with others; can you lead by example) and one’s ability to express gratitude (a culture of appreciation). I very much agree with this — if I’ve had any success in my life, it is related to working hard, connecting with people and cultivating relationships by expressing genuine gratitude when I’ve been helped or when a person has done a nice job.
