The final session of the morning was a conversation about leadership between Bill Hybels and David Gergen. While this session was probably not as spiritually profitable as the rest of the sessions so far, it was still a fascinating conversation. With Gergen's access to power, leadership studies, media experience and perspectives as a Harvard professor, his insights were always thought-provoking. His encouragement to be leaders who read was particularly valuable (and particularly evident in his own conversation). His comment that "not every reader is a leader, but every leader must be a reader" was great. Another quotation he shared, from the former director of the Gates Foundation, was also very insightful for leaders of organizations facing dramatic change. "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." This is enormous and enormously true. This has great relevance for churches and studies in followership in particular...Another exchange I found interesting was in response to Hybel's question about whether or not dramatic leadership improvement is truly possible. Gergen abruptly responded, "We must change! Leaders have no choice but to continuously be working on improvement. This is not optional for us." Gergen argued strongly for "reflective practitioners." We must constantly be evaluating ourselves, seeking improvement as necessary.
All in all, I found the presentation very constructive and gracious when it needed to be. It easy to see why four Presidents found this man's advice useful!
