Live Standards, Don’t Just Talk about Them

"Speaking Truth to Power" was the headline of a cover story in the Economist marking the occasion of the death of Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the former Soviet dissident and Nobel laureate. In his books, Solzhenitsyn chronicled the horrors of Stalinist repression, revealing the hypocrisies of the Soviet system that subjugated people to party. His defiant stand earned him exile but honor and dignity in the West. The headline serves not only as a fitting epitaph for a dissident, but also as inspiration for those who aspire to lead. We often equate leadership with power, but it’s not always the case that they are connected. Indeed, it may be true that those in senior positions have power, but they may not be leaders. Conversely those without power are true leaders. How can this be? Those in power who put themselves before others are acting in their own self-interest while those without power who put others before themselves are acting for the good of the group. There’s a d...