"There are two types of leaders," declared CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour while addressing 3,000 women and a few men at the 28th Annual Simmons School of Management Leadership Conference on May 5th. One type of leader, Ms. Amanpour explained, is the person who is groomed--through education or expectation--to assume a leadership role. The other is what she calls the accidental leader, a person who has no choice but to become a leader. "Leadership is thrust upon them. Leadership finds them and they run with it."
During her speech, Ms. Amanpour shared examples of accidental leaders based on her experience as a journalist covering war-torn regions and totalitarian regimes. Civilians caught in the war in Bosnia, became accidental leaders when they mobilized to find food and shelter for their young and the elderly. About Shirin Ebadi, --the Iranian lawyer who won the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize for fighting for women rights in Iran--Ms. Amanpour said, "leadership is a matter of survival ... for them and their communities."
Ms. Amanpour fits naturally in the accidental leader category. She has shown relentless passion and fearlessness when reporting the facts and the truth to the public while risking her personal safety.
Questions to ponder:
- Who comes to mind when you think of the phrase accidental leader?
- When was the last time you became an accidental leader? How did it feel?
- In your opinion, what skills and traits describe an accidental leader?
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