Full Text: Open Debate

This is much more difficult than it sounds. Many people try to maintain an image of who they are and are unwilling to be vulnerable enough to accept honest feedback and to acknowledge their shortcomings and deficiencies. For this reason I believe the essence of leadership development is not skills training. Rather, it requires internal examination and reflection, with support and feedback from others. All the skills and attempts at behavior modification cannot overcome internal blocks that keep people from being real. When people can openly acknowledge who they really are, and actively work to develop themselves, there is no limit to what they can achieve through their leadership.

Is this consistent with your experience, Wendy?

Kopp: This resonates deeply with me and is absolutely consistent with everything I've seen in myself and others at Teach For America. And it takes me back to where we started -- because I find that when people are acutely aware that their mission is not about maintaining an image of themselves, but rather about achieving ambitious ends in an important pursuit, it becomes critical to seek help and feedback and to evolve in whatever way necessary to serve the larger cause. It's very natural as human beings to get caught up inside our heads -- to think more about how people are perceiving us than about what we need to do to realize our goals -- and when that happens it's really critical to step back and re-center ourselves in what really matters. This is easy to do when your pursuit is one for which you have real passion, and when it is so ambitious that there's little room for wasted time and energy.