Thumbnail Portrait of a Change Agent

Choose ONE of the following to investigate as your “exemplar” or model for leader of change or visionary. The point is to see whether you can cull life lessons from his or her biography, lessons you can apply to your own developing “leadership brand.” Steve Jobs Nelson Mandela Oprah Winfrey Eleanore Roosevelt Harriet Tubman Albert Einstein Benazir Bhutto Al Gore Gloria Steinem Martin Luther King Jack Welch John F. Kennedy Wendy Kopp (Teach for America founder) Abraham Lincoln Jane Fonda Ernest Shackleton Howard Smith Audrey Hepburn Josephine Baker Cesar Chavez Warren Buffet 1. Present your “exemplar of a change agent.” Provide a brief biographical sketch which outlines their life story, with key turning points and accomplishments. 2. Provide the context within which this person made a significant difference or change in his or her world. What was the change? The impact? 3. How did the person affect the change? Were there any of the change strategies or ideas that we’re studying in evidence in this example? 4. List the leadership “lessons” from your hero/ine/exemplar/change agent/leader. (bulleted list with explanations, when possible) 5. What surprised you in investigating this person? 6. Select one to two of the lessons you’ve learned from your person and conjecture how YOU might apply this to your own developing leadership identity.      

Sample Solution