CAMARADERIE UNDER ONE ROOF

By now you should have received information regarding registration for this year’s annual meeting in Orlando, FL, November 11-14. As a seasoned veteran of the Academy, I wax nostalgic when considering this year’s venue. When I first began to attend Academy meetings in the 1970’s, the educational events and the attendee accommodations were in the same venue; the environment generated wonderful camaraderie. It was terrific to wander by the lobby bar and recognize so many of the stalwarts of the profession who had congregated to renew old friendships, discuss new scientific discoveries presented at the meeting, or answer questions from someone who had just heard an amazing lecture. It was also a given that friends and colleagues would get together for even more socializing after they returned from dinner each evening. The atmosphere was so conducive to renewing old friendships and starting new ones, it was a hallmark of Academy meetings. While growth of the Academy has been sensational, it has come with a price. Since the Academy meetings have outgrown the facilities that even the larger hotels provide, we had to rely on utilizing convention centers and multiple hotels. In my opinion, this resulted in a loss of some of the warmth those meetings of the past generated. That won’t be the case for Academy 2009 Orlando. This year, we are once again all under one roof at the Orlando World Center Marriott, and I believe we will all experience yet another great Academy meeting with the added bonus of the flavor of the past. You will need to register for the meeting in order to make your hotel reservations. I’m sure once you review the program preview you recently received and see all of the offerings you have to choose from that you will want to make your reservations early. For more information on Academy 2009 Orlando, please visit here. [To Top] LEADERSHIP KEY #4: IS LEADERSHIP INBORN OR LEARNED? Merton C. Flom, OD, PhD, FAAO   Some Academy colleagues believe that leadership is basically inborn, and that education to learn leadership is largely unnecessary. They are thinking of people who are in high positions or who lead others in tasks. These people are called “leaders,” and what they do, “leadership.” Indeed, people who have never had any formal leadership training have reached high leadership positions or have led others to accomplish important tasks. The qualities needed for these kinds of leadership are inborn or developed by an early age. Often, this kind of leadership is likened to the sport of running — noting that some of the best marathoners come from Ethiopia where bare-footed young children run great distances— without any formal training. Other colleagues believe leadership is basically learned, and requires education. They are thinking of leadership as a process that brings about change. Inborn or early developed characteristics cannot provide knowledge of the principles and skills needed to practice the leadership of change. World-class marathoners routinely receive training from sports physiologists and other experts who teach the principles of running and specific skills such as breathing, sprints, and arm pumping. Interestingly, this disagreement about leadership — inborn vs learned — vanishes when language and ideas are clarified. Certainly, people can attain high leadership positions or lead others in tasks without having any formal education in leadership. Usually these kinds of leaders are involved mainly in the process of management — keeping organizational activities coordinated, on time, within budget, and constant — and are not involved in the process of leadership that brings about effective change. Why would we expect a person, even a gifted one, to automatically know the principles and be able carry out the steps involved in the change leadership process — any more than we would expect a gifted student to automatically know the principles and practice of optometry? Just as the sport of running can be an individual or group activity — think of the 400-meter relay — so it is with change leadership. Indeed, the “new leadership” is leadership of change brought about by a group. Is leadership inborn or learned? For positional leadership (president or CEO) or leading leadership (an individual leads groups in specific tasks), characteristics that are inborn or developed early in life may be sufficient. Change leadership (a process that brings about effective organizational change) requires learning. [To Top]