Great Leaders Look Back
Casting a great vision is required of any leader worth his salt. He has to be able to look forward and KNOW where the organization he is leading will go.
And that’s what we’re told. Great leaders look forward.
Unfortunately, this statement is often followed by bad wisdom. After someone tells us how every great leader looks to the future, we are told great leaders never look back.
I can agree with the first part of the statement. Leaders who get things done know they have to have an eye on the future. I take issue with the next part, that leaders can’t look to the past.
I know great leaders must look to the past. For there are many lessons to be learned there.
Why Great Leaders Look Back
George Santayana, a poet and philosopher, said “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
