What Makes a 21st Century Leader?

Dr. Shirley Tilghman tells Knowledge Without Borders that undergraduate curriculum supports knowledge and skills for 21st century leadership.

Dr. Shirley Tilghman, eminent microbiologist and president of Princeton University, believes that leaders are developed, not born, and the knowledge and skills younger people acquire today will propel them to leadership paths in the 21st century.

"Leaders are not made, they are developed by parents, teachers, friends, community members and by experience," she told a group in Princeton, New Jersey on October 19, 2006.

Dr. Tilghman presented a list of eight qualities she feels are essential to leadership:

1. Strong sense of purpose - a future leader pursues a passion
2. Ability to inspire others through the power of persuasion
3. Strong moral compass exemplified by a life worth living
4. Motivation to make the world a better place for others
5. Refusal to allow others to define one's priorities through persistence and a willingness to "break the mold" of expectations
6. Openness to others and their ideas in a way that encourages listening and building community among diverse groups
7. Willingness to make mistakes and to learn from them by making "midcourse corrections" in beliefs and actions
8. Courage of convictions cultivated by a refusal to let fear dictate actions

She emphasized that though parents provide the ultimate guidance in developing self-confidence and morality in their children, educators do play a crucial role in creating leaders. Dr. Tilghman believes her experience as a scientist has shown her the importance of mentoring combined constant discussion and interactive experiences between students and professors are the basis of a superior education. Professors must "force their students to get up and speak their minds," she said, because settings where students are "absorbing knowledge and information but not challenging that knowledge by asking questions - hard, intellectual questions - will not push students to move beyond their natural inclinations."

Given recent revisions in the undergraduate curriculums at many colleges, as well as the recent report by a Harvard University committee on changing its undergraduate curriculum, Karen Collias asked Dr. Tilghman if the current Princeton curriculum is addressing the crucial knowledge and skills, especially critical thinking skills, so crucial to success in the 21st century.

"Yes," she replied, "Princeton revised its curriculum 15 years ago and it continues to support student learning." Dr. Tilghman sees no curriculum changes in the immediate future.