Leading Thoughts for March 19, 2026

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with:

John Kenneth Galbraith on power:

“An important tendency in all modern political comment is to exaggerate the role of personality in the exercise of power. What rightly should be attributed to the property or organization surrounding them is thus accorded to their personality. Vanity also contributes to the exaggeration of the role of personality. Nothing so rejoices the corporate executive, television anchorman, or politician as to believe that he is uniquely endowed with the qualities of leadership that derive from intelligence, charm, or sustained rhetorical capacity—that he has a personal right to command. Divorced from organization, the synthetic personality dissolves, and the individual behind it disappears into the innocuous obscurity for which his real personality intended him.”

Source: The Anatomy of Power

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld on bouncing back:

“William Shakespeare penned the immortal words ‘Some men are born great, some men achieve greatness, and some men have greatness thrust upon them.’ But perhaps what marks greatness above all else is the ability to be great again؅—to reachieve greatness when greatness, however initially gained, is torn from our possession. It is the ability to bounce back from adversity—to prove your mettle once more by getting back into the game—that separates the lasting greats from the fleeting greats.”

Source: Firing Back: How Great Leaders Rebound After Career Disasters

Look for these ideas every Thursday on the Leading Blog. Find more ideas on the LeadingThoughts index.

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