The invisible side of leadership

✍ Scribed by James E. Austin

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Weight: 688 KB
• Volume: 1998
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1087-8149
• DOI: 10.1002/ltl.40619980811

✦ Synopsis

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usinesspeople exercise leadership in the community as well as the commercial world, yet we know little about the magnitude, form, and significance of their engagement in this other leadership arena. In many ways it has been the invisible side of leadership. We know that community involvement is widespread: a 1993 Conference Board survey of 454 companies revealed that over 90 percent have formal volunteer programs for their employees and that 86 percent encourage their executives to serve on boards. But research at the Harvard Business School documents involvement that is deep, important to business leaders and their communities, and clearly beneficial to their businesses (see box, page 41).