Leadership

Are Leaders Born or Made? (Rebroadcast)

February 9, 2021  • Aspen Ideas to Go

President Trump’s second impeachment trial is beginning. In his first days in office, President Biden is navigating a pandemic and an economic crisis. With presidential leadership once again at the forefront and President’s Day just around the corner, we’re revisiting an episode featuring presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. In her book, Leadership in Turbulent Times, Kearns Goodwin examines the leadership qualities of past presidents. Were presidents Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson born with leadership attributes, or did they learn them throughout life? Goodwin writes that they were “guided by a sense of moral purpose.” She speaks with Kitty Boone, vice president of public programs at the Aspen Institute, about how the presidents’ leadership traits can be adopted and used by aspiring leaders.

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