Peace, chemistry, literature. Leadership?

Yesterday the Sunday Washington Post had a thought-provoking piece that posted the question: “If there were a Nobel Prize for leadership, what would the criteria be and whom would you nominate?”

We were naturally thrilled by the contribution from Howard Gardner, Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, and the author of several famous books on leadership: “[I]f I were to define a Nobel Prize for Leadership, I would focus on individuals who have brought about changes for the wider good of humanity. In our current era, such changes are less likely to be brought about by political leaders than by social entrepreneurs: individuals who can marshal human and material resources to tackle large and seemingly intractable problems. In our era, the father of social entrepreneurship is Bill Drayton, who began Ashoka 30 years ago. Drayton merits the new Nobel leadership award.”

He also nominated Ashoka US Fellow Wendy Kopp who, as a college graduate, launched Teach for America.

Check out the rest of the article and let us know, who would you nominate for a Nobel Prize for Leadership?