Inspiring Leadership

I found both of these TED talks incredibly insightful and inspiring.  The main idea I took from Derek Sivers' talk, and the idea that struck me most forcefully, because I had never considered it before, was the idea that the leader may be the one who has the idea first, but it is the first followers who are truly responsible for starting the movement.  The half-naked guy was the first one dancing, and it took a lot of courage for him to be "the lone nut" but it took almost more courage for the second guy to start dancing, thus associating himself with the nut and putting his dignity and reputation on the line.  We as a council, when we want to get a project or an idea moving, have to find those people who see a good idea and are willing to go out on a limb to be one of the innovators that Simon Sinek talked about in his talk.  And the way we do this is by advertising the "why" (the center of Sinek's "golden circle").  Why should people care about Humanities+?  What good is it going to do them in their real lives, in their education, in their careers?  Are we, as a council, even sure about what we believe?  As Sinek says, people buy what you believe and if we do not have a strong belief foundation, we're not going to attract those innovators and those diehards who are willing to work for our cause.  We have to have a vision, a mission statement, and only then will people follow us.