The Power of Idealistic-Realism: How Great Leaders Inspire and Transform

On April 1st, 2011, Douglas Conant’s article on The Power of Idealistic-Realism was published on www.HBR.org.

“An idealistic vision is what motivates all of us,” writes Douglas, who will be joining us next week, on Tuesday, March 13, for a live broadcast followed by an interactive Q&A session on TouchPoints: Creating Powerful Leadership Connections in the Smallest of Moments.

Several years before I came to Campbell I worked for the CEO of Nabisco as part of his executive team. He asked his direct reports to confidentially take a test designed to provide insight into our ways of thinking. The test results identified me as an “Idealist-Realist.” I’ve used this term as a touchstone time and again over the years because it is such an apt description of my core leadership philosophy. Over my career, I have found that idealism and realism are the two leadership attributes that truly inspire and mobilize people.

 To read the full article, click here.