Media Article
Re-Cap: Master’s Lecture at Wellington College
Wednesday, November 26th – Richard Hytner addressed a crowd of over 80 pupils and parents at the Wellington College Master’s Lecture. Sparking a debate between self-identified number 1’s and 2’s (or A’s and C’s, as delineated in his book Consiglieri: Leading from the Shadows), Richard explored questions raised by the audience, including:
How much does it matter how a leader communicates in public?
Why do organizations not equip their aspiring leaders to lead as a second-in-command?
Should a company’s share price be so dependent on the limelight of one leader?
Should a C expect to take the bullet for the A?
Should there be a disparity in wages between an A and a C, if both are so clearly leadership roles?
Dr. Anthony Seldon, acclaimed educationalist, political historian and author, hosted a dinner prior to the lecture where conversations took the group to even more inquiries on leadership dynamics like gender roles, leaders in sports, and emotional intelligence in professional life.
The preamble to his post-dinner speech was as follows:
How very appropriate to have been asked to talk about the importance of Seconds at a school founded in honour of the First Duke of Wellington. The fact that he is more often referred to as just the Duke of Wellington, not the first Duke, is loaded with significance. Is it simply, as some believe, because his importance to our national history merits exclusive rights to the Dukedom? Or does it hint at the very problem that my book seeks to redress? Namely that if you are not Number 1 you are Number who? He did not lead us to victory at Waterloo, but my natural affinity is with the second Duke of Wellington, and not just because his middle name was Richard – Arthur Richard Wellesley. More because, whatever his contribution to the world, it was predestined to be completely ignored.
To learn more about Wellington College events, visit wellingtoncollege.org.uk/
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