In serving six years as John Feerick’s associate dean, I received new insights about leadership. Our usual conception of a leader is someone committed to an objective who, by force of personality or wielding carrots or sticks, gets others to share that commitment and attain that objective.
Few would describe John’s personality as charismatic, yet he exercised this type of leadership quite effectively, building a national reputation for Fordham with its programs in professional responsibility and public service. John’s leadership is not, however, the usual sort, which may constrain the followers to achieving only those objectives established by the leader.
