Dear Students,
This week I offer you all three pieces of wisdom that I've learned over the years about being agents of change. Our society is in need of people to step up and lead. What I know is, combined with your incredible work ethic and sense of duty to change the world for the better, you're excellent candidates to be the changemakers our world needs.
- "Perfection is the enemy of progress." Winston Churchill said this, and it is something I am working on. So often I wait for the right time or the right approach or the right anything, and I stall and don't move forward at all. Don't let this happen to you – be thoughtful, but not perfect.
- Lead from where you are. Leadership does not need a title or position; as Simon Sinek said, "Leadership is… a choice to look after the person to the left of us and the person to the right of us." Lifting those around you up is leadership, and we can all do that.
- Approach leadership like you do science. One of the best qualities of a scientist is curiosity. Scientists don't have all the answers, nor do leaders. Ask questions, be a continual learner, and you'll be a stronger leader for it.
Over the next weeks I'm going to offer some more specifics on leadership within different spaces in CNS. And if you have leadership advice, I'd love to hear it – and maybe even share it with all your peers.
Best,
Dr. Vanden Bout
P.S. I have heard from some of you that you read my weekly newsletter for the joke. While our current climate is very serious, I've decided to resume the jokes because we need a little levity to keep moving forward with weighty matters. So I offer an extra-horrible math joke:
Joke: How many times can you subtract 10 from 100? One. The next time you would be subtracting 10 from 90.
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