HBS professor keynotes IAYG leadership conference

IAYG held its annual leadership conference at the WH Lincoln Element​ary School in Brookline last week. The event was open to Boston area middle and high school students who particapated in a series of workshops and discussions on leadership. The highlight though was a keynote address by Prof. Thomas (Tom) DeLong. Prof. DeLong is the Philip J. Stomberg Professor of Management Practice in the Organizational Behavior area at the Harvard Business School. Before joining the Harvard Faculty, DeLong was Chief Development Officer and Managing Director of Morgan Stanley Group, Inc., where he was responsible for the firm’s human capital and focused on issues of organizational strategy and organizational change.

Prof. DeLong's talk captivated the audience including kids and parents as he shared his thoughts on what it takes to be a genuine leader. My own takeaways went well beyond his words on leadership to how he told stories about his experiences with people and the choices they make. Even though he is an HBS professor, he talked to the young audience in a way that we could all relate.