Citation (IEEE): W. Deresiewicz, “Solitude and Leadership,” The American Scholar, vol. 79, no. 2, 2010. [Online]. Available: https://theamericanscholar.org/solitude-and-leadership/
What it argues
An address to cadets at West Point arguing that institutions reward people who excel at climbing hierarchies, not people who think independently. Deresiewicz argues that true leadership requires the ability to form your own ideas, and that this requires solitude: concentrated thought, slow reading, honest introspection and deep friendship, in place of the constant distraction of connected life.