Tyson Toles on Leadership

Abstract

Unless we learn to manage our own behavior more intentionally, how can we possibly lead others effectively? This is a descriptive case of one MBA student's views on core leadership principles, his personal charter, his personal mission statement, and his life's dream. The case therefore gives an opportunity to discuss how people need to develop the ability to lead their own lives in order to lead others. The material would work well with the technical note Personal Charters (UVA-OB-0801) and be suitable for any MBA or executive education classroom. Excerpt UVA-OB-0997 May 3, 2010 TYSON TOLES ON LEADERSHIP I have always considered myself a little bit different and have always tried to take a different path. Born to an African-American couple later in their lives, I stood apart from my siblings, who were substantially older. In the small rural town where I grew up, I stood apart from other children amid an eclectic mix of middle-class Anglos and Mexican migrants. I was often the “only one of my kind,” smart and friendly with classmates, but certainly distinct from them. Academics and school were fun, and the camaraderie was even more fun. It came as no surprise, then, that upon reaching high-school age, I asked my parents if I could attend Bellarmine College Preparatory, a Jesuit school considered to be the best school in our area across the board: academics, athletics, and community. Students from that school were always looked at a little differently. “He goes to Bellarmine,” one would hear whispered in hushed tones when a student walked by, as if the student were royalty. Ignorant of the fact that I would face five hours on a bus each day and (even worse) that it was an all-boys school, I had decided that I had to be there. My four years at Bellarmine were invaluable for my personal growth, enabling me to strive to be citius, altius, fortius—swifter, faster, stronger—toward college and beyond. From there, I was able to attend law school and spar intellectually with some of the world's brightest minds on issues that touch everyday life. Upon graduation, I practiced law as a civil litigator, but I made a discovery that would require a change in direction: I had not become a leader. . . .