Leadership . . . The Journey of a Quote Begins with its First Reading: Where does it then lead us?

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands,

but in seeing with new eyes."

~Marcel Proust~

After stumbling upon Proust’s quote above a number of years ago, I chose it as my signature introduction, highlighting it on the home page of all of my online course material in leadership, global leadership and intercultural communication. The quote continues to resonate with me.  As often as I have heard and read it, the simplicity, depth and power of Proust’s words speak so eloquently, yet so subtly, to the very essence and nature of the topics I teach.

As for my students, my guess is the first day they enter my course’s learning system they quickly glance at Proust’s words and conclude they have a flaky or—if they are kind—a quirky professor.  Then, like most things one sees constantly, the quote fades into the background and perceptual blindness takes over--when students log in, they simply no longer see it.


By mid-quarter, when the leadership and cross-cultural communication concepts we’ve examined so far no longer seem like so many pieces of string too short to be useful but instead are finally beginning to interweave, link together and become meaningful for students, I introduce the quote again, this time on the Discussion Board.

Question: Does Proust's quote, posted on the course home page, speak to leadership in general, and to the leadership topics we have examined to date?  If so, how?  If not, why not?

The excerpts below were taken from some of the responses posted by students in my current “Foundations of Leadership” course.

“Although shifting perspective and ‘seeing with new eyes’ can be a powerful leadership tool, ‘new lands’ should not be completely counted out as there is always uncharted territory and innovative, creative ways to lead!"


 “The journey seems to beckon to understanding yourself as a leader and self-awareness.”

“The tools and techniques I have learned in this course are all about looking at things with new pair of eyes."


“In seeing with new eyes - specifically the eyes of their followers - the leader can achieve new levels of effectiveness.”

“ . . . the common element is not only being open to learning (‘seeing with new eyes’) but to actively seek learning opportunities (‘new lands’).”

“It's a great thing to see someone in a different light and recognize them for the gifts they offer. But if you are not able to act on that new recognition it's not effective leadership.”


“The ‘discovery’ aspect of leadership is really important. Leadership isn't a static position. It is critical to constantly refine, tailor and examine one's style in order to improve both your own skills but also those of whom you lead.”


“ . . . sometimes, we are in a new land so to speak – maybe literally.  Sometimes, it isn’t just readjusting our interpretations to fit changes in circumstances.  Sometimes, we are in a new, unfamiliar place, & then we need to learn first, & then adjust & re-adjust our attitudes & actions with our better informed eyes.”

“The quote is spot on in regards to ‘seeing with new eyes’ and how leadership is truly successful. To be a successful leader, you need to be able to look at your surroundings and understand each situation at hand. When you understand the situation, you can apply a particular model or method, and can guess what the result will be . . . "

“Adaptation will require leaders to see with new eyes, to change their ideas.”


“I’m unsure if this quote can be fully applied to the materials we have covered so far on leadership.  The quote in itself is very metaphysical in nature.  If you were to try and apply it to our leadership coursework and the various theories we have learned, it may be possible with some of the theories but not all.  In regards to leadership, this quote implies that there is essentially nothing new to discover in leadership (or the world really) but rather it is in new ways of understanding and interpreting what we already know that we can gain better insight into leadership.”


Yes, I believe they get it!  Do you agree?


Thank you, Marcel Proust.

Note: To comment, click "Name/URL" on the dropdown menu.  Enter name or blog ID in the name field, and leave the URL field blank.

Posted on LinkedIn 11/2/15