Are Great Leaders Truly Great—or Just Lucky?

I'm Audie Ignatius. I'm Alison Beard and this is the HBR Idea Cast. So Allison today we're gonna be tackling an age old question. Ar successful leaders people who are uniquely qualified to handle their opportunity. or do the context and circumstances they're in largely dictate how they'll perform? We're essentially renewing the great man theory versus the idea that history rises from below.

Yes, great men or great women. I do like that topic, especially in an era when boards are rewarding CEOs with astronomically large contracts. You can't help but wonder whether these leaders actually are bringing differentiated talent that's worth that kind of money. And while the debate is in many ways unanswerable, Jared Diamond has tried to apply the rigor research to look at the extent to which an individual leader can truly and deeply influence their institution success, and he even has advice for leaders who want to increase their chances of doing well. I imagine it has a lot to do with being in the right place at the right time. Absolutely. Look, it's an interesting topic. Diamond is perhaps best known for his nineteen ninety-seven book. Guns, germs, and steel, the fates of human societies, and his new book on leadership is called Prophets. Profits.

Coaches and Kings, when do leaders matter? He spoke with me about the secret sauce that makes political, business, and sports leaders succeed, and what can and can't be attributed to the individuals in charge. Here's our conversation. So in this new book of yours, you've reopened the debate about How critical individual leaders are

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