ABSTRACT
If you are anything like our students, the term Heroic Leadership conjures up images of legendary figures such as Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Abraham Lincoln, and Nelson Mandela. These leaders are judged to be heroic because they were able to move millions of people. When we say “move,” we mean it in every sense of the word. These leaders became heroic by moving people emotionally, moving their beliefs, and moving them toward positive action. In 1978, James MacGregor Burns coined the term transforming leadership to describe the ability of exceptional leaders to move people to perform at the highest level by raising their morale, motivation, and self-identities. Heroic leaders transform their followers and their societies by moving them toward achieving their maximum potential.
