On leadership and authority in the Egyptian revolution | By Amy Delamaide

Yesterday, National Public Radio's Steve Inskeep interviewed Wael Ghonim about his role in the Egyptian revolution and his new memoir of the time, Revolution 2.0. Several of his comments about leadership reminded me of the distinction to be made between "leadership" and "authority." Here is a (long) segment of the interview:

GHONIM: ...And this revolution has no leader, has no face to it. And the collective effort of all the Egyptians is what mattered at the end of the day.

INSKEEP: Now, it's interesting you say that this revolution has no leader. Many people, of course, have said that. But reading your memoir here, "Revolution 2.0," I wonder if you're not giving yourself enough credit, because you describe yourself putting up Facebook pages, sending out statements, writing quite dramatically on behalf of causes, doing things that leaders do, and organizing protests, getting this revolution going.

GHONIM: I think this is not leadership. When I say a leader, it means that directs the revolution, where it should be going. Before the revolution came, what we were doing is increasing the awareness and calling people to action. What we did was calling for, you know, massive process that turns into the revolution on the 25th.

That doesn't, you know, give me the title of leadership, because at the end of the day I don't - you know, I did not - and I would have not been able to take charge and tell people what to do and negotiate on behalf of them.

The fact that there is no leader is evident on the floor. There are so many people that have done extraordinary efforts and that have sacrificed. There are so many people that have died, but there was no clear leadership that made decisions on behalf of the people.

(emphasis added)

Ghonim's interpretation of a leader is someone who we would say is in a position of authority. Someone who has power and uses it to direct the actions of others. Given what we know of life under the Mubarak regime, it makes sense that Ghonim's concept of leadership is authority-driven.

Inskeep suggests that the organizing and motivating work Ghonim did through his online activities was something "that leaders do." Ghonim's definition of leadership does not include these activities. For him, activities of leadership are directing the revolution, taking charge, telling people what to do, making decisions for people, and negotiating on behalf of the people.

Within the framework of leadership offered by the Kansas Leadership Center's competencies, Ghonim's activities clearly fall within the competencies of Energize Others and Skilfully Intervene. Through Facebook posts, he spoke from the heart and oriented others to a common purpose. He captured attention, connected people from different groups, and engaged unusual voices.

As Egyptians comes to terms with their opportunity to determine who they put in positions of authority, I hope they consider that people in authority positions can also exercise leadership like Wael Ghonim did.