In the rapidly changing 21st century, who are the real leaders?

 “Who is a True Leader?”
 This is the question that Joseph Nye immersed himself in for his entire career. When Joseph Nye began his political career during the Carter administration, he pondered over “how to get people to follow me,” and he realized that power is the ability to persuade others to achieve outcomes without the use of coercion or rewards, but with attraction. That’s when he coined the “soft power” concept, which he later developed into the “smart power” theory (soft power + hard power) as a policy stance, and “soft power” became a core policy for culture, economics, and diplomacy in the U.S.
 Joseph Nye starts the lecture by proposing that we’ve misunderstood the notion of a “leader.” That is, we have elected leaders based on misconceptions and a narrow view that family backgrounds, men over women, and physical build are conducive to better abilities in a leader. Then what are the criteria for choosing a good leader? 
And how do we gain power? We earn power through threats, coercion, payments or inducements, or attraction, which is ‘soft power.’ Soft power is a significant way of earning power by attracting and persuading others to get what one wants. In lesson 2, Joseph Nye tells us the strategies and secrets to exerting effective leadership to acquire power. Then is leadership an inherent skill? He says, “no.” Leadership can be attained through training and effort. 
 However, on the rapidly changing 21st century global stage a leader's moral values in the international society are most crucial to national interest. But it is not easy to combine foreign policies and moral values, so, in this lecture, Joseph Nye tells us the criteria for assessing ethics and moral values and the attributes that allow a leader to become a global leader in the age of mutual cooperation. In the rapidly changing 21st century, the entity of a “leader” is more crucial than ever. For those dreaming of becoming a leader or searching for a good leader, Joseph S. Nye Jr.’s “Who is a True Leader?” lecture series will provide definitive answers.