This is a Friday story if I ever heard one; Friday because it will take you until Monday to quit laughing.

People often call me, my number is prominently displayed in the right-hand column, I’m usually available and I really enjoy listening to the stories and answering questions.

The manager who called today had the most bizarre tale I’ve heard since the one about parents intervening at work.

“Craig” is a regular reader and he said that he thought I would find the stated objective in a resume he received amusing.

The job objective stated that the candidate was seeking “a leadership position in which to use his recent Masters in Leadership that would afford the opportunities required to rise in the organization to more senior leadership positions.”

I didn’t find that amusing, I found it hilarious.

I asked Craig what other background the candidate had and he said a total of seven years of work, four years with a credit card company, two of them as a team leader, three years in a bank, starting as a management trainee and a BA in business.

This wasn’t a naïve kid; this was someone in his thirties who had spent time in the real world.

I Googled “masters in leadership” and got 140,000 hits, some were major universities, but many seemed to be online or in the “for profit” category.

I grant that I am pretty cynical regarding the whole idea of individual leadership, believing instead that companies are better served by developing a culture of leadership that permeates all parts and draws a variety of people into leadership roles based on timing and context.

I know that leadership is big business, but hearing stories like this I have to wonder exactly what is being sold to those who believe they can get an edge through an advanced leadership degree.

Flickr image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/martinbarland/4568777543/

This entry was posted on Friday, December 3rd, 2010 at 1:15 am and is filed under Leadership. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Tags: Hiring
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