Greg Mortenson: Nye’s Ideal Leader

September 11, 2001. It was one of those days that you can remember exactly what you

were doing when you heard the news that planes flew into the World Trade Centers in New York

City. I was in my World History class. We turned on the radio to have something to listen to

while doing our work, and what we thought was just a fictional story turned out to be extremely

real when we then turned on the TV and saw two huge skyscrapers on fire. These events are

what caused President George W. Bush to launch the controversial “War on Terror”, which is

wreaking havok in the Middle East to this day, arguably causing more harm than good, and

disunifying our nation.

Taking a leadership role in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Greg Mortenson was able to find a

better solution to the “War on Terror” that promoted hope, peace, and prosperity while removing

ignorance and illiteracy, which is how terrorism fosters. Mortenson uses smart power, the

perfect mix of soft and hard power in order to successfully unify his followers towards the goal

of building schools and educating both boys and girls in the Middle East, making him an event-

making leader and an excellent example of Nye’s ideal of a good leader.

Mortenson’s decision to build schools came almost by accident. He had failed to climb

the mountain of K2 and failed in his promise to Christa. But as the Persian Proverb goes, “When

it is dark, you can see the stars.” Greg, not long after his failures encountered the children of

Korphe and saw the light: “… a fierceness in their desire to learn, despite how mightily

everything was stacked against them, that reminded [him] of Christa.” (32). It was that desire to

learn that inspired him enough to come back with money to build supplies for the first school

that would have a balanced education, and put a whole new meaning in his life.
 Mortensonhad to have the correct balance of soft and hard power in order to make the

drastic changes he did within the Middle Eastern region. Nye’s view is that in order to be a good

leader, you must recognize when to use soft and hard power. In Mortenson’s case, more soft

power was necessary. Soft power is “getting the outcomes one wants by attracting others rather

than manipulating their material incentives.” (29). It includes a vision that gives meaning and

inspires others, communication, and emotional intelligence. Mortenson takes it upon himself to

raise the initial money for the schools, and makes many promises. He promises Hoerni to use

the money towards building schools, promises Haji Ali that he will build his first school in

Korphe, and promises Mouzafer he will visit him in his village once he heals, just to name a few.

The fact that he keeps these promises doesn’t just make him morally sound, but builds trust

within the community, and promoteshis vision of building schools. Jahan, Haji Ali’s

granddaughter said,

“Many climbers make promise to Braldupeople and forget them when they find their way
home. My grandfather told us many times that Doctor Greg was different. He would
come back.”(96).

The promise of building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan arose from the needs of the group,

was attractive to various circles of followers, and was bold enough to make his movement

triumphant. Mortenson also makes it a point to adapt his leadership style and adapt his plan to fit

the Middle Eastern culture. He lives, dresses, eats, respects, and prays with the people. As he

submerses himself in the culture, they do not view him as an infidel anymore, but one of them.

“With Manzoorhe knelt and crossed his arms to address Allah respectfully. The men
around him weren’t looking at the advertisement on the wall, he knew, they were looking
inward. Nor were they regarding him. As he pressed his forehead against the still-warm
ground, Greg Mortensonrealized that, for the first moment during all his days in Pakistan,
no one was looking at him as an outsider. No one was looking at him at all.” (69).
Because Greg humbled himself in front of the Pakistanis by his simple dress and lifestyle, he was

symbolically communicating with them, which helped him gain followers. Because at first he did

not know their language very well he showed interest in their lifestyle by drinking tea with the

village officials and spending time with them, which were signs of nonverbal communication.

Also, Mortenson’s emotional intelligence was authentic in that he was able to successfully

balance his private life with promoting peace in the Middle East. He was able to keep things out

of his mind that would have hindered his progress, for example, when Marina had left and when

had to realize he was not going to be able to see his wife and kids as much as he wanted to. He

was steadfast, and made agreements that he kept with his family, which kept him emotionally

stable. Tara reminds him, “…I told [Greg] he had a duty to his family, too. He needed to get

more sleep, get some exercise, and get enough time at home to have a life with us… We agreed

to set the limit at two months, ” (233) which he had agreed to and followed through with.

Mortenson mostly uses soft power within the Middle East, in contrast to President Bush’s

unjustified war, which was just promoting hatred of Americans. However, there were a few

times that stand out when Mortenson had to use hard power, or “carrots and sticks”, towards

promotinghis goal of building schools. For example, when Janjungpa and Changazi were

scheming and dishonest towards Greg, Greg just about threatened to stop the school project all

together. “’Korphe,’ Mortensonsaid. ‘I have nothing to say to you until then.’” (95). Also when

Yakub, an old porter, chained up the Halde School because the local government wouldn’t pay

him as a watchman, Mortenson made the eight-hour trip to see him after he heard the news:

“I’m leaving now for Khandy…When I come back tomorrow, I’ll be bringing a match. If
I don’t see that the school is open and the students are going to class, we’re going to
make an announcement at the village mosque for everyone to gather here and watch you
blow it up.” (306).
This had a trickle-down effect, leading Mouzafer to visit Yakub later, threatening him, “Get your

keys and open the school, or I’ll personally tie you to a tree and blow you up with Dr. Greg’s

dynamite.” (307). The village council also forced Yakub to sweep the school without pay.

Critics may argue that Mortenson was actually an eventful leader, like Winston Churchill

or Rudolph Giuliani. A man who “fit the moment”; only the context changed, not the person.

Yes, Greg Mortenson was basically nobody before he came across Korphe, but he took it upon

himself to change history. He did not wait until a key was handed to him to turn the lock. He

wrote 580 letters himself to get funding, altered his way of living, and dedicated the rest of his

life to his one goal of promoting peace by building schools. Nye writes, “An event-making

leader… doesn’t just find a fork in the historical road: he helps to create it. Such leaders are

called transformational in the sense of changing what would otherwise be the course of history”.

(6-7) History was changed when Mortensondecided to also promote the education of girls. He

states,

“Once you educate the boys, they tend to leave the villages and go search for work in the
cities… But the girls stay home, become leaders in the community, and pass on what
they’ve learned. If you really want to change a culture, to empower women, improve
basic hygiene and health care, and fight high rates of infant mortality, the answer is to
educate girls.” (209).

With this state of mind, he had to deal with two Fatwas, which would have hindered his work in

Pakistan. But because of his involvement in the communities that greatly appreciated and

understood his work, the Fatwas were overturned: “Your [Greg’s] work follows the highest

principles of Islam… You [Greg] have our permission, blessings, and prayers.” (199). With

opposition out of the way, he witnessed full support from many areas of the playing field:

“Former Taliban fighters renounced violence and the oppression of women after meeting
Mortensonand went to work with him peacefully building schools for girls. He has
drawn volunteers and admirers from every stratum of Pakistan's society and from all the
warring sects of Islam.” (3).
Women all over were holding village meetings and empowering their daughters. Women like

Jahan continued theirschooling and became successful in the workforce.

Greg Mortenson correctly used the right amount of soft and hard power in order to

accomplish his goal of building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Kevin Fedarko, a journalist

who came to Pakistan to write about the conflict between India and Pakistan, witnessed

Mortenson paying Jahan’s father four hundred dollars for his daughter’s tuition, and said “it was

one of the most incredible things I’ve seen in my life… for the first time in sixteen years of

working as a journalist, I lost all objectivity.”(300). He later wrote an article in Parade about

Greg’s work, striking a “national nerve” with Mortenson’s quote, “If we truly want a legacy of

peace for our children, we need to understand that this is a war that will ultimately be won with

books, not with bombs.” (301). The response to the article was overwhelmingly positive; his

story creating “one of the most powerful reader responses in Parade’s sixty-four years of

publishing.” (301). Mortenson was able to unite an entire nation, if not many nations under his

goal of building schools by promoting peace. Although he is a leader we do not frequently hear

mentioned, or talked about on our daily news channels, he is humbly yet boldly changing our

world for the better for our future generations, making him an ideal leader.