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Leadership forum draws student interest by Dick Peterson Public Relations Mistakes are opportunities to learn, and Bill Hewitt's made enough of them to learn how to be a leader. He said so. Bill Hewitt presents leadership principles. Hewitt, on Oct. 4, was on a panel of four business and community leaders—three are members of MUSC’s Health Sciences Foundation Board of Directors—who presented at the first in a series of four forums on leadership to MUSC students. The series is sponsored by the MUSC Student Government Association with assistance from the university’s Office of Development. The next forum will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Nov. 14. Hewitt was encouraged by the response, he said, noting that 50 very busy students took two hours out of their schedule to learn skills and principles that will serve them in every area of life.  “There wasn’t opportunity for as much interaction as I would have liked,” Hewitt said. “I’m looking forward in the next forum to more interaction and more questions.” While serving as chairman of the Children’s Hospital Fund Board and on the Health Sciences Foundation Board of Directors, he has enjoyed associating with MUSC students, a group he considers to be among the best of today’s society. So what’s a leader? “A leader is a person who has an innate propensity for change and innovation and who changes people’s beliefs, attitudes and behaviors with benefit to many,” Hewitt said. Making mistakes in dealing with people is inevitable, but seeing those mistakes as opportunities for learning can make a person a better leader.  Giving structure to an otherwise abstract concept, Hewitt refers to an “influence pyramid” that rests on example, elevates with relationships and extends through teaching. Good leadership is characterized by personal trustworthiness, competence and the strength of character that makes a person believable. “These are fundamental in leadership and fundamental in life,” Hewitt said.  Leadership styles vary, Hewitt acknowledges, but a common element is power. And leaders use power in different ways.  Some use coercion and threat to motivate people. Others are utilitarian: “You work for me, I pay you and we both get what we want.”  And other leaders operate on principle, which Hewitt sees as looking beyond money or position to a higher good. “It’s not ‘what’s-in-it-for-me,’ but how I can benefit others.” It’s a leadership style based on relationships. He expects the next forum to discuss leadership issues in health care. “I hope that 75 people come,” he said, citing the enthusiasm of 22 students in the first forum who signed up without knowing the topic. Hewitt, is president of the Charleston consulting firm, Sirius Ventures Inc. He received a master’s degree from the University of Connecticut and baccalaureate degrees from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. He was a founding partner and executive vice president of First Manhattan Consulting Group and president and chief executive officer of the Union Corporation. His experience in leadership, he said, included command of a Coast Guard cutter.  Also presenting in the first forum:   John Tucker Morse of Charleston is chairman of Vault Holdings, LLC. He is also director of Stagecoach Funds Inc., Stagecoach Trust, Life and Annuity Trust, MasterWorks Funds, Master Investment Portfolio and Managed Series Investment Trust. He is the former senior vice president of legal and regulatory affairs for Federal Express Corporation. He served on the board of directors of Econocom Inc., Air Midwest Inc., and Delta Life Corporation. Morse received his B.A. degree from Washington and Lee University and his J.D. degree from the University of California—Hastings College of Law.  Wilbur J. Prezzano Jr. of Charleston, a native of Chappaqua, N.Y., is retired as vice chairman of Eastman Kodak Company, where he held numerous managerial positions. He is a director of Canada Trust (Toronto), Lance Inc. (Charlotte, N.C.), and Roper Industries (Bogard, Ga.). He is also a director of the Gibbs Museum of Art. Prezzano received his B.S. (Economics) and MBA (Wharton School) from the University of Pennsylvania. He served in the U.S. Army.  Linda F. Woodside of Charleston is the senior vice president of Bank of America’s Real Estate Banking Group. Her previous job responsibilities have included managing the commercial real estate commercial/interim lending function for North Carolina and South Carolina. Prior to joining Bank of America (formerly NationsBank), she was with South Carolina National Bank (now Wachovia Bank) in the Mortgage Loan Division. Woodside has served on the MUSC Children’s Hospital Fund’s board since 1993 and is currently chairman. She is also a member of the Susan G. Komen Affiliate Board and vice chairman of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce's 2000 Resource Campaign. Her other community interests have included the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, serving on the board of that organization from 1992 to 1996.