Great leaders without degrees

Mandela never finished law school. Churchill failed his entrance exams twice.Lula had a primary education… The correlation between academic credentials and political leadership is weaker than our institutions suggest.

Across 16 heads of state and government, a pattern emerges. The most consequential leaders weren’t distinguished by their diplomas. They were distinguished by the nature of their confrontation with reality — poverty, war, imprisonment, social exclusion...

Credentials certify knowledge. They don’t certify judgment, resilience, or the ability to move people.