Carly Fiorina

Opinion contributor

During a conversation for my podcast, By Example, with the delightful and impressive president of the University of Louisville, Neeli Bendapudi, she referenced a quote from Ralph Sockman that reads, “The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder.”

It’s obviously a beautiful quote, but as I listened to her talk about the job she was taking on, it became even more powerful.

This is Neeli’s first year as president of U of L, and though she loves her job, she has taken it at a somewhat trying time at Louisville. As you know, U of L has had its fair share of challenges in athletics and administration over the last year. This is a great institution, but as Neeli said to me, a leader has to “acknowledge that things have been difficult,” and understand that there is a path to get better.

When she left her good job as an administrator of the University of Kansas, she was stepping into uncertainty. She was running toward problems in order to solve them — an act of true leadership.

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So where does this quote come in?

As she was talking about her leadership style, she said to me that she never feels like she needs to be the one in the room with all of the answers. So often, credentialed leaders, like Neeli, coming into challenges feel the need to assert themselves and their impressive pedigree.

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Not Neeli. As she recited the quote, I realized that she recognized that her knowledge only makes her more curious, more humble, and open to more input. This is absolutely essential for any leader solving problems.

Neeli doesn’t have to be humble. She is a university president who was an extremely successful administrator previously. She holds a doctorate, is a business leader and a true success story. Rather, she chooses humility to seek answers from others, and to lift up those around her, and she gets further as a result.

Toward the end of our conversation, which you can hear on my podcast, "By Example," she talked about her general approach to her work – her philosophy – and I offered a suggestion of a small reword on how she talked about the necessity of diversity. Rather than react defensively, she said: “Tell me!” She wanted to hear it.

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She knew that she didn’t have all the answers – and that her great island of knowledge meant that there were even more things that she could learn from others. More to be found on that shoreline of wonder.

Neeli Bendapudi is a great leader. Not because of her title or her power. Not because of her incredible resume. But because she has the humility to know she doesn’t have all the answers, and she runs toward problems to find solutions that will lift up generations of students to come.

Carly Fiorina is the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard. She is founder and chairman of Carly Fiorina Enterprises and host of the podcast, "By Example."