CONTENTS
CHARACTERISTICS AS A LEADER.. 6
He stands by his principles: 7
Not letting obstacles distract him.. 7
Considers time to be a valuable resource. 7
INTRODUCTION
Dr. Stephen Hawking is regarded as one of the greatest scientists of all time. Despite his extraordinary intelligence, it was his cleverness and deep speech what made him earn the admiration of hundreds of thousands of people. His authentic nature, outspokenness, and passions made his leadership skills immediately apparent. Surprisingly, Stephen Hawking was very introverted and isolated throughout his early life and despite suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at a young age he proved to be one of the most successful leaders in teaching and popularizing science in a time when scientists were rarely seen as leaders, making clear that leaders are not born, but rather they are made.
With his visionary leadership, he succeeded as both a visionary leader who made science more understandable to everyone, and a leader of a research team, the MIT students and numerous scientific projects. Combining the elements of two leadership styles to create a transformational one, Hawking facilitated radical change in the academic environment, science and the everyday world by analyzing the current tendencies and incorporating his communication skills.
Modern physics has been revolutionized by Hawking’s theories on the universe’s nature and beginnings, and his best-selling books made the subject readily available to millions of readers worldwide. Many believe that Hawking’s cosmic impact theory has changed the way the universe is understood globally.
BIOGRAPHY
Stephen William Hawking
Hawking was one of the most well-known and brilliant minds theoretical physicists, who was born in 8th January 1942 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England. He studied the major of physics at University College, Oxford in 1962 and Trinity Hall, Cambridge in 1966. Soon after he was promoted to become a Lucasian Professor of Mathematics in 1979, the position was held by Isaac Newton once.
Although Hawking suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis which is an incurable degenerative neuromuscular disease, he never gave up his dream and he determined to pursue his career and continued to do research.
In 1982, Hawking was given CBE, and shortly after in 1989, he was made a Companion of honour. In 2009, he even received the US Presidential Medal of Freedom. Hawking was truly a recipient of innumerable medals, prizes and awards, the achievements were mentioned above, were only small amount of his numerous awards. For instance, the Albert Einstein Award, The Copley Medal of the Royal Society, the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of knowledge Award for Basic Science, the Fundamental Physics Prize and so forth. Besides his medals of honour, he was a member of pontifical Academy of Science, the Royal Society and the US National Academy of Sciences.
Hawking focused working on the physic of black holes and the field of general relativity which is a physical theory of relativity originally developed by Albert Einstein. His work had laid the foundations for the modern understanding of black holes. For example, in 1974, he discovered the black holds do produce radiation and therefore they have temperature, the radiation released by the black holes is named Hawking radiation, it is a truly a revolutionized theoretical physics discovery.
In 1988, Hawking published the science books called ‘’ A brief History of Time’’ that had become a bestseller and had a breaking record of 237 weeks on the Sunday Time best-seller. Moreover, there was a film of his life called ‘’ The Theory of Everything’’ which told the story of Hawking’s life based on his first wife Jane’s book in 2014. His research, books and his movie influenced and inspired thousands.
Hawking once mentioned that he wished others to feel the passion he had for pursuing and understanding the universal laws that surrounding us. According to Hawking, he said “I want to share my excitement and enthusiasm about this quest. So, remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious, and however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.”
CHARACTERISTICS AS A LEADER
Stephen Hawking was told when he was 21 that he has a neuronal disease and had only few years to live. Not only he lived for many more years than expected; he also, despite his circumstances, revolutionized physics and transform our understanding of the universe. For the scientist community and also nonscientists, he was an inspiration.
Ability to adapt
“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.”—Stephen Hawking.
He overcomes his disability by using technology in his favor. He used what he had to adapt his circumstances to his environment; with technology, he was able to move, speak, write, teach and communicate all his ideas. He focused on what he can do best and did not let any other things interfere in what he believes.
Curiosity
“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.”—Stephen Hawking.
Hawking once remarked that he has a childlike curiosity in that he is always asking questions with ‘why’ and ‘how’ (Locke, n.d.)
His curiosity made him look beyond the obvious and during his life he developed several theories regarding the universe which change our view and understanding of it. His work was revolutionary and made him a reference in his field, inspiring others to continue his work.
Shares his knowledge
During all his professional life, one of his goals was to make science accessible for everyone, not just for scientists; he wrote and co-wrote at least 15 books. A Brief History of Time spent 147 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and a record-breaking 237 weeks on the Times of London bestseller list. To date, more than 10 million copies have been sold, and the book has been translated into dozens of languages. By making his work available and understandable for everyone broke down complex concepts in theoretical physics, along with his deft use of humor and analogy, clearly won over many readers who might have otherwise found themselves intimidated by such material. (Hawkins, 2018)
He never gives up:
“It is no good getting furious if you get stuck. What I do is keep thinking about the problem but work on something else. Sometimes it is years before I see the way forward. In the case of information loss and black holes, it was 29 years.” – Stephen Hawking
Hawking published a study on black holes, a mystery that has puzzled scientists since the early 20th century. The criticism and controversy did not deter him from maintaining the fight. Despite this, he did not let it hold him back and it provides inspiration for everyone striving for success.
He stands by his principles:
“No one undertakes research in physics with the intention of winning a prize. It is the joy of discovering something no one knew before.” – Stephen Hawking
Scientist Stephen Hawking was concerned about a lack of funding for scientific research and education in the UK during his lifetime. Hence, he refused a knighthood on principle after being offered one. Nevertheless, Hawking has received many honors, including the Nobel Prize.
Not letting obstacles distract him
“There should be no boundaries to human endeavor. We are all different. However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. While there’s life, there is hope.” – Stephen Hawking
Hawking often said that a disability shouldn’t stand in the way of your dreams or aspirations. Despite being in a wheelchair and reliant on a computerized voice system, he continued to live a normal life – he got married, had children, and worked hard on his research. Disability does not prevent people from finding and pursuing their lifelong passions.
Considers time to be a valuable resource
Stephen Hawking frequently remarked, “I have so much that I want to do. I hate wasting time.” He obviously values time. Being well known for his research on time, he comes to the conclusion that time cannot be changed. We should make the most of the time we have as not many people are given the opportunity to do so. Money can always be earned but never the time.
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Stephen Hawking. Encyclopædia Britannic, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stephen-Hawking
Professor Stephen Hawking 1942-2018. University of Cambridge. (2018, March 14), from https://www.cam.ac.uk/news/professor-stephen-hawking-1942-2018
What is the difference between a CBE, OBE, MBE and … The Gazette. (n.d.), from https://www.thegazette.co.uk/awards-and-accreditation/content/103372
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Hawking, S. (2013). My Brief Story.
Stephen Hawking’s New Black Hole Theory: Scientists Remain Unconvinced: https://www.space.com/24454-stephen-hawking-black-hole-theory.html
Why Stephen Hawking declined a knighthood: https://metro.co.uk/2018/03/14/stephen-hawking-declined-knighthood-7387166/
Anastasia. (2018, March 15). Stephen Hawking’s 8 Rules for Success. Retrieved from Clickhelp: https://clickhelp.com/clickhelp-technical-writing-blog/stephen-hawkings-8-rules-for-success/
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Street, E. (2015, January 8). Overcoming Obstacles: Stephen Hawking Defies the ALS Odds. Retrieved from Learning Liftoff: https://www.learningliftoff.com/overcoming-obstacles-stephen-hawking-defies-the-als-odds/
