Is Sarah Palin Ready to Lead?

To many, Sarah Palin's resignation announcement made it all the more inconceivable that she could be considered a serious presidential candidate. Do mavericks make good leaders? Is she the anti-Obama?

Deborah Ancona is the Seley distinguished professor of management at the MIT Sloan School of Management and the faculty director of the MIT Leadership Center.

It seems impossible to even consider Sarah Palin a candidate for president. How could she move beyond the Katie Couric interview, the Alaska scandals and now last week's rambling speech announcing a midstream resignation? None of this displays leadership based on intellect, perseverance or strong moral conviction.

Yet for some Sarah Palin represents hope. Hope for a Republican Party that is losing ground and running out of contenders for 2012. She is David taking on Goliath. She represents the common person. While the elite have taken us to the brink of economic disaster and a government staffed with people with great educations, she represents the possibility that you can make a difference even when you do not have the "right" pedigree.

Bill George is a management professor at the Harvard Business School and the former chairman and chief executive of Medtronic.

In resigning as governor of Alaska in the middle of her term, Sarah Palin has behaved in a most irresponsible manner.

Barring major health problems or family tragedies, elected leaders have a deep obligation to their constituents to fulfill the term of office for which they were elected.

This kind of erratic behavior is consistent with what we have witnessed since she accepted the nomination for vice president. She is not prepared for the national stage and all the media attention that comes with it.

It is clear that Sarah Palin is not an authentic leader in that she does not fulfill the responsibilities she has taken on. In that sense, it is well for her to move out of leadership roles.

For years, Rick Rochelle has taught leadership skills on remote wilderness expeditions for the National Outdoor Leadership School.

Samuel Maverick was a 19th-century Texas politician and rancher who refused to brand his cattle. There's debate over why he wouldn't do so: to avoid animal cruelty, to express a general disinterest in ranching or so that he could nefariously round up everyone's unbranded cattle and call them his own. In any case, the term now implies independence.

Palin showed that at her resignation, for sure. But her decision highlights an inability to adapt her leadership style to fit the situation.

Her choice to resign may lead to learning opportunities, but the country is yearning for leaders who can be mavericks at times, policy wonks at times and hardworking executives at others. Knowing when to buckle down and accomplish tasks -- and when to weather political storms -- is critical.