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Leadership, Listening, and the Future of Civil Discourse
Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan visited McDonogh on Tuesday, October 20, for Leadership Beyond Office, an engagement organized in partnership with the Hogan Institute at Washington College.
Hogan spent time with Upper School students, highlighting his professional journey, answering their questions, and leading them through a crisis simulation similar to the kind he faced in office. He was impressed by how thoughtfully the students reasoned through the problem, noting that they would hold their own in rooms filled with seasoned professionals.
Later, the former governor joined Dr. Kevin Costa, McDonogh’s Senior Director of Mission Integration and Partnerships, for a discussion in the Ceres M. Horn Theatre on leadership, civic responsibility, and the demands of working with those who hold different opinions. Upper School students contributed questions that ranged from the formative influences on Hogan’s values to the qualities essential in future public servants to the challenge of sustaining principled citizenship in an information environment that rewards outrage over understanding.
A central theme emerged early in the discussion: Civil discourse depends on the discipline of listening. Hogan argued that meaningful progress is impossible without it, and he observed that public life has increasingly come to favor the loudest voice in the room.
Hogan’s remarks echoed the principles of McDonogh’s Freedom of Expression and Civil Discourse statement, emphasizing the value of engaging difficult questions with curiosity, civility, and intellectual rigor, especially in moments of disagreement. He noted that the country has become so polarized that many people have stopped talking to one another altogether, a retreat that only compounds the problem. Social media plays a role, he said, as algorithms deliver information tailored to confirm what people already believe. His advice was simple: Put the device down and have a conversation. Truly hearing another person’s perspective, even without agreeing, is essential to breaking down the barriers that divide us.
He turned next to leadership under pressure. In a crisis, he said, a leader’s first obligations are to decide quickly and to communicate that decision with clarity.
Hogan also reflected on his own path to public office. He entered without a background in politics, motivated by a desire to improve the lives of Marylanders. By remaining close to the people he served, listening carefully, and communicating directly, he earned two terms as governor and some of the highest approval ratings in the state and the nation.
That experience informs his commitment to the Hogan Institute and to working with young people. He expressed confidence that the next generation will restore a political culture in which people can disagree while maintaining civility and even friendship.
The evening affirmed a principle at the core of a LifeReady education: the importance of learning how to think, not what to think.
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Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan visited McDonogh on Tuesday, October 20, for Leadership Beyond Office, an engagement organized in partnership with the Hogan Institute at Washington College.
Hogan spent time with Upper School students, highlighting his professional journey, answering their questions, and leading them through a crisis simulation similar to the kind he faced in office. He was impressed by how thoughtfully the students reasoned through the problem, noting that they would hold their own in rooms filled with seasoned professionals.
Later, the former governor joined Dr. Kevin Costa, McDonogh’s Senior Director of Mission Integration and Partnerships, for a discussion in the Ceres M. Horn Theatre on leadership, civic responsibility, and the demands of working with those who hold different opinions. Upper School students contributed questions that ranged from the formative influences on Hogan’s values to the qualities essential in future public servants to the challenge of sustaining principled citizenship in an information environment that rewards outrage over understanding.
A central theme emerged early in the discussion: Civil discourse depends on the discipline of listening. Hogan argued that meaningful progress is impossible without it, and he observed that public life has increasingly come to favor the loudest voice in the room.
Hogan’s remarks echoed the principles of McDonogh’s Freedom of Expression and Civil Discourse statement, emphasizing the value of engaging difficult questions with curiosity, civility, and intellectual rigor, especially in moments of disagreement. He noted that the country has become so polarized that many people have stopped talking to one another altogether, a retreat that only compounds the problem. Social media plays a role, he said, as algorithms deliver information tailored to confirm what people already believe. His advice was simple: Put the device down and have a conversation. Truly hearing another person’s perspective, even without agreeing, is essential to breaking down the barriers that divide us.
He turned next to leadership under pressure. In a crisis, he said, a leader’s first obligations are to decide quickly and to communicate that decision with clarity.
Hogan also reflected on his own path to public office. He entered without a background in politics, motivated by a desire to improve the lives of Marylanders. By remaining close to the people he served, listening carefully, and communicating directly, he earned two terms as governor and some of the highest approval ratings in the state and the nation.
That experience informs his commitment to the Hogan Institute and to working with young people. He expressed confidence that the next generation will restore a political culture in which people can disagree while maintaining civility and even friendship.
The evening affirmed a principle at the core of a LifeReady education: the importance of learning how to think, not what to think.