Author: Brian Hartzer
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0730390837
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 91
Book Description
Discover how to unlock the potential contained within your teams with this insightful resource The Leadership Star: A Practitioner’s Guide to Building Staff Engagement provides readers with a step-by-step guide to developing engagement within their professional teams in for-profit, non-profit, academic, and governmental organizations. Experienced executive, management consultant, and author Brian Hartzer walks readers through the foundational and advanced techniques required to develop high performing professional teams. He shows readers how to: Care about individuals as human beings, rather than as means to an end Provide context to people to help them understand the company and why what they do matters Give clarity by telling people what outcomes and behaviors are expected of them Help clear the barriers that stand in the way of people doing a great job Recognize individual contributions and success Perfect for current and aspiring senior managers and executives who need to know exactly what they should personally do to draw out the best from their teams and build the highest levels of engagement, the book also belongs on the shelves of anyone with direct reports and anyone who hopes to enhance their own performance in the professional sphere.
The Leadership Star
Author: Brian Hartzer
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0730390837
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 91
Book Description
Discover how to unlock the potential contained within your teams with this insightful resource The Leadership Star: A Practitioner’s Guide to Building Staff Engagement provides readers with a step-by-step guide to developing engagement within their professional teams in for-profit, non-profit, academic, and governmental organizations. Experienced executive, management consultant, and author Brian Hartzer walks readers through the foundational and advanced techniques required to develop high performing professional teams. He shows readers how to: Care about individuals as human beings, rather than as means to an end Provide context to people to help them understand the company and why what they do matters Give clarity by telling people what outcomes and behaviors are expected of them Help clear the barriers that stand in the way of people doing a great job Recognize individual contributions and success Perfect for current and aspiring senior managers and executives who need to know exactly what they should personally do to draw out the best from their teams and build the highest levels of engagement, the book also belongs on the shelves of anyone with direct reports and anyone who hopes to enhance their own performance in the professional sphere.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0730390837
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 91
Book Description
Discover how to unlock the potential contained within your teams with this insightful resource The Leadership Star: A Practitioner’s Guide to Building Staff Engagement provides readers with a step-by-step guide to developing engagement within their professional teams in for-profit, non-profit, academic, and governmental organizations. Experienced executive, management consultant, and author Brian Hartzer walks readers through the foundational and advanced techniques required to develop high performing professional teams. He shows readers how to: Care about individuals as human beings, rather than as means to an end Provide context to people to help them understand the company and why what they do matters Give clarity by telling people what outcomes and behaviors are expected of them Help clear the barriers that stand in the way of people doing a great job Recognize individual contributions and success Perfect for current and aspiring senior managers and executives who need to know exactly what they should personally do to draw out the best from their teams and build the highest levels of engagement, the book also belongs on the shelves of anyone with direct reports and anyone who hopes to enhance their own performance in the professional sphere.
Ruthless Focus
Author: Thomas Hall
Publisher: Dog Ear Publishing
ISBN: 1608446387
Category : Business planning
Languages : en
Pages : 210
Book Description
"Ruthless Focus will spark a true revolution in your company as it has in ours. The examples and insights Tom Hall shares highlight the benefits of this simple, yet oftenoverlooked business strategy." Jason Lexell, President, Digital Harvest, Inc. "Ruthless Focus is the most important business book I have ever read. If you want to outperform your competition, read Ruthless Focus and apply the lessons-good luck without them." Chip Webster, President, Vistage Florida Why do so many companies seem to stall and stagnate while a relative few grow and prosper? What are the ingredients that combine to give some really successful growth companies long-term sustainable advantages? Why aren't more companies like them? Why do some organizations have great promise at the beginning but they quickly plateau? Does anyone stay small on purpose? Success and growth are not inevitable. In this book, you'll read about some companies who have been successful for decades. And you'll learn what sets them apart from the competition. We call it "Ruthless Focus." We'll show you companies that are successful for years by maintaining a Ruthless Focus on a single, simple, core strategy. Ruthless Focus drives out temptation and distraction. Ruthless Focus helps you concentrate your time and resources and people and innovation on coming up with ways to be grow profitably, and to design your organization to make it work.
Publisher: Dog Ear Publishing
ISBN: 1608446387
Category : Business planning
Languages : en
Pages : 210
Book Description
"Ruthless Focus will spark a true revolution in your company as it has in ours. The examples and insights Tom Hall shares highlight the benefits of this simple, yet oftenoverlooked business strategy." Jason Lexell, President, Digital Harvest, Inc. "Ruthless Focus is the most important business book I have ever read. If you want to outperform your competition, read Ruthless Focus and apply the lessons-good luck without them." Chip Webster, President, Vistage Florida Why do so many companies seem to stall and stagnate while a relative few grow and prosper? What are the ingredients that combine to give some really successful growth companies long-term sustainable advantages? Why aren't more companies like them? Why do some organizations have great promise at the beginning but they quickly plateau? Does anyone stay small on purpose? Success and growth are not inevitable. In this book, you'll read about some companies who have been successful for decades. And you'll learn what sets them apart from the competition. We call it "Ruthless Focus." We'll show you companies that are successful for years by maintaining a Ruthless Focus on a single, simple, core strategy. Ruthless Focus drives out temptation and distraction. Ruthless Focus helps you concentrate your time and resources and people and innovation on coming up with ways to be grow profitably, and to design your organization to make it work.
The CEO Test
Author: Adam Bryant
Publisher: Harvard Business Press
ISBN: 1633699528
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 157
Book Description
Named to the longlist for the 2021 Outstanding Works of Literature (OWL) Award in the Leadership category Are you ready to lead? Will you pass the test? Despite all the effort through the years to understand what it takes to be an effective leader, the challenges of leadership remain enormously difficult and elusive; even today, most CEOs don't last five years in the job. The demands to deliver at a consistently high level can be unforgiving. The loneliness. The weight of responsibility. The relentless second-guessing and criticism. The pressure to build all-star teams. The 24/7 schedule that requires superhuman stamina. The tough decisions that often leave no one happy. The expectation to always have the right answer when it can be hard just to know the right question. These challenges are brought into their highest and sharpest relief in the corner office, but they are hardly unique to chief executives. All leaders face their own version of these tests, and the authors draw on the distilled wisdom, stories, and lessons from hundreds of chief executives to show how every aspiring leader can master these challenges and lead like a CEO. These foundational leadership skills will make all aspiring executives more effective in their roles today and lift the trajectory of their careers. The CEO Test is the authoritative, no-nonsense insider's guide to navigating leadership's toughest challenges, brought to you by authors uniquely qualified to tell the stories. Adam Bryant has conducted in-depth interviews with more than 600 CEOs. Kevin Sharer spent more than two decades as president and then CEO of Amgen, where he led its expansion from $1 billion in annual revenues to nearly $16 billion. He has served on many boards and is a sought-after mentor for CEOs of global companies. Leadership is getting harder as the speed of disruption across all industries accelerates. The CEO Test will better prepare you to succeed, whether you're a CEO or just setting out to become one.
Publisher: Harvard Business Press
ISBN: 1633699528
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 157
Book Description
Named to the longlist for the 2021 Outstanding Works of Literature (OWL) Award in the Leadership category Are you ready to lead? Will you pass the test? Despite all the effort through the years to understand what it takes to be an effective leader, the challenges of leadership remain enormously difficult and elusive; even today, most CEOs don't last five years in the job. The demands to deliver at a consistently high level can be unforgiving. The loneliness. The weight of responsibility. The relentless second-guessing and criticism. The pressure to build all-star teams. The 24/7 schedule that requires superhuman stamina. The tough decisions that often leave no one happy. The expectation to always have the right answer when it can be hard just to know the right question. These challenges are brought into their highest and sharpest relief in the corner office, but they are hardly unique to chief executives. All leaders face their own version of these tests, and the authors draw on the distilled wisdom, stories, and lessons from hundreds of chief executives to show how every aspiring leader can master these challenges and lead like a CEO. These foundational leadership skills will make all aspiring executives more effective in their roles today and lift the trajectory of their careers. The CEO Test is the authoritative, no-nonsense insider's guide to navigating leadership's toughest challenges, brought to you by authors uniquely qualified to tell the stories. Adam Bryant has conducted in-depth interviews with more than 600 CEOs. Kevin Sharer spent more than two decades as president and then CEO of Amgen, where he led its expansion from $1 billion in annual revenues to nearly $16 billion. He has served on many boards and is a sought-after mentor for CEOs of global companies. Leadership is getting harder as the speed of disruption across all industries accelerates. The CEO Test will better prepare you to succeed, whether you're a CEO or just setting out to become one.
A Higher Standard
Author: Ann Dunwoody
Publisher: Da Capo Press
ISBN: 0738217808
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 289
Book Description
On June 23, 2008, President George W. Bush nominated Ann Dunwoody as a four-star general in the US Army-the first time a woman had ever achieved that rank. The news generated excitement around the world. Now retired after nearly four decades in the Army, Dunwoody shares what she learned along the way, from her first command leading 100 soldiers to her final assignment, in which she led a 60 billion enterprise of over 69,000 employees, including the Army's global supply chain in support of Iraq and Afghanistan. What was the driving force behind Dunwoody's success? While her talent as a logistician and her empathy in dealing with fellow soldiers helped her rise through the ranks, Dunwoody also realized that true leaders never stop learning, refining, growing, and adapting. In A Higher Standard, Dunwoody details her evolution as a soldier and reveals the core leadership principles that helped her achieve her historic appointment. Dunwoody's strategies are applicable to any leader, no matter the size or scope of the organization. They include lessons such as "Never Walk by a Mistake," a mandate to recognize when something is wrong, big or small, and to hold people accountable. Not only can this save billions for industry, it can sometimes save the lives of soldiers and citizens. She also advises that "Leaders Aren't Invincible-Don't Try to Be": to be our best, we have to acknowledge our worst. And she encourages readers to "Leverage the Power of Diversity" by creating teams of people from different backgrounds to provide a broad range of ideas and devise the best-informed decisions. With these and other guiding principles, A Higher Standard offers practical, tactical advice that everyone can use to lead and achieve with maximum success.
Publisher: Da Capo Press
ISBN: 0738217808
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 289
Book Description
On June 23, 2008, President George W. Bush nominated Ann Dunwoody as a four-star general in the US Army-the first time a woman had ever achieved that rank. The news generated excitement around the world. Now retired after nearly four decades in the Army, Dunwoody shares what she learned along the way, from her first command leading 100 soldiers to her final assignment, in which she led a 60 billion enterprise of over 69,000 employees, including the Army's global supply chain in support of Iraq and Afghanistan. What was the driving force behind Dunwoody's success? While her talent as a logistician and her empathy in dealing with fellow soldiers helped her rise through the ranks, Dunwoody also realized that true leaders never stop learning, refining, growing, and adapting. In A Higher Standard, Dunwoody details her evolution as a soldier and reveals the core leadership principles that helped her achieve her historic appointment. Dunwoody's strategies are applicable to any leader, no matter the size or scope of the organization. They include lessons such as "Never Walk by a Mistake," a mandate to recognize when something is wrong, big or small, and to hold people accountable. Not only can this save billions for industry, it can sometimes save the lives of soldiers and citizens. She also advises that "Leaders Aren't Invincible-Don't Try to Be": to be our best, we have to acknowledge our worst. And she encourages readers to "Leverage the Power of Diversity" by creating teams of people from different backgrounds to provide a broad range of ideas and devise the best-informed decisions. With these and other guiding principles, A Higher Standard offers practical, tactical advice that everyone can use to lead and achieve with maximum success.
The Leadership Book ePub
Author: Mark Anderson
Publisher: Pearson UK
ISBN: 0273748890
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 236
Book Description
THE BOOK YOU CAN RELY ON WHENEVER YOU FACE A LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE The demands of a leader can be many, varied and difficult. The Leadership Book picks out the 10 top challenges that leaders face on a daily basis and shows how to maximise the performance of leaders and their teams in each of these situations. Each of the 10 sections pins down: · exactly what the issue is · the challenges it can throw up · key leadership actions for to take · the measures of success · the pitfalls to watch out for · a leadership summary to give a quick overview of the highlights of each issue · cross-references to related issues A lifelong companion suitable for any leader, you can dip into sections as and when you need to deal with a particular issue, making for a must-have guide for you to refer back to again and again.
Publisher: Pearson UK
ISBN: 0273748890
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 236
Book Description
THE BOOK YOU CAN RELY ON WHENEVER YOU FACE A LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE The demands of a leader can be many, varied and difficult. The Leadership Book picks out the 10 top challenges that leaders face on a daily basis and shows how to maximise the performance of leaders and their teams in each of these situations. Each of the 10 sections pins down: · exactly what the issue is · the challenges it can throw up · key leadership actions for to take · the measures of success · the pitfalls to watch out for · a leadership summary to give a quick overview of the highlights of each issue · cross-references to related issues A lifelong companion suitable for any leader, you can dip into sections as and when you need to deal with a particular issue, making for a must-have guide for you to refer back to again and again.
The Leader You Want to Be
Author: Amy Jen Su
Publisher: Harvard Business Press
ISBN: 1633695921
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 156
Book Description
You can be the leader you want to be--today and every day. Do you find yourself wishing you had more hours in the day? Do you want to do more, yet feel you just can't add another thing to your plate without being overwhelmed by stress or compromising your health, relationships, and integrity? No doubt, as a leader, there are some days when you feel the flow. You're able to make a difference and achieve big goals. You feel confident and energized. On days like this, you are your best self--the leader you want to be. But on other days, you go down a different, negative path, with pressures and doubts making you feel like a lesser version of yourself. How can you be the leader you want to be, every day? The answer is more than a time-management system or a silver-bullet solution for changing your routines. Leadership expert and coach Amy Jen Su's powerful new book helps readers discover that the answer lies within. By focusing in specific ways on five key leadership elements--Purpose, Process, People, Presence, and Peace--you can increase your time, capacity, energy, and ultimately your impact, with less stress and more equanimity. Drawing on rich and instructive stories of clients, leaders, artists, and athletes, as well as on research by experts, the author brings together the best of both Western management thinking and Eastern philosophy to provide a holistic yet hands-on approach. The Leader You Want to Be is your indispensable guide to tapping into and expanding your leadership capacity so that you can be your best, sustain yourself, and thrive as a leader.
Publisher: Harvard Business Press
ISBN: 1633695921
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 156
Book Description
You can be the leader you want to be--today and every day. Do you find yourself wishing you had more hours in the day? Do you want to do more, yet feel you just can't add another thing to your plate without being overwhelmed by stress or compromising your health, relationships, and integrity? No doubt, as a leader, there are some days when you feel the flow. You're able to make a difference and achieve big goals. You feel confident and energized. On days like this, you are your best self--the leader you want to be. But on other days, you go down a different, negative path, with pressures and doubts making you feel like a lesser version of yourself. How can you be the leader you want to be, every day? The answer is more than a time-management system or a silver-bullet solution for changing your routines. Leadership expert and coach Amy Jen Su's powerful new book helps readers discover that the answer lies within. By focusing in specific ways on five key leadership elements--Purpose, Process, People, Presence, and Peace--you can increase your time, capacity, energy, and ultimately your impact, with less stress and more equanimity. Drawing on rich and instructive stories of clients, leaders, artists, and athletes, as well as on research by experts, the author brings together the best of both Western management thinking and Eastern philosophy to provide a holistic yet hands-on approach. The Leader You Want to Be is your indispensable guide to tapping into and expanding your leadership capacity so that you can be your best, sustain yourself, and thrive as a leader.
Start with Why
Author: Simon Sinek
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1591846447
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 257
Book Description
The inspirational bestseller that ignited a movement and asked us to find our WHY Discover the book that is captivating millions on TikTok and that served as the basis for one of the most popular TED Talks of all time—with more than 56 million views and counting. Over a decade ago, Simon Sinek started a movement that inspired millions to demand purpose at work, to ask what was the WHY of their organization. Since then, millions have been touched by the power of his ideas, and these ideas remain as relevant and timely as ever. START WITH WHY asks (and answers) the questions: why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? Even among the successful, why are so few able to repeat their success over and over? People like Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and the Wright Brothers had little in common, but they all started with WHY. They realized that people won't truly buy into a product, service, movement, or idea until they understand the WHY behind it. START WITH WHY shows that the leaders who have had the greatest influence in the world all think, act and communicate the same way—and it's the opposite of what everyone else does. Sinek calls this powerful idea The Golden Circle, and it provides a framework upon which organizations can be built, movements can be led, and people can be inspired. And it all starts with WHY.
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1591846447
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 257
Book Description
The inspirational bestseller that ignited a movement and asked us to find our WHY Discover the book that is captivating millions on TikTok and that served as the basis for one of the most popular TED Talks of all time—with more than 56 million views and counting. Over a decade ago, Simon Sinek started a movement that inspired millions to demand purpose at work, to ask what was the WHY of their organization. Since then, millions have been touched by the power of his ideas, and these ideas remain as relevant and timely as ever. START WITH WHY asks (and answers) the questions: why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? Even among the successful, why are so few able to repeat their success over and over? People like Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and the Wright Brothers had little in common, but they all started with WHY. They realized that people won't truly buy into a product, service, movement, or idea until they understand the WHY behind it. START WITH WHY shows that the leaders who have had the greatest influence in the world all think, act and communicate the same way—and it's the opposite of what everyone else does. Sinek calls this powerful idea The Golden Circle, and it provides a framework upon which organizations can be built, movements can be led, and people can be inspired. And it all starts with WHY.
Case of the Missing Cutlery
Author: Kevin Allen
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351862251
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 66
Book Description
Kevin Allen, author of the Wall Street Journal best-selling The Hidden Agenda: A Proven Way to Win Business and Create a Following, is back, with a fabulously entertaining (and true) tale of a newly minted leader made buoyant during The Case of the Missing Cutlery: A Leadership Course for the Rising Star. As a young manager at an airline catering facility, Kevin had to find out why silverware was disappearing at a rapid clip. The route to solving this mystery of The Case of the Missing Cutlery results in Kevin learning to rise to the occasion, to become a leader who inspires followers and is able to rely on their hard work and support. For those who might find reading about leadership success at the Fortune 50 level inspiring but too far removed from their experience, the author offers up this down-to-earth story of an everyday employee turned rising star. The Case of the Missing Cutlery also provides exercises and further examples to bring the leadership messages home. [This edition contains content previously published as The Buoyant Leader.]
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351862251
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 66
Book Description
Kevin Allen, author of the Wall Street Journal best-selling The Hidden Agenda: A Proven Way to Win Business and Create a Following, is back, with a fabulously entertaining (and true) tale of a newly minted leader made buoyant during The Case of the Missing Cutlery: A Leadership Course for the Rising Star. As a young manager at an airline catering facility, Kevin had to find out why silverware was disappearing at a rapid clip. The route to solving this mystery of The Case of the Missing Cutlery results in Kevin learning to rise to the occasion, to become a leader who inspires followers and is able to rely on their hard work and support. For those who might find reading about leadership success at the Fortune 50 level inspiring but too far removed from their experience, the author offers up this down-to-earth story of an everyday employee turned rising star. The Case of the Missing Cutlery also provides exercises and further examples to bring the leadership messages home. [This edition contains content previously published as The Buoyant Leader.]
Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader, Updated Edition of the Global Bestseller, With a New Preface
Author: Herminia Ibarra
Publisher: Harvard Business Press
ISBN: 1647825555
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 127
Book Description
A new edition of the bestseller that has helped aspiring leaders worldwide advance their careers and step up to larger leadership roles. You aspire to lead with greater impact. The problem is you're busy executing on today's demands. You know you have to carve out time from your "day job" to build your leadership skills, but it’s easy to let immediate problems and old mindsets get in the way. Herminia Ibarra—one of the world's foremost experts on leadership—shows how individuals at all levels can step up to leadership by making small but crucial changes in their jobs, their networks, and themselves. In Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader, Ibarra offers advice to: Redefine your job in order to make more strategic contributions Diversify your network so that you connect to, and learn from, a wider range of stakeholders Become more playful with your self-concept, allowing your familiar—and possibly outdated—leadership style to evolve Ibarra turns the usual leadership advice—generate insight about yourself through reflection and analysis of your strengths and weaknesses—on its head by arguing that you must first act and experiment your way into trying new things. The valuable external perspective you gain from direct experiences and experimentation—which Ibarra calls outsight—provides new and critical information on what kind of work is important to you, how you should invest your time, why and which relationships matter, and, ultimately, who you want to become. Updated with new examples and self-assessments, this book gives you the tools to start acting like a leader and advancing your career to the next level.
Publisher: Harvard Business Press
ISBN: 1647825555
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 127
Book Description
A new edition of the bestseller that has helped aspiring leaders worldwide advance their careers and step up to larger leadership roles. You aspire to lead with greater impact. The problem is you're busy executing on today's demands. You know you have to carve out time from your "day job" to build your leadership skills, but it’s easy to let immediate problems and old mindsets get in the way. Herminia Ibarra—one of the world's foremost experts on leadership—shows how individuals at all levels can step up to leadership by making small but crucial changes in their jobs, their networks, and themselves. In Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader, Ibarra offers advice to: Redefine your job in order to make more strategic contributions Diversify your network so that you connect to, and learn from, a wider range of stakeholders Become more playful with your self-concept, allowing your familiar—and possibly outdated—leadership style to evolve Ibarra turns the usual leadership advice—generate insight about yourself through reflection and analysis of your strengths and weaknesses—on its head by arguing that you must first act and experiment your way into trying new things. The valuable external perspective you gain from direct experiences and experimentation—which Ibarra calls outsight—provides new and critical information on what kind of work is important to you, how you should invest your time, why and which relationships matter, and, ultimately, who you want to become. Updated with new examples and self-assessments, this book gives you the tools to start acting like a leader and advancing your career to the next level.
Leaders
Author: General Stanley McChrystal
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0525534377
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 482
Book Description
AN INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER! Stanley McChrystal, the retired US Army general and bestselling author of Team of Teams, profiles thirteen of history’s great leaders, including Walt Disney, Coco Chanel, and Robert E. Lee, to show that leadership is not what you think it is—and never was. Stan McChrystal served for thirty-four years in the US Army, rising from a second lieutenant in the 82nd Airborne Division to a four-star general, in command of all American and coalition forces in Afghanistan. During those years he worked with countless leaders and pondered an ancient question: “What makes a leader great?” He came to realize that there is no simple answer. With Plutarch’s Lives as his model, McChrystal looks at paired sets of leaders who followed unconventional paths to success. For instance . . . Walt Disney and Coco Chanel, Maximilien Robespierre and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Boss Tweed and Margaret Thatcher, Martin Luther and Martin Luther King Jr., and finally explores his former hero, Robert E. Lee, from his exceptional military career to leading an army to defeat in service of an immoral cause. He uses their stories to explore how leadership works in practice and to challenge the myths that complicate our thinking about this critical topic. Leaders will help you take stock of your own leadership, whether you’re part of a small team or responsible for an entire nation.
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0525534377
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 482
Book Description
AN INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER! Stanley McChrystal, the retired US Army general and bestselling author of Team of Teams, profiles thirteen of history’s great leaders, including Walt Disney, Coco Chanel, and Robert E. Lee, to show that leadership is not what you think it is—and never was. Stan McChrystal served for thirty-four years in the US Army, rising from a second lieutenant in the 82nd Airborne Division to a four-star general, in command of all American and coalition forces in Afghanistan. During those years he worked with countless leaders and pondered an ancient question: “What makes a leader great?” He came to realize that there is no simple answer. With Plutarch’s Lives as his model, McChrystal looks at paired sets of leaders who followed unconventional paths to success. For instance . . . Walt Disney and Coco Chanel, Maximilien Robespierre and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Boss Tweed and Margaret Thatcher, Martin Luther and Martin Luther King Jr., and finally explores his former hero, Robert E. Lee, from his exceptional military career to leading an army to defeat in service of an immoral cause. He uses their stories to explore how leadership works in practice and to challenge the myths that complicate our thinking about this critical topic. Leaders will help you take stock of your own leadership, whether you’re part of a small team or responsible for an entire nation.