
Read to Lead – Part 1 – Books on Leadership Theory
One of the common denominators of leaders is that they are life-long learners. In Robert Clinton’s extensive study of over 600 leaders, he noted that a “continual desire to learn” was the most common characteristic.
One of the last things John F. Kennedy ever said was “learning and leadership are inseparable from one another.” One of the greatest leaders of our time, Nelson Mandela, stated in his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom, “Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farm workers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from one another.”
But the question I get asked most often is, where to begin? If a person wants to build their leadership competencies, where do you start? Of course, one of the best ways to start is to have a good leadership mentor. If they are in short supply, then studying leadership is the best way ahead.
I would like to suggest seven books that could be used to provide a framework for understanding how leadership skills to be developed. A serious student would probably want to start with the original leadership guru himself, James MacGregor Burns. His book, Leadership, is generally recognized as the book that established the leadership genre. In this book he recognized that true leadership was “transformational.”
Unfortunately, Burns was not as effective in identifying what “transformation” meant. The leadership expert who provides some of the most practical advice is Warren Bennis. His books, On Becoming a Leader and Why Leaders Can’t Lead are classics.
Another writer who is quite popular is John Maxwell. His book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, is very practical and widely quoted. The difficulty with the book is that it is almost impossible to remember twenty-one laws!
Theory is difficult to understand without examples. Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill are tough to match. Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals is a much discussed book on Lincoln that was also the basis for Stephen Spielberg’s recent film. Paul Johnson is one of the greatest living historians, and his book Churchill is an excellent overview of this remarkable leader.
The last book I would like to refer is my own, Ideal Leadership: Time for a Change. In this book I present my own leadership model; four leadership conditions necessary for a person to lead given the opportunity to lead, and six leadership competencies which constitute a leader’s capital. The strength of the conditions and capital determine a leader’s possibilities for success.
In subsequent posts, I will give references on how to develop each of these six competencies. As I tell everyone, keep learning as you keep leading!
I hope most aspiring leaders do whatever it takes to find a mentor. One leader I respected told me he would approach inspiring people with this statement- “Will you mentor me? I will meet anytime and anywhere you say. I will read whatever you tell me to read. I would like to learn from you.” A month later I said those exact words to him and he agreed to mentor me for a few weeks. I said those exact words to another man I highly respect and he also agreed to mentor me. He even took me to work with him for a day. Though an extremely successful stock portfolio manager, the greatest lesson he taught me was to take my wife out on a date every week. Be bold and find a mentor. Thanks Larry for being one of the greatest mentors I’ve ever had.
I love the reference to Robert Clinton’s statement of a “continual desire to learn” being the most common characteristic among the leaders he studied. Those leaders whom I have known to be growing and leading others into new areas of growth have also been the most voracious readers.
Larry, I would love to get more information about your book. I’m especially interested in the leadership competencies that you’ve identified.
My books are available on Amazon, but I give a 25% discount to those who order from me directly; larry.stout@gmail.com / PO Box 772, Williamsport, PA 17703. In addition to my leadership book, I also have a DVD series that accompanies it along with a workbook and assessment tool that are used for coaching purposes. Let me know if you are interested. Larry