Barbara Kellerman's 2012 book should be required reading for anyone who gives a hoot about leadership (not just leaders, or leader-wannabes, but followers and follower-wannabes as well). It's an excellent extended essay on how difficult it is to be a leader, taking into account business as well as political leadership evolution over the past decade. Kellerman does a wonderful job laying out how freedom and democratization contain the very seeds of their destruction if not cared for properly by an engaged leadership and supported by a loyal gathering of followers (Schumpeter much?).
After coming together, we are dividing again along wealth "caste" hierarchies, forming tribes of unhappy slacker rebels who are annoyed but lack the commitment or trust in the system to take action. It's way too easy to complain, and most feel there's no point or too much effort involved in changing things.
Almost finished with the book, a quick 256 pages, I'm at the critical ending chapters that dwell on what Kellerman terms "The Leadership Industry", which seems to be another way of saying college, grad school, and business training organizations (ala my current employer). Not sure what I'll find, but the way the book is going, it'll be a solid, long and loud rallying cry for creating better leaders. Preparing those (un)lucky few for the craziness of their desired and super-important roles. But I also imagine, there will be a significant amount of Kellerman's thought devoted to how to be a better citizen/employee. In the age of internet speed, and full-disclosure, 24-hour cable and Sarbanes-Oxley it's too easy to become a jaded complainer, feeling sorry for ourselves and/or envious of those who have it better than we do.
Read. This. Book.
(Thanks to friend, mentor, and awesome leadership author John Baldoni for turning me on to Kellerman!)
Thanks for this review. I want to read it!
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