Overview

This thought-provoking book, Great Leaders, is aimed at stimulating your curiosity and guiding you through the various facets of leadership. Leadership expert and author John Adair explores the topic through its many forms, posing the question: Who are the great leaders in history and what have they got to teach us today about the nature and practice of leadership? Leadership is a characteristic many think can't be taught; but to what degree can true leadership skills be identified and developed? Adair reviews the key great leaders in history to identify the main lessons that should be learnt from them. What emerges is a concept of leadership that is highly relevant to the needs of the world today. Great Leaders is a book rich in examples and case studies, and wide-ranging in scope. With a thematic structure, Adair illustrates the different facets of leadership including: * Knowledge * Communication * Decision-making * Inspiring while informing * Making progress in a changing world * Charisma * Women as leaders * Leaders for tomorrow The very different styles of leadership of Lincoln, de Gaulle, Hitler, Socrates, Lao Tzu, Washington, Thatcher, Gandhi and many more are examined, focusing on the cardinal qualities of inspiring, communicating and decision making but also of humour, intuition and imagination. Key qualities that so often appear as abstract ideals - motivation, communication, decision-making, inspiration - here almost literally come to life.

Full Product Details

Author:   John Adair
Publisher:   Thorogood
Imprint:   Thorogood
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 1.80cm , Length: 23.40cm
ISBN:  

9781854189172

ISBN 10:   1854189174
Pages:   382
Publication Date:   11 December 2020
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  General/trade ,  Professional & Vocational ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Introduction 1 PART 1 ONE Leadership Through Knowledge 4 Socrates - A Leader of Ideas 6 The Case of the Aspiring General 7 The Case of the Young Cavalry Commander 8 Knowledge - The Key to Leadership 11 Are Knowledge and Experience Enough? 13 A Leader in Action 17 Chapter Review 20 TWO Leadership Skills 24 The Case of Nicomachides 25 Human Needs and Leadership Functions 28 A Leader in Estate Management 30 Are Leaders Born or Made? 33 Chapter Review 34 THREE The Servant-Leader 37 The Teaching of Lao Tzu 39 The Tao of Leadership 40 Jesus and His Disciples 44 Servant Leadership in Perspective 47 The Japanese Contribution 53 Chapter Review 55 FOUR The Ability to Give Direction 58 What's in a Word? 59 The Shepherd and His Flock 61 Interlude: The Three Circles 66 Alexander the Great 67 Creating Unity and Teamwork 69 Caring for Individuals 71 Chapter Review 74 FIVE Making the Right Decisions 77 Thinking to Some Purpose 78 From Ideas to Responsible and Decisive Action 85 Case-study: Chairing the Cabinet 90 Intuition and Imagination 94 Calmness Under Pressure 99 The Value of Humour 103 Chapter Review 105 SIX The Art of Inspiring While Informing 108 The Effective Communicator 109 The Art of Inspiring Others 110 The Relevance of the Second World War 114 Case-Study: The Forgotten Army 115 Case-study: Montgomery 124 The Effects of Telecommunications 129 Chapter Review PART 2 SEVEN The Roots of British Tradition 138 Eagles of Rome 138 The Tribal Legacy 145 Alfred the Great 148 Chapter Review 154 EIGHT The Gentleman Leader 156 The Impact of Education 158 Leadership Qualities 162 Machiavelli and Leadership 169 The Great Rebellion 172 The American Experience 176 George Washington 182 Chapter Review 185 NINE Nelson 187 Early Life 188 The Man and the Legend 189 Achieving the Task 194 Bringer of Harmony 197 Meeting Individual Needs 198 Nelson's Legacy 204 Chapter Review 205 TEN Polar Explorers 207 Captain Robert Falcon Scott 208 Sir Ernest Shackleton 211 Gino Watkins 213 Chapter Review 218 ELEVEN Leadership in a Changing World 220 The New Climate of Change in the Nineteenth Century 221 How Progress Happens 225 Captains of Industry 227 Management Through Leadership 232 A Factory of Democratic Leaders 234 Slim on Leadership 243 Managers or Leaders? 246 Chapter Review 249 PART 3 TWELVE Charisma 254 The Rediscovery of Charisma 255 Leadership: A Gift from Above? 256 Case-study: Alexander the Great 261 Case-study: Lawrence of Arabia 268 Chapter Review 273 THIRTEEN Women as Leaders 276 The Western Tradition 277 Leadership in Marriage 282 Great Social Reformers 287 Women as Manager-Leaders 291 Case-study: Margaret Thatcher 293 Chapter Review 301

Reviews

Any of us who aspire to and recognise the need for some form of leadership can only improve our performance by studying the past. John Adair's latest book is a valuable addition to the thinking that has gone into the subject... I believe that it is a 'must read' book... He is without doubt one of the foremost thinkers on the subject in the world. ; SIR JOHN HARVEY-JONES. I discovered once again how rare it is to come upon a book about leaders with depth, conceptual bite and historical context. It was a relief and joy. ; WARREN BENNIS

Author Information

John Adair is widely acknowledged as one of the most significant influences on management and leadership development in both business and military spheres. He studied history at Cambridge University and holds higher degrees from the Universities of Oxford and London. He became the world's first Professor of Leadership Studies at the University of Surrey and is internationally known as a consultant. He is the author of many respected books on management and leadership.

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