Reading: Why Should Anyone Be Led By You?

Why Should Anyone Be Led By You? by Rob Gallee and Gareth Jones

If you are in a leadership position, this is a question you should ask yourself on a regular base: How can you as a leader inspire the people around you? The authors use a combination of research and interviews, as well as their observings on leadership. They plead for an authentic leadership style: if you do not know who you are and what motivates you, then how can you lead others? In their view, skillfull leaders know how to highlight their strenghts while also revealing their weaknesses, albeit in a controled way. Effective leadership then is a balanced combination of authenticity and skill.

By using various sources, the authors succeed in painting a convincing picture that EQ is as important as IQ. At the same time I value this book because the authors have not written a self-help book: “if you follow our advice, you will become an effective leader”. That is not the promise this book makes, instead the authors ask hard questions and challenge you to come up with answers, while giving examples of how other leaders answered their questions. This gives you the opportunity to formulate your own answers, thus making them authentic. While some of the examples are a bit obvious and seem a bit too easy to fit the theme,  overall I enjoyed this book as it was insightful