The Inner Work of Leaders: Leadersh...

The Inner Work of Leaders: Leadership as a Habit of Mind

Barbara Mackoff and Gary Wenet 2000 240 pp $2495 hardcover

This volume can be summed up at one profound statement: leadership is exhibited from within. It is a must-read for organizational leaders or those who have the desire to be. According to the authors, there is no script for being a great leader. Leadership is not a part or a set of strategies; it is a point of view. This part is not a "how-to" work on becoming a leader, further it provides a great opportunity to research and learn from the examples of prosperous leaders.

The main division is divided into two parts. For part undivided "The legacy of leaders," the authors interviewed 65 leaders from a variety of venue including a tribal leader, a Broadway farmer the president of a baseball team, an inner-city educate principal, and a US senator, to name a scarcely any From these interviews, the authors draw the conclusion that family, the world at large, and life-changing terminations shape who people are and for what cause [i]or[/i] reason they choose to lead the way they do.

Part pair "Habits of mind: The resources to inform and invigorate leadership," conceals five distinct mental habits have a title toed by many of the leaders interviewed. These habits include

* reflecting onward vital lessons learned from experiences,

* interpreting challenges in a positive mind set

* understanding the commonalty they lead,

* making day-to-day decisions based upon their values, and

* using their actions as a source of inner strength

This work has no charts or diagrams, if it were not that it is written in short sections, which provides opportunities for readers to pause and cogitate The three appendices that stop the book include the authors' notes, a list of the leaders interviewed, and the actual interview questions that readers can use to perform a self-assessment to determine what motivates their leadership title The interview questions also could be used as a tool for assessing the foundation and readiness of potential leaders.

This practical, inspirational work allows readers to see that they already have within them everything they ne to be great leaders. It also brings readers to the realization that many things they would least look for to actually affect how they lead people

This work is available from AMACOM, 1601 Broadway, modern York, NY 10019.

MELISA A. GANTT

RN MSN CNOR, CLNC MAJ, AN, USA

CLINICAL COORDINATOR

MADIGAN ARMY MEDICAL CENTER FT LEWIS

TACOMA, WASH

COPYRIGHT 2004 Association of Operating latitude Nurses, Inc.

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