Leadership

Intriguingly, the author holds the position of professor of public leadership at Warwick University. Unless you are already a specialist in the field, you will be amazed to find out how much there is to learn about this topic, with over 50,000 books relating to leadership for sale on Amazon. The author remarks, somewhat forlornly, that his understanding decreased as his knowledge increased. Having said this, he provides an extremely clear and concise introduction to the subject, which can profitably be read by anyone engaged in leadership issues. Among the topics covered are definitions of leadership in terms of position, person, result or process, typologies of problems, power and authority, ways of organising social life and the hazards of what he calls a clumsy solution space when addressing wicked problems. One chapter looks at the history of leadership, with some fascinating tables indicating trends over the last hundred years. Grint addresses the question of whether leaders are born or bred, and provides a fascinating contrast between the leadership styles of Wellington and Napoleon. Ultimately, leaders imply followers, but it is clear that we cannot do without them. Highly recommended as a very stimulating read on leadership.