Books like Leadership on the Line — picked by fans

In a world in which dictators and authoritarian leaders are all too prevalent, Barbara Kellerman offers keen insights into the roots and practices of “bad” leadership. A prolific leadership scholar and commentator, she deftly links leadership and power—especially the abuse of power.  

Like Barbara, I see power as neither a bad nor a good force. Most leaders seek power—sometimes for themselves and their group alone, but often to accomplish something widely beneficial. Meanwhile, followers may hope to increase their power by supporting leaders they see as powerful. Yet, individuals and groups that attain unchecked power all too often damage their fellow humans and certainly undermine democratic government. I value this book for its help in fighting back against abuses by the powerful wherever we find them. 

This book was also heart-touching and eye-opening. 

The writing was beautiful, the story was remarkable, and the insights were compelling. Maybe more than that, I kept finding myself reminded by how much our outlooks and opinions are shaped by the perspectives we receive.

Hearing “Jim’s” first-hand account was a drastically different experience than hearing about him through Huck Finn, and appreciating that—with all the complexities it entails—made the experience of reading James all the more enriching and enjoyable. 

Ira Chaleff has long focused on “followership” and how followers can foster humane leadership and fight back against abusive leaders. I appreciate his dispelling the view of followers as necessarily passive. He clearly presents ways that active followers can short-circuit bad leadership by “speaking truth to power.” I definitely endorse his advice to leaders who want to foster courageous followership in their organizations and beyond. I’m also eager to read Ira’s recent book, To Stop a Tyrant: The Power of Political Followers to Make or Brake a Toxic Leader.

All too often, scholars and commentators emphasize the successes and failures of highly visible leaders and neglect followers, the other part of the leadership equation. Ira’s many years of researching, writing, and speaking about the crucial work of followership have gone a long way toward remedying that neglect. 

William Ury is widely appreciated for collaborating with Roger Fisher to offer effective conflict resolution guidance (see Getting to Yes). I have long taught their concepts and methods in my leadership courses. This book is a culmination of Ury’s incredible career of helping groups resolve an array of conflicts, including the most intractable (in Columbia, for example). 

Ury describes himself as a “possibilist” who believes the most daunting conflicts can be sustainably resolved via three “victories”–getting on the balcony to more fully understand the perspectives of the warring parties, building a bridge among the parties, and engaging more neutral stakeholders. 

This book lifts my spirits at a time when some powerful individuals and groups are operating from a win-lose, zero-sum mentality that too easily devolves into a lose-lose for all. I vote with Ury for a transformational, win-win mentality.

We presume all animals love their habitat and their lot in life; birds love the sky, snakes love the grass, and bears, of course, love the woods. But not so much for the star of this book; a petulant little penguin who seems to have gotten up on the wrong side of the ice floe. He’s crabby about the too-white snow, the too-cold temperature, the too-salty sea, and his too-lookalike colony of penguin pals. Basically, everything makes him crabby, but in a way that’s amusing. After a day of carping, a wise walrus gives him a lecture about appreciating the beauty of his world and the love of his companions. This improves his attitude…for about two pages.

By the end of the book, the little grump is back to his old self, griping about the weather and the early darkness. It’s refreshing to see a character who doesn’t completely transform… show more.

I have been a fan of Colin Cowie for years and this book totally lived up to my expectations.

He wrote how he did things and why in the most chic way possible. I have adapted several things into my life from this book. For example, I organize my dried spice rack alphabetically and have host/hostess gifts ready at all times so I am always ready for any invitation. I felt my life was more organized when I finished this book!

I get this book for every single one of my female friends when they get close to middle-age. Are we maybe confused about the world because we’re growing old, or has the world never made any sense, but we were too busy being young and didn’t notice? And why can we suddenly not see any of it properly anyway?

In true Jacky Fleming style, this little gem is both hilarious and painfully true. It makes me howl with laughter every time I read it.

The authors ask, "Why is it that a decent person like you, someone you would invite home for dinner, is plagued by the feeling that you will never get it all done? Do you think you invented the word frantic? Your life," they say, "is not a series of little boxes to be checked off as you complete tasks. Life is rough, sweet, sticky, hot and cold, even messy, and enjoyable."

To rearrange your life and get what you want done, they contend that you need a clear picture of your life as it actually is today. Diagramming helps; start with yourself in the middle and add spokes and branches in all directions that define and illustrate your inter-connectedness. Then, when you stand back and look at the pattern, you are viewing your life as it is today, with all of its important facets. All, that is, except for some… show more.

I love books with the theme of accepting who you are: working with your gifts and managing your struggles. This book is a great example of a book that guides girls on the autism spectrum to appreciate their uniqueness!

The brilliant young author Siena Castellon, who is herself on the autism spectrum, wrote this book when she was still a teenager. Readers follow the author’s developing awareness of the mix of gifts and challenges her unique form of perception brings. 

Siena Castellon, who is “UN Youth Ambassador for Neurodiversity,” gives excellent and practical tips for coping with differences (“Did I say the wrong thing?” “Did I come off as too ‘nerd-y’? ) in this celebration of the gifts of those on the spectrum.

New York Divorce attorney Jacqueline Newman’s The New Rules of Divorce: Twelve Secrets to Protecting Your Wealth, Health and Happiness is a great divorce primer, tackling everything from contemplating divorce to dating after divorce. The book is charming and funny as well as deeply practical. While the book will probably appeal the most to wealthy women, it offers useful advice for anyone contemplating or going through a divorce.