A Practical Guide for Developing Great Leadership Skills

There is no leadership DNA and leadership is not reserved for anybody, regardless of wealth, education, or bloodline. Leadership is about making a positive difference for other people, our institutions, and our society, and we can all get better at it. Leadership opportunities have two prerequisites: you must decide to lead and then you have to get in the arena. While your experiences may differ from your expectations, each time you step forward you can learn who you are and how to get better.

Great Leaders Are Great People is your coach-a practical guide for developing the dozens of values, perspectives, and skills you'll need to be successful-as well as what to avoid and how to recognize the many negative behaviors that can derail you. The book also introduces you to the foundations of advanced leadership: how to build excellent teams, the everyday requirements of developing positive cultures that are vital to sustainability, and how to manage and survive the inevitable crises.

While the book offers many of the best guidelines from professionals, little of this wisdom comes from public service-and even less from people who have actually led public institutions. The major source of guidance presented here comes from the author's forty-plus years of public service. Great Leaders Are Great People examines the lessons and values of seven great public servants who led with wisdom, integrity, humanity, and resolve. The lessons of failed leaders are also an important source of wisdom, so dozens of real-world challenges are discussed as well.