I’ll say it again.  In my opinion, the best leadership books are not found in the business section of your library or local bookseller.  This is a bold (or at least controversial) claim from someone who just spent 14 months co-writing and publishing a book on leadership that is carried in the business section.  In spite of the time investment, I am still of the opinion that the most powerful readings on leadership are found by looking in the biography and history sections. 

Biographies Provide a Unique View Into the Minds of Great Leaders During Times of Success and Failure.

The same fundamental rules of leadership apply whether you are leading a team inside an organization
or leading a country in the face of invasion, albeit they are highly magnified in the latter situation. The leader in business or statecraft is faced with ambiguity, competing perspectives, strained or insufficient resources, motivated adversaries, significant consequences for failure and solution sets that likely have big risks and potential suboptimal outcomes. A typical day at the office for most businesspeople and world leaders.   

Understanding how historical figures navigated their crises, managed their teams and dealt with failure on the road to success provides critical context for our own roles and activities as leaders. The historians and biographers offer us a unique opportunity to study well-documented examples of leadership success and failure, and we can leverage those learnings in our own daily activities and decision-making. 

A Few Favorites that Deliver Powerful Lessons in Leadership:

  • Winston S. Churchill, Memoirs of the Second World War.  Churchill offers the reader a window seat to the defining event of the 20th century and his remarkable leadership successes and blunders along the way.  If you are not up to the 6-volume set, try the abridged version at a little over 1,000 pages.
  • Two great choices on Lincoln–Carl Sandburg’s classic multi-volume set or the more recent biography by author David Herbert Donald.  It is hard to comprehend the scope and complexity of the issues that Lincoln faced.  His multi-year pursuit of a general that could lead, the constant derision that he faced from  almost everyone and his tenacity in spite of several years of failure during the Civil War.  Imagine his thoughts as he sat in his office in a virtually unprotected capitol, staring at the smoke rising from the campfires of the adversary just a short distance away. If you are having a tough day, a few minutes sitting in Lincoln’s seat will put things back in perspective.
  • Patriarch-George Washington and the New American Nation, by Richard Norton Smith.  Smith chronicles Washington’s later life and submits that it was his character, not the new constitution that held the young republic together.  There was no precedent for the role that Washington assumed as President and understanding how this remarkable man navigated this complex, highly ambiguous situation is an educational experience for every leader. 
  • Books by and about Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance Expedition.  Shackleton’s leadership in the face of a dire life or death crisis and his extraordinary efforts to ensure the safe rescue of his crew are inspirational reading.  His efforts during the Endurance crisis truly defines the role of a leader in serving his team. 
  • Two additional Presidential readings: Truman, by Margaret Truman offers personal insights into the man that was put in the unlikely spot to end World War II and faced the horrific dilemma of invading Japan or dropping the first atomic bombs.  Theodore Roosevelt, by Nathan Miller, showcases Roosevelt pursuing and achieving his vision of bringing the U.S. to the world stage for the first time. 

The next time you are looking for inspiration or motivation, or one of your associates ask for some suggested readings in leadership, aim for the biography section of the bookstore first and share the journey of those that served and led and ultimately changed the face of the world. 

If you have some suggested readings, please let me know and I will be happy to add to the book list.