The Leader's Companion: Insights on Leadership Through the Ages

This is a very good book with a lot of resources and information on Leadership and followers. The Leader's Companion: Insights on Leadership Through the Ages

The book has a good general overview of concepts important to leadership and explores many of those concepts in depth. It is structured in an organized way, too.

This book was an assigned text in a leadership course for seminary. I was pleasantly surprised by this collection of essays and excerpts from many classic leadership books. I anticipated a rather dry book, but I was pleased by the level of engagement that I experienced throughout the readings, with very few exceptions. The format helps with this, as most readings were ten pages or less. This made the book very digestible and accessible, as it moved from topic to topic and from author to author. This format also served as a primary drawback of the book, as it is obviously impossible to establish any sort of continuity. To that end, however, the editor very strategically organized and categorized the various selections, thereby making it as coherent as the format would allow. Ultimately, I was favorably impressed with Wren's "The Leader's Companion." It's a book that I'm glad to have on my shelf, as I'll certainly refer to specific essays in the future as various situations arise in my leadership settings. Though I wouldn't describe it as dynamic or inspiring, it is certainly a helpful resource for anyone interested in the study of leadership.

Books on leadership now abound in bookstores and in our popular consciousness. Anyone who begins a serious study into this subject will soon come across familiar names such as John Gardner, James MacGregor Burns, Robert Greenleaf, Bernard Bass, Kenneth Blanchard, Terrence Deal, Warren Bennis, Max De Pree and others. Wouldn't it be wonderful if one book contained some of the most insightful writings and thoughts of these individuals? The Leaders Companion - Insights on Leadership Through the Ages is such a book and should be on every leader's bookshelf! This massive work is edited by J. Thomas Wren and he undertakes a difficult task. Wren constructs the book with three basic premises. First, that leadership is not just a modern "fad", but is "central to the human condition". Leadership as a concept is both current and timeless. The second premise of the book is that leadership is not just the province of a select few, but is available to all. Thirdly, and perhaps the most important premise is that leadership is a valuable area of study, especially the process of leadership. Wren hopes the reader will appreciate the "real end of leadership: the achievement of mutual goals which are intended to enhance one's group, organization or society." To initiate these premises the book approaches leadership from a broad perspective. Wren draws upon a broad range of classical writers, leadership scholars, and the wisdom of modern leaders. The book is divided into thirteen parts that guide the reader through the complex structure we commonly call leadership. Wren acknowledges that understanding this process lies at the heart of improving our lives, surroundings, and world. This book is an outstanding collection of various leadership perspectives and models. He has opened up the study of leadership through the ages and from a worldview of different cultures. The Leaders Companion - Insights on Leadership Through the Ages is great reading and should be part of your own leadership library!

If you want a synopis of what is or has been said about leadership this is the book. I regularly use it as a reference text for my leadership classes.