Book Reviews
Leadership for the disillusioned: Moving beyond myths and heroes to leading that liberates
By Amanda Sinclair
ISBN: 978-1-741751-00-0 2007 240 pages Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest NSW
Reviewed by Ken Parry
Graduate School of Management, Griffith University, Nathan QLD
What a great read!
Amanda Sinclair, Foundation Professor of Management Diversity and Change at Melbourne Business School, is a well known Australian author, and this book is the latest in her excellent stable of management books.
The first paragraph sets the scene. ‘This book is not about how to run a company. It is for those who are disillusioned by their encounters with leaders and leadership: with idealised heroic performances, impoverished theories and oversimplifies templates.' I was hooked. This is the kind of book that we have been hankering for for some time.
Sinclair eschews the Harvard model of the case study of the heroic leader. Instead of looking at ‘leaders', she looks at ‘leadership'. She shows us how leadership is displayed all around us, every day. Leadership is available to all of us, and the reader need not feel intimidated by the ‘Jack Welch' exemplars that always seem to be far removed from the reality of our everyday lives.
She explains the critical understanding of leadership in a way that we can all understand. I think even I understand it now. In essence, this book helps readers to ask their own questions about the leadership dilemma facing them, instead of taking for granted the solutions put to them from the pulpit by the heroic author.
Part I is titled ‘What's wrong with leadership?' Chapter 1 is about the seduction of leadership. Yes, seduction is a metaphor. Also, seduction and leadership have the same Latin origin. I won't spoil your fun ... read it yourself. Fascinating stuff! Australian case studies are used effectively. The Steve Vizard case appears in Chapter 1.
Chapter 2 asks what is wrong with ideas about leadership. It is a quick but necessary drive through the history of leadership research to show that leadership is indeed a social construction, which is a product of the time and place of its manifestation. Chapter 3 is about teaching and learning leadership. Leadership can be learnt, and leadership is about helping others to learn, as well as being prepared to be a learner.
Part II is called ‘Practices of liberating leadership'. Chapter 4, ‘Going back', tells us that it is extremely important to be aware of the impact of our own background and upbringing upon our leadership. Research shows that at least half of our leadership potential is in place by the time we leave school, and most of that is set in the first few years of life. By the time our personality is in place at the age of seven, our leadership path is largely set out for us. This is a hugely important chapter. Cathy Walter is the case study presented in this chapter.
Chapter 5 is about working with power. Any book on leadership must cover power and Sinclair addresses the myriad of dimensions of power very well indeed. Usually this is a relatively lacklustre chapter. Not in this book.
In Chapter 6, Sinclair brings bodies into leadership. Leadership is about more than vision, influencing others and having dramatic flair. It is about more than the content and presentation of your message. It is also about how you use your body. Yes, ‘body' is also a metaphor. The case studies of Chris Sarra and Christine Nixon are beautifully woven into this chapter. Chapter 7 is called ‘Breath and mindfulness'. Because leadership is about knowing and developing yourself, matters physical are important to the leadership that we demonstrate.
Part III is called ‘Going deeper'. Chapter 8 is on the identity work of leadership. Refreshingly, you do not have to be like Richard Branson or Anita Roddick. You don't even have to be like Chris Sarra or Christine Nixon. You do have to be yourself. That is a relief. By being true to yourself, you will be authentic and have credibility in the eyes of others. I am personally pleased because this message is a big part of the leadership development that I undertake with students and clients. Foucault and postmodernism get a guernsey here, as does work-life balance. Fascinating stuff.
Chapter 9 is leading with spirit. The spirituality in and of leadership are matters that people are recently discovering. Lillian Holt and John Wilson are the local case studies. Chapter 10 is about less-ego leadership. It is not about ego-less leadership. It is about less ego in leadership. Eastern philosophies and yoga are used here, in yet another fascinating angle on leadership.
Quotes from Shakespeare add to the aesthetic tone of this excellent book. The usual quotes start each chapter. There is a reflexive tone that grabs the attention of the reader. The six most important words you can say are ‘Let me tell you a story'. Sinclair tells stories about her experiences beautifully. They are stories we can relate to, and they complement the messages that Sinclair gets across. Story-telling is one of the dramatistic genres that she incorporates so well into this book. Sinclair tells us about the experiences she had with MBA classes and with clients; experiences that helped her to learn leadership and well as to teach leadership. She tells the good, the bad and the ugly experiences. In so doing, Sinclair's credibility soars in the mind of the reader.
Another dramatistic tactic is that of the use of metaphor. Geniuses think and speak in metaphors all the time, and Sinclair uses this leadership skill effectively to get leadership across to us. Her passion for gender and diversity is dear to Sinclair's heart, and should be to all of us, and it is woven into this book beautifully. These are not just matters for the few. They are essential aspects of leadership about which all readers need to be aware and to consider every day of their lives.
The only drawback of this book is that the work of Parry is not cited anywhere. But hey, I am just grasping at straws here. This book is for everyone. It is for managers and it is for process workers and it is for self-actualisers and retired people and academicians and students - everyone. Do yourself a favour, get a copy, read it, keep it by the bed or at the desk at work. Read it whenever you get the chance. You won't regret it.
