Anthony Bell’s book Great Leadership: What it is and what it takes in a complex world starts with a synthesis of other people’s insights on leadership. As I was reading the first half of the book, I thought that it provided a reasonable summary for people who did not have time to read other leadership books, but no new insights. That all changed when I reached the second half of the book and started delving into the author’s discussion of competence in leadership.
According to the author, there are three dimensions of leadership: organizational leadership, operational leadership and people leadership. Organizational leadership requires creating direction, aligning the organization and promoting the message of that direction. Operational leadership involves planning and shaping processes, organizing and controlling, and measuring and problem solving. People leadership involves selecting the right people, explaining expectations, and motivating and developing.
Effective leadership, the book asserts, requires the following elements, each of which builds upon the preceding element: leadership capacity, purpose and values, vision, systems and structures, selection development and succession, and execution. The book then contains useful discussion of the nature of and differences between organizational leadership, operational leadership and people leadership. It is well-written and insightful, and in my view lives up to its promise of being a useful leadership development curriculum.