Are Leaders Born or Are They Made? The Case of Alexander the Great |
This is a short and very different addition to the usual offering of leadership books. It reflects the individual style of its main author, Manfred Kets de Vries, who is one of the field’s leading academics.
The book is a game of two halves. The first half contains a pacey and believable biographical account of Alexander the Great. The second is a psychological analysis of Alexander and the foundations of his leadership success.
I found the first part easy to read. However, the second changes character and quickly becomes heavy and academic. Even those with a psychology background may struggle and most readers would probably appreciate more explanation of the psychodynamic models used to analyse and explain Alexander’s leadership style.
I would have appreciated more integration between the biographical material and the analysis rather than the two being so separate. I also found that the application of the analysis to modern-day leadership principles was far too short and rushed to do the book justice.
It is an original and fascinating take on more traditional approaches to studying leadership. It would make good supplementary case study material.
Useful? ***
Well written? ****
Practical? **
Inspirational? ***
Value for money? ***
Overall ***
By Lyn Stansfiel, HR consultant and business coach
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