The Greats on Leadership, Jocelyn Davis
The Greats on Leadership, Jocelyn Davis
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The Greats on Leadership
Classic Wisdom for Modern Managers

Author: Jocelyn Davis

Narrator: Chatterbox Audio, Simon Shepherd

Unabridged: 10 hr 50 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/19/2016

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included

Synopsis

You don't need a big title or a business degree in order to lead with impact. What you need is practical wisdom: the insight, judgment, and strength of character that all great leaders have, but that most business schools and corporate workshops don't teach. The Greats on Leadership gets you there.

Jocelyn Davis takes you on an in-depth tour of the best leadership ideas of the past 25 centuries, featuring classic authors from Plato to Winston Churchill, Shakespeare to Jane Austen, C.G. Jung to Peter Drucker, and many more. In a style both thought provoking and entertaining, she shows how -history's great writers have always been, and still are, the real leadership gurus.

Davis spells out the behaviors that distinguish true leaders from misleaders and covers 20 specific leadership topics, including:
Leadership Traps (Shakespeare)
Change (Machiavelli)
Power (Sophocles)
Dilemmas (Madison, Hamilton)
Communication (Lincoln, Pericles)
Personality Types (Jung)
Motivation (Frankl)
Judgment (Maupassant, Melville, Austen, Shaw)
Character (Churchill, Plutarch, Shelley, Joyce)

Each chapter begins with a synopsis of a great work by the author and then draws out the key leadership insights, weaving them together with business examples, the best contemporary research, and tools to help put it all into practice. In the last two chapters Davis presents a new way to think about leadership levels, framing them in terms of the impact you have rather than the title on your business card.

Whether you're a recent graduate or MBA searching for something more inspiring than the standard textbook, a new manager looking for something deeper than the typical how-to book, or an experienced executive seeking ideas to lift you to the next level, this remarkably readable and practical guide will set you on the road to becoming a great leader.

About Jocelyn Davis

Jocelyn Davis is an author and consultant with 25 years' experience in the corporate learning industry. Before founding her company, Seven Learning, she was head of R&D for The Forum Corporation, a global leadership development firm. She is co-author of Strategic Speed: Mobilize People, Accelerate Execution (Harvard Business Press) and has published widely on leadership, strategy execution, and workplace learning. Her clients have included companies such as Microsoft, Disney, and Unilever. Known as an exceptional leader herself, she is the recipient of awards for excellence in management and product innovation. She holds an M.A. in Philosophy. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with her husband and daughter. JocelynRDavis.wordpress.com @JocelynRDavis

Reviews

Goodreads review by Leah on June 15, 2016

This was an excellent book! In fact, I had trouble putting it down. The author brilliantly uses the classic stories of "the greats" in history to clearly and humorously teach us what it means to be an effective leader. I found it completely relevent, useful, and not just for those desiring a positio......more

Goodreads review by Prasad Shejale on October 01, 2017

Must Read for CXO and those who arw or will ne Leaders It got me thinking . The book conectarte the great books with leadership lessons. I read some of chapters again and again......more

Goodreads review by Alexandru on May 10, 2018

All books about leadership are a bit reprtative, using similar words - virtue, trust, team, character - and so on. So you'll find them here as well. But for young people the book can be inspiring. Honestly I am not a fan of this format - using fiction - to prove specific points. I would prefer real......more

Goodreads review by Paul on March 06, 2019

This is among the top 3 for books I’ve ever read on the subject of organizational leadership.......more

Goodreads review by Shane on January 31, 2024

Good book. It's what you would expect. Don't try to read in one setting. My rating system: 3 stars I liked it, 4 I loved it, 5 I would recommend.......more

Quotes

Davis provides a book of substance that is a joy to read. In doing so, she demonstrates the relevance of the humanities even in a fast-changing 21st-century world. SUCCESS magazine

For anyone who wants to be a great leader in one manageable book.

Eminently practical. A great balance of introspection, inspiration, and impetus toward execution. 800-CEO-READS Editor's Choice

A delightful and mind stretching read that, when coupled with application tools and exercises, transforms the theoretical to the actionable.

Whenever I hear Jocelyn Davis talk about leadership, I listen. Her latest, The Greats on Leadership, is indispensable to the novice and a great resource for the experienced.

Brings to life the writings of many of our most- loved authors and applies their thinking to present day business. This is a book you will return to, time and time again.

A rare blend of old and new. Davis draws together leadership lessons with the best of modern business writers.

A great reminder to think about leadership in terms of the scope of the leader’s impact and not rungs on the corporate ladder.

A must-read for anyone who is serious about continuing their own evolution as a leader.

A rare book that meshes the deeply profound and personal wisdom of great writers and philosophers with immediately practical tools that anyone can apply.

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