There's only so much that can be obtained from any class or book on leadership. We gain most of our leadership skills by leading and then carefully studying what works and what doesn't.
That said, I believe a great deal can be learned from biographies of famous historical figures. Here, in no particular order, are some of the greats who should be studied by any student of leadership:
- George C. Marshall
- Winston Churchill
- Abraham Lincoln
- George Washington
- Dwight Eisenhower
- Lee Kuan Yew
- Ernest Shackleton
- Margaret Thatcher
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Ronald Reagan
- Charles de Gaulle
- Alexander the Great
- The Duke of Wellington
- Mahatma Gandhi
- Nelson Mandela
- Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
- Augustus Caesar
- Elizabeth I
- Theodore Roosevelt
- Julius Caesar
- Ulysses S. Grant
Any others?
4 comments:
I admire many of the people on your list, but over the years I've come to view leadership as a much more complex area than most biographies can handle. May I suggest branching out a bit. Here's a favorite, Supplying War: Logistics from Wallenstein to Patton by Martin van Creveld that looks at another other the most important skills needed by good leaders in a military context.
Larry,
A good author and subject to read.
Van Creveld would want Napoleon on the list.
Michael
William Wilberforce
Bob,
Great choice!
Michael
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