Leadership Matters: Unleashing the Power of Paradox

Viewing leadership as a realm where rules only occasionally apply, Cronin (American institutions and leadership, Colorado College) and Genovese (political science, Loyola Marymount U.) eschew how-to formulas for leadership and instead see it as a series of dilemmas, choices, and paradoxes. They examine how leaders deal with these challenges and contend that leadership is a process that encourages the accomplishment of group purposes; that its tasks are to learn, build morale, motivate, educate, and create human communities; that leaders need followers; and that many aspects can be learned. They define leadership and consider how leaders lead, why and when followers follow, how it works, what its limits and possibilities are, what happens when leaders "go bad," and how they can be valued, empowered, and constrained in a democratic culture. They also discuss what can be learned from the classics, business, politics, the military, and Hollywood; leadership's creative side; and its roles, from motivator to teacher. Annotation 穢2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)