Book Review: Leadership: Being Effective and Remaining Human

 Leadership: Being Effective and Remaining Human
 Peter Gilbert, Russell House Publishing
 ISBN: 1903855764, 17.95

 STAR RATING: 2/5






When I picked this book up I wondered whether the world really needed another on the topic of leadership, writes Les Bright.

And, despite the author’s record of leadership and the many endorsements from his friends and colleagues across the UK, my opinion remains unchanged.

That is not to say that there are not plenty of valuable insights, and some useful case studies to inform the reader’s understanding.

But, I found myself increasingly irritated by the plethora of quotes from sportsmen and women, fictional characters, politicians from the past and present, management theorists and assorted others peppered throughout the book.

Gilbert’s choices of “leadership examples”, including Karen Wood who is chair of a mental health user forum, Field Marshal Slim, Martin Luther King, Professor Anthony Sheehan, Cardinal Basil Hume and Jo Williams of Mencap, demonstrate the breadth of coverage but may also illustrate the fuzzy focus.

With a bewildering array of exercises, figures, case studies and examples, I could not decide whether the book needed a more rigorous editor, a sharper designer or to be transformed into a series of useful short papers.

Maybe it simply needed a different reviewer!

Les Bright is an independent consultant