The sub-title for this book says a lot in one short sentence, “The art and strategy of creating leaders at every level”. In the past 24 months, I have read over 40 books regarding leadership from a variety of authors who are all considered experts. You can check out reviews for most these books on my website. One might tend to think that after reading that much on leadership it is feasible to have learned everything there is available. I would tell you that I have barely scratched the surface. If you have studied either art or strategy it will become abundantly clear that a lifetime can be spent without fully comprehending more than a small degree of either topic.
This book provides a great foundation in understanding the reason behind how leadership is an art and there is strategy. From what I can tell, all branches of the US Military does an outstanding job of teaching men and women of all ages, how to be better leaders. There is much that we can learn from the lessons provided in the history of our military. In Five-Star Leadership you can also see how leaders in business and other arenas have contributed to the overall foundation of our current insight around great leadership.
In reading this book, you can see the value of love and care for others while leading. There are examples of why and how authoritarian type leadership is needed but in small and carefully applied doses. The value of participative and delegatory leadership tactics and styles become more clear. The authors teach on how to build a strong foundation for leadership and just how important it is to ensure you take stock of a situation before taking action.
One principle strength that I gleaned was the importance of ethics in leadership. As a leader, if you are not driven by a high ethical standard, you will undermine your own authority as well as the effectiveness of the whole organization. An unethical leader is an impediment to themselves and many others around them, both up and down the chain of command.
Five-Star Leadership does get into some deep concepts. It requires focus and attention to grasp what is being taught. I found it well worth the effort to read this book, digest what I can, and keep it nearby for future reference. I highly recommend this book for those who are serious about understanding leadership and how it affect the behavior of those around us.