This book is not a leadership manual, but an effort to remedy the inadequacies of leadership manuals. Peter Drucker once referred to Xenophon's The Education of Cyrus as "Still the greatest book on leadership", and he made a very good point. Over many years, I have become convinced that a book like Orwell's Homage to Catalonia, on his experiences in the Spanish Civil War, or Simon Schama's Citizens, on the French Revolution, will teach you more about human nature and motivation, human perversity and potential, and therefore leadership, than any of the thousands of business leadership texts that flood our bookstores and libraries. That is why I believe that reading sixty short excerpts from history and classic literature will be of immense benefit to people who lead. In a sense, "An Educational Bridge for Leaders" is an attempt to put my money where my mouth is. After a decade of coaching leaders in business and government organisations along lines that clearly run against the grain of much that is being purveyed in the field of leadership development, I have found a chasm in the lives of most leaders I work with that I believe needs bridging. This chasm lies between them and the well-rounded education that alone will enable them to become effective leaders. This book does not pretend to be a multi-lane suspension bridge across to the Promised Land, a convenient, once and for all 'solution' to the 'problem' of their education, but merely a modest, even tenuous, rope-bridge that will help them get across the chasm to where the on-going educational development essential to effective leadership can be pursued. The book can be read cover to cover, or by dipping in wherever, or by following a daily reading plan. There are sixty pieces drawn from classic literature and history, and also from contemporary authors, providing one reading a day for about two months. Everyone should be able to find the five minutes a day for the reading, but naturally, re-reading and reflection on the texts will pay additional dividends. Each piece is a door into another world, which you may wish to explore in the book from which it is taken, or in related books. Christopher Lasch told us long ago that "denial of the past, superficial and optimistic, proves on closer analysis to embody the despair of a society that cannot face the future". Leadership is about building a better future, and we can't do that without a firm grasp of the past. "An Educational Bridge for Leaders" is indispensible if we are to overcome the crisis of leadership afflicting our civilisation.
About the Author: Andre van Heerden is a director of The Power of Integrity Ltd. and the author of the Power of Integrity Leadership Program, which is designed to help organizations discover, define, and disseminate their vision, and to generate dynamic leadership. He has written two books on leadership: "Leaders and Misleaders" and "An Educational Bridge for Leaders". Andre has unique qualifications for dealing with the challenge of change and the need for leadership in our world today. He grew up as a cultural exile and comes from a country that doesn't exist anymore. Since studying law at Rhodes University in South Africa, he has been a filing clerk on the Rhodesian Railways, a history teacher, a deputy headmaster, a soldier, a policeman, a refugee, an advertising writer, a creative director, an immigrant, a marketing communications strategist, an account director for leading multinational brands, a marketing consultant, a conference speaker, and an expert on leadership. His career in advertising involved working with a wide array of international blue-chip brands like Toyota, Lexus, Ford, Jaguar, Honda, Renault, Kodak, Canon, American Express, Kimberley Clark, SC Johnson, and John Deere. The leadership development program he now heads has involved working with organisations in the dairy industry, food production, retail, the financial sector, real estate, advertising, print production, governmental services, education and training, accountancy, and legal services. Andre's interests include history, philosophy, education, and psychology - and rugby union.