“Time to Lead” by Jan-Benedict Steenkamp

Like every book on leadership I have read, Steenkamp uses analogies to describe leadership styles. The analogies used here will be more useful to some than others, which is likely why so many different types are used to describe essentially the same 6 or so leader types.

What’s nice about this book is that Steenkamp gives historical case studies to illustrate her analogies. What’s more, the focus is on pivotal decisions made by these leaders. The bonus is at the end of each section Steenkamp poses questions to help you determine if your leadership is akin to that type. The end of the book provides assessments to help you determine which leadership mold you fit into, and your capacity to grow into (or out of) them. This section is a full third of the book!

Steenkamp does well to give enough background for each of the leaders studied to help us understand why they made the pivotal decisions they did. Each leader’s overall style characterization is independent of their methodology, which I found interesting. For example, Florence Nightingale and Martin Luther King, Jr. were both Servant Leaders, but their relationships with their proximal and distal followers were very different.

The writing style is mostly dry. I actually fell asleep every night while reading this material, even though the subject is important to me. I learned a lot I did not previously know about the leaders represented, but I felt disconnected from them. The author’s writing style is very academic while remaining accessible to the layperson. There are no terminology barriers for the average reader.

I give the book 3 stars; dead average for me. The material is useful and helpful, but delivered in a way that makes it hard to engage. The information itself was interesting and may serve to influence leaders to grow into the style best suited for them. It will likely be a bit of a slog to get through, though.

This book was a NetGalley gift from the publisher. The opinions shared in this review are my own and I have received no compensation in exchange for offering them.

This book tackles 16 leaders and their styles of leadership along with their trials and the decisions they made. Very timely book when BCG calls it the right time to get some leadership scars now in the time of crisis which will become stripes later on.
Many historical examples, world leaders, explorers to choose from.