Book Review: Learning how to lead wisely

What are the essential qualities of leadership? How do we develop leaders? Does culture matter in leadership? How does leadership differ from management? How do we lead effectively? In a series of intimate conversations, Lan Liu has sought answers to these and other pressing questions made more pertinent by the recent dilemmas thrown up in the wake of the financial crisis.

In doing so, he has brought together and condensed the thoughts and wisdom of 13 of the most influential scholars in the world of leadership today: John Kotter, Warren Bennis, Howard Gardner, James March, Jim Kouzes, Noel Tichy, Bill George, Peter Senge, Jerry Porras and Joseph Badaracco Jr provide a broad spectrum of views from the United States; Manfred Kets de Vries offers a European perspective; and China's Cho-yun Hsu and Debashis Chatterjee from India add a distinctly Asian flavor to the mixture. Since each leader has a distinctive approach, this book provides the multi-faceted truths of leadership to broaden and deepen the understanding of the readers. The views presented here provide a broad overview and a thorough understanding of leadership, not just from a management perspective but incorporating insights from disciplines as varied as history and psychology. The conversational format lends a vivid immediacy to the thinking of these modern masters and the author has been able to summarize and integrate the eight disciplines of leadership necessary for any current or aspiring practitioners of leadership.

The author is a researcher at Peking University's Center for China Strategic Studies and adjunct professor at the Beijing Peter F. Drucker Academy, where he teaches leadership courses on their executive programs. In a varied career, he has been a columnist for China Business Times, associate director of case center at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business and deputy general manager of an advertising agency. Lan Liu is also author of five other books in Chinese.