Jeff Eggers

The bestselling author of Team of Teams dismantles the Great Man theory of leadership, by profiling leaders whose real stories defy their legends. In Leaders, retired four-star general Stan McChrystal explores what leadership really means, debunking the many myths that have surrounded the concept. He focuses on thirteen great leaders, showing that the lessons we commonly draw from their lives are seldom the correct ones. Leaders featured in the book include:Founders: Walt Disney and Coco ChanelZealots: Maximilien Robespierre and Abu Musab ZarkawiPowerbrokers: Margaret Thatcher and Boss TweedAnd other leaders profiled include geniuses Albert Einstein and Leonard Bernstein, reformers Martin Luther and Martin Luther King, Jr., and heroes Harriet Tubman and Zheng He. Ultimately, McChrystal posits that different environments will require different leaders, and that followers will choose the leader they need. Aspiring leaders will be best served not by cultivating a standard set of textbook leadership qualities, but by learning to discern what is required in each situation.

AN INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER Stanley McChrystal, the retired US Army general and bestselling author of Team of Teams, profiles thirteen of history's great leaders, including Walt Disney, Coco Chanel, and Robert E. Lee, to show that leadership is not what you think it is--and never was. Stan McChrystal served for thirty-four years in the US Army, rising from a second lieutenant in the 82nd Airborne Division to a four-star general, in command of all American and coalition forces in Afghanistan. During those years he worked with countless leaders and pondered an ancient question: "What makes a leader great?" He came to realize that there is no simple answer. With Plutarch's Lives as his model, McChrystal looks at paired sets of leaders who followed unconventional paths to success. For instance . . . Walt Disney and Coco Chanel, Maximilien Robespierre and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Boss Tweed and Margaret Thatcher, Martin Luther and Martin Luther King Jr., and finally explores his former hero, Robert E. Lee, from his exceptional military career to leading an army to defeat in service of an immoral cause. He uses their stories to explore how leadership works in practice and to challenge the myths that complicate our thinking about this critical topic. Leaders will help you take stock of your own leadership, whether you're part of a small team or responsible for an entire nation.