What is the role of leadership in society? Why do people surrender their political autonomy to the decision-making authority of leaders and rulers? Why do people follow the commands of their leaders? Who gets to be king/chief/emperor and why? Why are some societies centralized while others are not? The papers in this volume draw on the archaeological record of societies from around the world to address these critical issues in contemporary social science.

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. McChrystal profiles thirteen famous leaders from a wide range of eras and fields—from corporate CEOs to politicians and revolutionaries. He uses their stories to explore how leadership works in practice and to challenge the myths that complicate our thinking about this critical topic. 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 built empires in very different ways. Both had public personas that sharply contrasted with how they lived in private. · Maximilien Robespierre helped shape the French Revolution in the eighteenth century; Abu Musab al-Zarqawi led the jihadist insurgency in Iraq in the twenty-first. We can draw surprising lessons from them about motivation and persuasion. · Both Boss Tweed in nineteenth-century New York and Margaret Thatcher in twentieth-century Britain followed unlikely roads to the top of powerful institutions. · Martin Luther and his future namesake Martin Luther King Jr., both local clergymen, emerged from modest backgrounds to lead world-changing movements. Finally, McChrystal explores how his former hero, General Robert E. Lee, could seemingly do everything right in his military career and yet lead the Confederate Army to a devastating defeat in the service of an immoral cause. Leaders will help you take stock of your own leadership, whether you’re part of a small team or responsible for an entire nation.

In each volume, an introductory essay outlines of history of the disciplines under discussion, and describes how changes and innovations in these disciplines have affected our lives. The biographies that follow are organized in an A-Z format: each biography is divided into a "life" section describing the individual's life and influences and a "legacy" section summarizing the impact of that individual's work throughout history. These biographies cover a diverse group of men and women from around the globe and throughout history. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Mao Tse-tung and Genghis Khan are among the 200 well-known historical figures included in this volume. Examples of other lesser-known, yet important, individuals covered in this work are: Gustavas Adolphus, Swedish empire creator; Hatshepsut, queen of ancient Egyptian dynasty; and Jean Jaurès, French socialist leader and pacifist. Each synopsis provides information on each individual's enduring impact on the common understanding of fundamental themes of human existence.

What does it really mean to take a leadership role? In this book, learn how true leaders are made and how you can be one too No one is born to lead. This is the idea at the heart of this thoughtful book on true leadership. While popular culture feeds us images of the stereotypical leader—charismatic, powerful, decisive—the truth is, with the right amount of self-knowledge and authenticity, anyone can be a good leader. There are countless courses and books available on leadership technique, decision-making and public speaking, but How to Be a Leader by Martin Bjergegaard and Cosmina Popa aims to give you the tools to understand and bring out your own individual leadership style. With an in-depth look at what it really means to lead, and the differences between being a manager and being a leader, this book invites you to explore and learn about the unique leader in you.

Wisdom for Kings, Rulers, Leaders and Ordinary Folk speaks to the love motif of God for His people. The writing in the Book of Proverbs peregrinates through the books of the Old Testament and back into the New Testament as the Holy Spirit reveals the sincerity, depth and integrity of Scripture. The decision to use the Reflections to talk about the grace, mercy and love of Christ Jesus as seen in the Book of Proverbs was the right decision. Like the compendium of contributors to the Book of Proverbs, Jesus used everyday situations to talk about the spiritual hope available to all humanity. Many of the teachings of Jesus, originally found in the Book of Proverbs, point to the wisdom of God throughout the Holy Bible. Every word in the New Testament points to God, as the penultimate source of wisdom. Keywords: Enlightening, Life, Changing, Informative, Thought, Provoking, Eye, Opening, Practical, Wisdom, Unveiled, A, Must, Read, Before, Choosing, A, Friend, Or, A Spouse

The New York Times–bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize winner examines the history of leadership, and the crucial role of leaders in a healthy democracy. In Transforming Leadership, James MacGregor Burns illuminates the evolution of leadership structures—from the chieftains of tribal African societies, through Europe’s absolute monarchies, to the blossoming of the Enlightenment’s ideals of liberty and happiness during the American Revolution. Along the way, he looks at key breakthroughs in leadership and the towering leaders who attempted to transform their worlds—Elizabeth I, Washington, Jefferson, Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, Gorbachev, and others. Culminating in a bold and innovative plan to address the greatest global leadership challenge of the twenty-first century, the long-intractable problem of global poverty, Transforming Leadership will spark lively discussion in classrooms and boardrooms throughout the country.