Leading Minds: An Anatomy of Leadership [ペーパーバック]

The idea of the leader as living exponent of a story is combined with the concept of the 'five year old mind'. Simply put, even sophisticated people are not sophisticated in all domains. In other domains, the common denominator of shared understanding is the 'five year old mind', the five year old having a very concrete, literal and emotionally based understanding of the world. For success, a leader should know how to appeal to the five year old mind, as well as to more sophisticated audiences.

There are three parts - and do not miss the preface to the paperback edition. The first is 'A Framework for leadership', which states the main thesis.

"When one thinks of the leader as a story-teller, whose stories must wrestle with those that are already operative in the mind of an audience, one obtains a powerful way of conceptualizing the work of leading. It is important for leaders to know their stories, to get them straight, to communicate them effectively, and, above all, to embody in their lives the stories that they tell."

The second part consists of case studies of people who exemplify leadership across various domains. It includes examples from each of his two classes of leaders (direct leaders who engage directly with others in action, and indirect leaders (like Einstein) who influence others through their impact on how people see the world).

The third looks forward and summarises the enduring lessons for leadership. The principles that he extracts are both important and practical.

Approached as a guide to exercise of leadership, the case studies can be `dipped into', while Parts one and three are studied for their messages. If necessary, save the case studies for your holidays, because they are well chosen, brilliantly told and make fascinating reading.

It is a book that is not only valuable for the way it treats its core theme. It also provides an immensely fertile starting point for thinking about related issues of change. I first read it during a period in which I was intensely engaged in promoting cultural change in a large organisation and was able to relate very directly to Gardner's analysis and find direct value in his prescriptions.

Howard Gardner, himself a leader in the area of Multiple Intelligences, brings his profound insight on the human mind to a much written about but poorly understood topic of Leadership. Gardner and Laskins' identify six key constants of Leadership including:

1. A Story - Leaders must have a central message or story that speaks directly to the "unschooled mind."

2. An Audience - There must be an audience to act upon the message.

3. An Organization - To endure, leaders must have some type of organizational basis.

4. The Embodiment - To be effective, a leader must be able to "walk the talk."

5. Direct and Indirect Leadership - Leaders have options to exert their influence either indirectly or directly.

6. Expertise - In order for leaders to obtain any credibility, they must be experts within their domain.

Their case studies excellently illustrate and humanize their theory on Leadership. I, as one of the multitude of "unschooled minds", found the stories of contemporary leaders deeply compelling. I have gained a new and deeper appreciation for Margaret Mead, Pope John XXIII, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I now have an intense desire to learn as much as possible regarding the lives and tremendous contributions of all three of these Leaders.

The case studies provide a much needed, if unintended, comical relief to this serious topic. The authors, while strongly emphasizing the benefits of inclusionary leadership and the perils of good vs evil stories that appeal to the "unschooled mind", themselves engage in exclusionary stories of good vs evil by lionizing those of the same political ideology as themselves and demonize those of differing political viewpoints. It delightfully humanizes the authors and candidly displays that even the "schooled mind" may, on occasion, fall prey to the biases of the "unschooled mind."

Buy this Book! Treat yourself and explore this fascinating topic of Leadership. I would also strongly recommend two other books by Howard Gardner, FRAMES OF MIND: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences and CREATING MINDS : An Anatomy of Creativity Seen Through the Lives of Freud, Einstein, Picasso, Stravinsky, Eliot, Graham, and Gandhi. On the topic of Leadership, I highly recommend John Kotter's LEADING CHANGE and WHAT LEADERS REALLY DO.

Thomas I. Amadio