3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Solid structure, excellent techniques, engaging stories - our best selves emerge!, July 14, 2007
This review is from: Everyday Leadership: Getting Results in Business, Politics, and Life (Paperback)
I bought a dozen of Dan's book before I read it, based on my belief in his warm human way of encouraging leadership as a practice of personhood. It took me a couple of months to start to read my own copy, but only a couple of days (on vacation) to finish it. His stories make it enjoyable to read, and the reader can be moved to grow from the inside, heart as well as head. Here are some pages I dogeared, and my comments when I had the time to review them:
Page 31: "leaders light torches". I realized some time ago that my wife is like this. Everywhere she goes, she affirms people's goodness as she delights in them and takes interest in them. Her little wick is hardly seen, but oh, the lights she's lit! As I grow older, I realize that this kind of leadership is ageless, and leaves a greater legacy than any other.
Page 139: "leading from the middle" Discovering that we are average, and being called to lead from there is really good for me. It helps me to see that when I am effective, I mistakenly think it is because I am exceptional; when I discover my frailty, it distracts me and I lose my stride. On the other hand, if I put on the hair shirt of self doubt, I'm totally useless. This middle ground is fertile! I see a second book in this!
Page 160: "technologically advancing but tribally regressing century" - this is prophetic, in my opinion.
Page 167: "I don't want to look stupid" - boy, oh boy, is this valid for me. While we were in Germany, I hid from using my very limited German. Meanwhile, my wife, equipped with her smile and her little German-English dictionary, was quite effective in communicating. Difference? She was not afraid to make it clear that she could not speak much. In Hartford Connecticut, I was reminded of her goodness in this regard. At the hotel breakfast, we were very capably and warmly served by a woman who spoke very little English. She would come around, for example, with a handful of bananas and HER big smile, look warmly into our eyes, and say "Banana? Or no?" Later I went to thank her, and tell her what a beautiful smile that she had. She did not look stupid, at all. She lit my torch, as I think about it now!
Finally, Dan's closing story of the choir director recalled to me an experience we had on our first trip to Florence. After a week or two, I missed being with my students. We went to Mass at the cathedral, and there getting set to sing was a group of such marvelous ethnic diversity I began to blink away tears, sensing that they must be American kids. Sure enough; in the middle of the celebrant's welcoming comments in undecipherable Italian were the words "Youngstown State University" and "Dana Chorale". Their director was a man thin and intensely engaged with them, nervously moving and yet warm. He loved the notes out of them all through that Mass. At the end of the Mass, I went over to thank all of them, and to thank him, too. But as I approached, I realized that he was occupied with one particular member of the group. "Did you hear her!" "Did you hear how wonderfully she sang that?" "You DID it!; you got the best out of her; what a great job you did!" The girl was weeping, the director was weeping, and of course, I was weeping. The kids in the group were beaming proudly. I did met the director, Wayne Raridon, retired now. What a legacy he left in those kids.
What did I get from Dan's book? Communication, communication, communication, for one. This book pushes on relationship, and away from traps of individual heroism. I had expected to find a series of great stories, but I found a solid structure and excellent techniques supported by great stories. And I found my BEST SELF being called out, encouraged, and informed.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Leading with Truth, April 24, 2009
This review is from: Everyday Leadership: Getting Results in Business, Politics, and Life (Paperback)
I think what impressed me the most was the willingness of this author to be so vulnerable and open. There were a couple of instances when the author actually WROTE what most of us are only brave enough to THINK in the privacy of our own minds. I found it inspiring to see an accomplished man struggle with similar issues that each of us face daily - knowing the cost of not meeting the mark everyday; knowing the struggles that our ego's create and tend to make bigger. Mr. Mulhern articulates his own struggles in a wise, compassionate and empathetic way, sharing his walk with the reader while gently guiding us toward a better understanding of what it takes to lead well. Worth the money! Hearing the Audio CD was even better, you can really hear the sincerity and humor in his voice.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Leadership made easy, March 5, 2008
This review is from: Everyday Leadership: Getting Results in Business, Politics, and Life (Paperback)
In "Everyday Leadership: Getting Results in Business, Politics and Life," author Dan Mulhern says there are no small leaders or small acts of leadership. Each of us, he says, whether we are a parent, a teacher or a CEO can make a difference in the lives of others and move them to accomplish great things. At a time when political heroes and celebrity role models are sparse, it's both comforting and inspiring to know that we each have the ability, and responsibility, to lead.
"Everyday Leadership" provides concrete strategies to obtain results and, at the same time, gives us permission to wrestle with the very human struggles of leadership like managing our egos and emotions, and doing the right thing even when it's the hard thing. Dan makes the reader realize that the decision to lead is available to us every moment, every day, and his practical tips, personal stories and real-life anecdotes make that decision easier to make.
For anyone pondering how to become a leader at work, at home or just in daily living, this is a great book.
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