Leadership the Eleanor Roosevelt Way [Bargain Price] [Hardcover]

Robin Gerber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2002

Roosevelt's ability to confront and successfully overcome long-standing social hurdles made her one of the greatest leaders of the last century. A veritable roadmap to heroic living, this unique book examines her leadership development and provides women from all walks of life with a model for personal achievement. 16-page photo insert.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Gerber, a senior fellow at the University of Maryland's Academy of Leadership, idolizes Roosevelt as someone who overcame numerous hardships in her personal life. Using biographical details from different periods of the first lady's colorful history, from childhood to the last few months of her life, Gerber shows how Roosevelt's actions are still relevant and can provide inspiration for women today. Although it feels forced at times, this approach works. For example, in the chapter on finding your "leadership passion," Gerber says, "Your values have taken time to develop. They're based on your family background, religion, relationships and experiences and they are a part of you. But unless your values have been tested they may not be apparent to you." She then goes on to explain how Roosevelt didn't recognize her own values after spending many years listening to her grandmother and her husband. But when she began speaking out against political injustices, she grew more comfortable with her own beliefs. Each chapter ends with key principles ("Eleanor's Way"); some of these points are useful, but others are tired (e.g., "Follow your authentic instincts" or "Be bold and principled in implementing your vision"). Despite these flaws, Gerber's work provides a thought-provoking look at a first lady with a unique style.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Gerber, a labor lawyer, teacher, and senior fellow at the Academy of Leadership at the University of Maryland, here offers a self-help book for young women seeking to develop leadership skills. Noting the absence of leadership education materials that cite women as role models, Gerber has chosen to frame her advice around Eleanor Roosevelt and the difficult challenges she faced and overcame. Gerber's personal experience and vignettes from other successful women also illustrate the various lessons incorporated in each chapter, e.g., "Learn from Your Past," "Find Mentors and Advisers," "Learn from Adversity," and "Never Stop Learning." The chapter titled "Find Your Leadership Passion" describes ER's initiation in and reformist commitment to New York State politics and ends with a list of specific pointers under the heading of "Eleanor's Way," which in this instance includes the counsel to take the words I can't and should out of one's vocabulary. This book has a foreword by distinguished scholar James MacGregor Burns, and the publisher plans a major publicity campaign, but its audience is hard to define. For libraries with a large "self-help" clientele.
Cynthia Harrison, George Washington Univ., Washington, DC
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: New York: Prentice Hall Press; 1St Edition edition (October 1, 2002)
• ISBN-10: 0735203245
• ASIN: B0009U7YPU
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #466,723 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robin Gerber is a national commentator and speaker on leadership, and the author of Leadership the Eleanor Roosevelt Way: Timeless Strategies from the First Lady of Courage (Penguin/Portfolio, 2002) and Katharine Graham: The Leadership Journey of an American Icon with a foreword by Jim Collins, author of Good to Great (Penguin/Portfolio, October, 2005). Her books are used in leadership development courses and corporate programs across the United States. She is also a lawyer and senior faculty for the Gallup Organization, and a senior fellow in Executive Education at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, College Park.

A member of the Board of Contributors for the opinion pages of USA Today, and a columnist for Reader's Digest, Robin also publishes frequently in other national newspapers. She has been a commentator on NPR's Marketplace and Morning Edition, and has appeared on The Newshour with Jim Lehrer and dozens of radio talk shows.

Robin is an inspirational keynote speaker on leadership development, using moving stories from the lives of Eleanor Roosevelt, Katharine Graham and other great leaders to illustrate leadership lessons.

Her clients include Bank of America, IBM, Marriott, Legg Mason, JP Morgan/Chase, Freddie Mac, Aetna Information Services, the AARP, Lee Hecht Harrison, Giant Food, The Culinary Institute, West Point, the U.S. Forest Service, the Council for Excellence in Government, The 3rd Quality Conference of the European Union, and many universities, colleges, girls' schools, nonprofits and government agencies. She also has a select client list for executive coaching. Prior to becoming an author, Robin practiced law in Washington, D.C. and worked on Capitol Hill. She has studied and written about leadership development since 1975.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ER Lessons for Leadership and Lessons for the World Now, March 29, 2003

By 

J. A. Atkinson "jaldous" (Lynnwood, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Leadership the Eleanor Roosevelt Way: Timeless Strategies from the First Lady of Courage (Hardcover)

After reading about Colin Powel's style, Bush's War and Guiliani's book on Leadership, it was a nice break to read about one of history's greatest first ladies--Eleanor Roosevelt. It also served as a checkpoint for myself to have a peek at the early 20th century and the beginnings of the UN in light of recent events. This book was written by Robin Gerber who is a senior scholar at the Academy of Leadership which is part of the University of Maryland. Not only a biography of Eleanor, it's also a how-to on leadership and includes side information about how other women implement Eleanor's style in their lives today.
Key Takeaways:
Give Voice to Your Leadership--ER did not start out a brilliant and inspiring public speaker, she had to practice at it. She eventually managed to be an effective communicator through both speech and her writing in columns. She held press conferences at the White House for women reporters only--she identified an audience she could reach and began speaking to them.
Embrace Risk--despite many folks including herself being unsure of her and her role, at Truman's request ER took on a role within the formation of the UN and went on to be a leading proponant of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She took this on shortly after the death of FDR--a time when she could have retired. Instead she started on a second life.
Never Stop Learning--this keeps coming up in the lives of leaders--they have an interest in the world and learning about it. ER traveled extensively in the latter part of her life and took a good deal of interest in learning about the world and the various cultures enhabiting it. She traveled throughout the middle east and India. She also used her columns, and speeches as a tool to educate others.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leadership the Eleanor Roosevelt Way, December 9, 2002

By 

Julia Akins Clark (Bethesda, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leadership the Eleanor Roosevelt Way: Timeless Strategies from the First Lady of Courage (Hardcover)

At 46, I found the book both affirming and inspiring. Ms. Gerber shows, through the life of the great ER, how painful life experiences can enhance both self awareness and empathy, and even more amazingly, how suffering a betrayal can be liberating. Her discussion on the special leadership skills developed through motherhood make clear the public interest in cultivating women leaders. The book is both a very accesible, good read and an effective step-by-step leadership guide.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars She is just as relevant today as she was in her time., November 11, 2002

By 

"mamartz" (Santa Barbara, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leadership the Eleanor Roosevelt Way: Timeless Strategies from the First Lady of Courage (Hardcover)

Ms. Gerber really brings Eleanor to life, and makes her human. This book unfolds the story of how Eleanor found herself -- found her skills, her voice, her passion. Even in the face of great challenges -- personal, social, political -- Eleanor had her internal compass which lead her to greatness.

This book also shows Eleanor's self-doubt -- a feeling that all mortals experience. Eleanor is not a "super hero." She was a living, breathing woman who didn't know where life would take her.

Finally, this book is about leadership -- not the hard-charging, slash-and-burn, take no prisoners approach. But the kinder, gentler, diplomatic approach, that appeals to people's desire to create a better world for themselves and everyone around them.

This is a great read, and will leave you inspired!