Leadership Is an Art [Paperback]

Max Depree (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 18, 2004

LEADERSHIP IS AN ART has long been a must-read not only within the business community but also in professions ranging from academia to medical practices, to the political arena. First published in 1989, the book has sold more than 800,000 copies in hardcover and paperback. This revised edition brings Max De Pree’s timeless words and practical philosophy to a new generation of readers.De Pree looks at leadership as a kind of stewardship, stressing the importance of building relationships, initiating ideas, and creating a lasting value system within an organization. Rather than focusing on the “hows” of corporate life, he explains the “whys.” He shows that the first responsibility of a leader is to define reality and the last is to say thank you. Along the way, the artful leader must:

• Stimulate effectiveness by enabling others to reach both their personal potential and their institutional potential

• Take a role in developing, expressing, and defending civility and values

• Nurture new leaders and ensure the continuation of the corporate culture

LEADERSHIP IS AN ART offers a proven design for achieving success by developing the generous spirit within all of us. Now more than ever, it provides the insights and guidelines leaders in every field need.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Rather than offering a how-to manual on running a business, DePree, CEO of Herman Miller Inc., a manufacturer of office furniture, details, in deceptively simple but imaginative language, a humanitarian approach to leadership. The artful leader, he argues, should recognize human diversity and make full use of his or her employees' gifts. Further, he believes, a leader is responsible not just for the health of a company's financial assets, but for its ethics. Advocating management through persuasion, and the exercise of democratic participation rather than concentrated power, he favors covenantal relationships with employees that rest on shared purpose, dignity and choice. The author stresses the need for communication, but his only direct guidance concerns the need for job performance reviews and self-evaluation.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“This is a wonderful book. It captures Max’s spirit—and he’s a truly exceptional person. But it also says more about leadership in clearer, more elegant, and more convincing language than many of the much longer books that have been published on the subject.”—Peter F. Drucker

“His opus is as worthy as scripture.”—New York Times Book Review

“Like the elegant furniture his company makes, De Pree’s book provides a valuable lesson in grace, style, and the elements of success.”—Time

“Leadership Is an Art is one of the best books I have ever read in my life on the subject of leadership and business management philosophy.”—Sam Walton

“Perhaps we should banish all of our management books except Max De Pree’s recent gem, Leadership Is an Art. The successful Herman Miller, Inc., chairman . . . . writes only about trust, grace, spirit, and love . . . . such concerns are the essence of organizations, small or large.”—Inc. magazine

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Crown Business; Reprint edition (May 18, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385512465
• ISBN-13: 978-0385512466
• Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 5.5 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Leadership Is About Liberating People December 17, 2005

By Andrew Schonbek TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

On page one of Leadership Is an Art Max Depree writes, "The book is about the art of leadership: liberating people to do what is required of them in the most effective and humane way possible". This is a theme that runs throughout this very wise and in every way excellent work. The following quotes provide some of the flavor of Depree's enlightened and inspiring thinking:

* The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the two, the leader must become a servant and a debtor.

* In addition to all of the ratios and goals and parameters and bottom lines, it is fundamental that leaders endorse a concept of persons. This begins with an understanding of the diversity of people's gifts and talents and skills.

* Understanding and accepting diversity enables us to see that each of us is needed. It also enables us to begin to think about being abandoned to the strengths of others, of admitting that we cannot know or do everything.

* Leaders don't inflict pain; they bear pain.

* First, as a Christian I believe that each person is made in the image of God. For those of us who have received the gift of leadership from the people we lead, this belief has enormous implications.

* Leaders owe people space, space in the sense of freedom. Freedom in the sense of enabling our gifts to be exercised.

* Participative management is not democratic. Having a say differs from having a vote.

* Interestingly, though in organizations like ours we need a lot of freedom, there is no room for license. Discipline is what it takes to do the job.

* One of the important things leaders need to learn is to recognize the signals of impending deterioration.

* Without forgiveness, there can be no real freedom to act...

Depree has given us an abiding philosophy of leadership. Actually operating in alignment with these principles demands a very high level of integrity - one that few leaders ever do attain. Those that do so unleash forces of transformation resulting in high performance high involvement organizations.

This book characterizes a commercial arena filled with vocational potential. I give it the highest recommendation.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Artful & Philosophical Leadership October 26, 2004

By Matthew Dodd

Format:Paperback

Thoughtful and thought-provoking, Max DePree's easy-to-read classic, "Leadership is an Art," was one of the best leadership books I have read. I recommend it to brand-new leaders to help lay a solid leadership foundation upon which to build, and to seasoned leaders and managers interested in sharpening their leadership skills and refining their approach to leadership.

This book is a series of interdependent philosophical essays that are part of a holistic view of effective leadership. DePree defines the art of leadership as "liberating people to do what is required of them in the most effective and humane way possible," and that definition is a theme that runs throughout the book. Another closely related common theme in these non-sequential yet complementary essays is that leaders must abandon themselves to the strengths of others in order to serve them and allow them to realize their full potential.

DePree put a lot of emphasis on people and fostering leadership environments in which trusting, respectful, and effective relationships flourish. His ideas and beliefs about leadership, some that I have never really read anywhere else, were refreshing and stimulating. One largely ignored insight that particularly stood out to me was that "much of a leader's performance cannot be reviewed until `after' the fact." In today's common short-term focus/instant gratification world, such insights deserve our uncommon attention.

Although originally published in 1989, DePree's thoughts, ideas, and approach to leadership are timeless. While some people may argue that DePree's writings are idealistic, I found them to be realistic given the nature of people and the frenetic pace of our hyper-competitive professional environments. Every leader owes it to him- or herself, and to those who allow themselves to be led, to read and reflect on the leadership wisdom contained in this small and powerful book.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The most elegant book on leadership you will ever read. January 30, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

For anyone looking to go beyond the status quo of leadership, Leadership Is An Art is required reading. Going beyond the mechanics of leading and into the ethics and philosopy of leadership, the book puts a human face on what can be a very harsh position, corporate leadership. With probing questions, the author pulls out of the reader many insights, and forces you to think through things yourself, allowing you to own the conclusions you come to. If you are in any type of leadership at all, from parents to CEO's, read this book.