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The 2nd Language of Leadership

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The 2nd Language of Leadership is an informative and highly readable book that will be a great resource for professionals, students, persons in managment from many fields. It captures the reader's interest in the beginning with a short story entitled the "popcorn chronicals". This story draws the reader into a leadership conflict seen through the eyes of two persons who hold different values, and who exhibit different leadership styles. The bulk of the book shares research on the "big 5 personality factors" and their relationship to leadership. Examples of key leaders in business and politics bring the descriptions to life for the reader. A key issue throughout this book involves the notion that each person will have areas of relative strength and weakness related to the big five. They suggest that our capacity for leadership is related to our ability to know both our strengths and weaknesses. Areas that come naturally to us are described as the "first language" of leadership. When we find a leadership niche that fits with our innate personality strengths we will be more likely to succeed. However, long term success is thought to require that we operate beyond our narrow area of strengths. The authors debunk the myth that one personality is the "ideal" personality for leadership. They convey the importance of adopting an attitude of acceptance and learning to augment areas, which they entitle "the second language" of leadership (i.e., areas of leadership that don't come as quickly). They describe the relative merits of 4 views on leadership (the power view, the transformational view, the paradigm shift view, and the social view) that follow from one's personality profile. This book offers an empirically-based guide to preparing for leadership positions. This book will be a very informative and helpful resource especially for those entering a leadership role or trying to enhance their skills in an existing leadership role.