Leadership and the Art of Struggle

January 7, 2013
Leadership is never as easy as it looks and that's exactly as it should be, says executive, entrepreneur, and leadership coach Snyder, currently executive-in-residence at Minnesota's University of St. Thomas. Leadership requires extreme courage and strength, but as Snyder argues, the best leaders have to get past the expectation of perfection while still striving for greatness. The author asked corporate, nonprofit, and government leaders to speak to the times of struggle in their careers and shares 151 of these stories to illustrate how the acceptance of the hard work of leadership can create true greatness. Snyder walks readers through the all-important steps of what he terms "The Pathway to Adaptive Energy": becoming grounded, exploring new pathways, and deepening adaptive energy. In addition, he addresses the everyday difficulties of beating self-doubt, facing change, establishing balance, and getting the necessary support. This is a practical, thoughtful guide to creating sanity, as well as "purpose and meaning" within leadership.

February 15, 2013

Because of the subject's perennial popularity, authors continue to find new ways to write about leadership. Here consultant and former Microsoft executive Snyder suggests that all leaders will face struggle and should hone their skills in its wake or, rather, in anticipation of it. The book is well organized, proceeding logically through its three sections on ways to lead in the face of adversity: by grounding yourself, exploring new pathways, and deepening your adaptive energy. While not a scintillating read, the text is logical and the author offers "reflection exercises" that will help readers to enact the suggested strategies. VERDICT Fans of conventional business books that are heavily focused on case studies will get the most out of this book; those not in leadership positions might find useful information here for learning from tough times.--Sarah Statz Cords, Reader's Advisor Online, Middleton, WI

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