Nine Practices of 21st Century Leadership, 2nd Edition

Chapter 1Clarifying Why Leadership Is Confusing

DOI: 10.4324/9781003273448-2

How is “what I know” getting in the way of “what I don’t know?” By simply asking this question, I was compelled to venture beyond the realm of my own understanding.¹

Wiseman

Introduction

You may find the leadership concept elusive. With thousands of books on the subject, there is no well-defined and universally accepted explanation of leadership. As Maxwell asserts, leadership is obscure (Box 1.1).

BOX 1.1 WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?

Everyone talks about it; few understand it. Most people want it; few achieve it. There are over fifty definitions and descriptions of it in my personal files. What is this intriguing subject we call leadership?²

Maxwell

I’ve seen simple ...