Why Are We Bad at Picking Good Leaders? A Better Way to Evaluate Leadership Potential

May 17, 2011

Why Are We Bad at Picking Good Leaders?: A Better Way to Evaluate Leadership Potential

San Francisco, CA – How often have you said or heard the following?

• “Our president is doing a terrible job.”
• “Those guys on Wall Street ruined our economy.”
• “Corporate leaders only care about stuffing their own pockets.”
• “I wish I worked for a better boss.”

Let’s face it – we are lousy at picking good leaders. Time and time again we bemoan the men and women who run our organizations, companies and governments. Why does this happen?

Why Are We Bad at Picking Good Leaders? A Better Way to Evaluate Leadership Potential (Jossey-Bass; 978-0-470-60194-5; May 2011) by Jeffrey Cohn and Jay Moran will help those who struggle with understanding "leadership." Through the authors’ unique expert perspective and entertaining approach, readers will gain the ultimate insider access into what organizations really look for, and how they evaluate it.

Based on the authors’ decades of experience working with CEOs, Fortune 500 board members and other top organizational leaders, WHY ARE WE BAD AT PICKING GOOD LEADERS? offers a unique, comprehensive framework, which lays out eight key attributes in which all great leaders must demonstrate strength: integrity, empathy, emotional intelligence, passion, judgment, courage and vision. While many top managers and aspiring executives excel in one or several of these areas, great, lasting leaders have an integrated approach to all. WHY ARE WE BAD AT PICKING GOOD LEADERS? incorporates exciting, first-hand stories take from the real leadership challenges of some of today’s most recognizable names: people like Duke basketball coach Mike Kryzewski, Bono’s RED campaign, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, and Hollywood directly Ruben Fleischer, as well as dozens more. Their stories bring the attributes to life and will help readers understand what words like “empathy” and “authenticity” or “passion” mean in the context of effective leadership.

The overall result is an entertaining read that explains leadership in a fresh and original way, one that offers the unique, insider access to closed conference rooms in top corporations; the thoughtful knowledge of the world's top academics and thought leaders, and the entertaining stories of celebrities from all areas of business, sports, and entertainment. This is a comprehensive look at how to find, create, and recognize great leaders.