Review by gc0024 -- Leadership by Craig B. Whelden

[Bri C]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Leadership" by Craig B. Whelden.]

---

4 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

I rank Leadership by Craig B. Whelden four out of four stars. Let me be clear: while I have a great affinity for leadership books, I am always suspicious of those written by military men. All too often, they are authoritarian, simplistic, and extraordinarily unhelpful for me as a civilian professional. Yet Whelden manages to pull me in and connect his military experience to universal leadership. Leadership is a smooth, enjoyable read that remains informative and professional throughout; I could not find anything worthy of docking a single star.

For non-military readers, the jargon can be a bit much, but as it’s primarily when Whelden is describing credentials as he introduces new leaders and puts his military experiences into context, the majority of the book still flows smoothly. The book appeared to be professionally edited; in fact, exceptionally so. Despite his penchant for long sentences, Whelden’s writing is remarkably clear, taking on an almost conversational tone while still being written at a high level.

While he often throws in clichés, he puts them into quotation marks, a subtle yet effective way of saying “Yes, this is a cliché, but here’s how it really fit for me.” His candidness and self-awareness make tired, trite phrases feel relevant again. Phrases become clichés because they are often true, but once a phrase is overused, it begins to feel meaningless. Whelden illustrates this common leadership advice with anecdotes from his own life; it’s the closest thing to learning through experience as you can get through a book.

That isn’t to say that all the advice in the book is clichéd. Particularly in his chapters on mentors, the career ladder, and organizational change, Whelden has unique insights. The book is a good mix of these insights and making sure the foundation that ‘everyone knows’ is actually stable. (Hey, even professional athletes have to practice the basics every single day.)

There are only two small quibbles I have. First, while I appreciate the occasional picture that he throws in to illustrate his anecdotes, he includes a picture of himself in his 20s dressed as an “American Indian dancer”, which is both largely unrelated to the story he tells and culturally insensitive given that he makes no mention of any Native American roots. I do not hold this against him for doing in the past, but it seems an odd choice to include in this book. Secondly, while he makes some excellent points in his chapter on multi-level marketing, it could stand to include further explication on how his use differs from the oft-deplored companies like Mary Kay. (I do greatly appreciate the overall advice in the chapter; it’s just one of the only things that made me go “Wait, what?”)

If you are in or anticipate being in a leadership position, I highly recommend this book. It will give you concrete ideas and help you shape your leadership style and legacy (yes, even if you think your position isn’t ‘important enough’ to consider legacy). While those who are just beginning their leadership journey will find it very useful, those who have been leading for years will still find it an enjoyable way of reminding themselves of the foundations and details of leadership.

******
Leadership
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon