Review by Sasha_100 -- The Four Hats by Drake E. Taylor
1 posts
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Four Hats" by Drake E. Taylor.]
The Four Hats of Leadership: Be Who Your People Need You To Be by Drake E. Taylor gives "on the go, non-scholarly practical guide" lessons about leadership based on the experiences of author Drake himself, from his job as a Captain in the United States Air Force.
The lessons in short, use the idea of four hats being the farmer’s hat, the drill instructor's hat, the psychologist's hat and the final and most important self-care hat. The introductory farmer’s hat, is one that makes you observe and analyze what you got and how to utilize it. The drill instructor’s hat, guiding one to when and how to be strict. The psychologist, how to have a listening ear and at last the vital self-care hat, which Drake remarks is often forgotten.
Drake talks directly to the reader with orderly and yet simple explanations or instructions. The book has an abundance of quotes by people like Dwight D. Eisenhower, giving insight on the text as according to the hats being talked about and in a list, that turns one’s head gears when reading. For example, ”Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you’re a thousand miles from the corn field”. As the book is about leading and following what surprised me most was the advice that when wearing a psychologist's hat, the mention of not needing to appear "holier" and using honesty instead when using the psychologist hat to make "others become more confident in confiding in you", for one example.
I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed a guide on leadership as much as this book. Even though the advice is taken from a military career, it’s easily applicable to everyday deals and careers of leadership even in the business world. What’s particularly helpful, is the ease with which ideas like detailed planning for your mission and goals are combined with interacting and socializing and creating a successful team to deliver results.
Drake includes his stories while on the job that further explain the usage of even two hats at once depending on the situation. Furthermore, there are even examples of questionnaires that can be handed to employees or workers to build ease while communicating and deciding goals.
Being a simple guide for leaders, the book obviously doesn’t provide career guidance for a specific field, and may not be for people looking for particular advice.
Nonetheless for me it did the job and was a very satisfying read. So my rating is 4 out of 4 stars for this one.
The book has been professionally edited, with a few minor typos. It’s a recommended read for all people whether they are in positions of leaderships or not.
******
The Four Hats
View: on Bookshelves |
The Four Hats of Leadership: Be Who Your People Need You To Be by Drake E. Taylor gives "on the go, non-scholarly practical guide" lessons about leadership based on the experiences of author Drake himself, from his job as a Captain in the United States Air Force.
The lessons in short, use the idea of four hats being the farmer’s hat, the drill instructor's hat, the psychologist's hat and the final and most important self-care hat. The introductory farmer’s hat, is one that makes you observe and analyze what you got and how to utilize it. The drill instructor’s hat, guiding one to when and how to be strict. The psychologist, how to have a listening ear and at last the vital self-care hat, which Drake remarks is often forgotten.
Drake talks directly to the reader with orderly and yet simple explanations or instructions. The book has an abundance of quotes by people like Dwight D. Eisenhower, giving insight on the text as according to the hats being talked about and in a list, that turns one’s head gears when reading. For example, ”Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you’re a thousand miles from the corn field”. As the book is about leading and following what surprised me most was the advice that when wearing a psychologist's hat, the mention of not needing to appear "holier" and using honesty instead when using the psychologist hat to make "others become more confident in confiding in you", for one example.
I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed a guide on leadership as much as this book. Even though the advice is taken from a military career, it’s easily applicable to everyday deals and careers of leadership even in the business world. What’s particularly helpful, is the ease with which ideas like detailed planning for your mission and goals are combined with interacting and socializing and creating a successful team to deliver results.
Drake includes his stories while on the job that further explain the usage of even two hats at once depending on the situation. Furthermore, there are even examples of questionnaires that can be handed to employees or workers to build ease while communicating and deciding goals.
Being a simple guide for leaders, the book obviously doesn’t provide career guidance for a specific field, and may not be for people looking for particular advice.
Nonetheless for me it did the job and was a very satisfying read. So my rating is 4 out of 4 stars for this one.
The book has been professionally edited, with a few minor typos. It’s a recommended read for all people whether they are in positions of leaderships or not.
******
The Four Hats
View: on Bookshelves |
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