Andrew Harvey Leadership Seminar

Foreword to The Call to Lead

Countless books have been written to try to explain the art and science of leadership. The Call to Lead is different. It is straightforward, commonsense, easy to read and immediately useful. For new leaders or those aspiring to lead, the book provides a strong foundation for most all aspects of leadership. For experienced managers, it provides a great checklist for "how I'm doing." It will help you to inventory your current skills and create a list of what you need to work on. That's important to organizations or to managers at all levels. Understanding how to manage may be adequate when an organization is in a steady state; leadership skills are vital when facing change. And who isn't facing change?

Even though I have been involved in teaching leadership for 30 years at universities, through a leadership-consulting firm I founded, and in books I've written, I found The Call to Lead valuable and enjoyable.

The author weaves in interesting quotes, extensive real life experience, anecdotes from authorities in the field, and humorous stories to illustrate his commonsense approach to leadership. I also found the format of bite-sized chapters, each covering one aspect of leadership easy to digest. Topics included teamwork, communications, decision-making, and change. Each chapter contains suggestions on objective things to do and each displays sensitivity to people.

I have always believed that becoming a leader is a journey, not a destination. The Call to Lead provides another step in that journey by covering the foundational essence of good leadership and by helping to prepare a leader to face most any leadership situation that may arise.

Larry Senn

Dr. Larry Senn is Chairman of Senn-Delaney Leadership, an international leadership-consulting firm. He is the author of 21st Century Leadership, Leaders on Leading, and Secrets of a Winning Culture.