First Leaders

First Nations people of all continents have been refining leadership for millennia.

They've had from the dawn of human history to figure out what works and what doesn't. By comparison, the discipline of workplace leadership emerged only about 100 years ago - just a few generations back. First Leaders is the first book devoted to how the wisdom of First Nations leadership can benefit modern leaders.

Inspired by conversations with several Maasai elders, Andrew O'Keeffe travelled the globe investigating the leadership knowledge of First Nation societies. His search took him to the central desert of Australia to meet Arrernte and Pintupi, through Africa to meet with Kalahari Bushmen, Himba, Maasai and Samburu, to the Amazon to meet Waorani and Kichwa, to New Zealand to meet Maori and North America to meet with Haida and Mohawk.

From his meetings with First Nations people and his focus on the practical application of the wisdom shared with him, Andrew O'Keeffe has identified Eleven Principles of First Leadership. The principles provide concrete actions to help both individual leaders and organisations solve their major leadership challenges.

Andrew O'Keeffe's career has been in the human-side of workplaces. He began his career in the mining and manufacturing industries and then filled senior HR roles with large organisations including IBM and Cable & Wireless Optus. He runs his own consulting and leadership education business, Hardwired Humans, with a focus on aligning leadership practices with human instincts. His two previous books are Hardwired Humans and The Boss. Andrew grew up in Broken Hill, Australia (Wilyakali country), studied economics and industrial relations at The University of Sydney and now lives near Urunga on the mid north coast of New South Wales, Australia (Gumbaynggirr country)