Leadership Failures: Precautionary Tales and Prevention Strategies

Humans make mistakes. Many of us lose career ascendency or risk destroying our institutions by doubling down on or ignoring outcomes of our own poor decisions.

Good leaders learn and teach from their errors. Professions are strengthened. Institutions thrive. Careers grow.

Through real-life stories that focus on senior/board leadership from multiple walks of life, and brief discussions of significant attributes, readers will be challenged to diagnose and turn missteps into positive growth experiences.

The authors of this book have had extensive careers in public and private, for-profit and not-for-profit settings, and in independent and government-sponsored consulting, development, academic, and clinical environments. Without having any single leadership paradigm to push, they raise questions about outcomes for institutions that are affected and individual career paths.

Their cautionary tales ask readers to think through "next steps" or prevent the need to get there; hence, this is an ideal extra-assignment book in graduate management courses and for managers seeking to work their way up toward higher leadership roles. Board members also can learn from its non-industry-specific target readership.

Kate Fenner, Mark Reifsteck, Peter Fenner