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Time to Lead: Lessons for Today's Leaders from Bold Decisions that Changed History

Jan-Benedict Steenkamp

4.83 · Rating details · 23 ratings · 20 reviews

Where is leadership when we need it? What can today’s corporate, non-profit, military, and public-service leaders learn from daring decisions that changed history?

In Time to Lead, Jan-Benedict Steenkamp presents a fresh examination of history-making leaders by holding a magnifying glass up to a life-changing dilemma each of them faced. What we learn is how powerful the per Where is leadership when we need it? What can today’s corporate, non-profit, military, and public-service leaders learn from daring decisions that changed history?

In Time to Lead, Jan-Benedict Steenkamp presents a fresh examination of history-making leaders by holding a magnifying glass up to a life-changing dilemma each of them faced. What we learn is how powerful the personalities of leaders and their decision-making processes can be in determining the course of human events—and the fates of millions of people.

Steenkamp explains how these great men and women arrived at the solutions to the problems they confronted by virtue of their character traits and whether they were foxes or hedgehogs—as in the ancient parable—or, as he further categorizes, eagles or ostriches.

Sixteen carefully curated case studies hold powerful lessons that today’s leaders can apply in their own professional lives. Readers will recognize Roosevelt, Washington, Mandela, Thatcher, Alexander the Great, and MLK, but other lesser-known leaders, such as Themistocles, Clovis, Peter, Fisher, and Nightingale provide equally valuable insights into how individuals make decisions based upon one of seven leadership styles (adaptive, persuasive, directive, disruptive, authentic, servant, and charismatic) and four personality classifications (hedgehog, fox, eagle, or ostrich).

Steenkamp’s assessment tools provide seasoned and aspiring leaders alike with the means to not only determine their own individual styles, but how to step up when they inevitably come face-to-face with their own moments of truth.

Chapter takeaways, leadership principles, and open-ended, reflective questions will confer encouragement, enrichment, and empowerment on readers when they realize they can utilize the same tactics as these leaders in their own lives.

Time to Lead is about great men and women, their actions in leadership that have withstood the test of time, what we can learn from them—and the lessons that are relevant for us here and now. ...more

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Hardcover, 416 pages

Published September 15th 2020 by Fast Company Press

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Oct 16, 2020 Steve Burgess rated it it was amazing

Time to Lead is a fresh and interesting new take on leadership that will add to much loved books already on the shelf. Its award-winning and frequently-cited author is widely-acknowledged as one of the most influential global business scholars and thought leaders of our time. In this most recent book, he identifies four types of leaders, relates these to seven leadership styles, and provides tools that will help readers understand themselves and become better leaders.

This is an easy read, that ...more

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Sep 18, 2020 Jon Rhone rated it it was amazing

An amazing read. As a student and practitioner of leadership, I wish I had this while I was still serving in the military. If you are a leader, or building leaders, BUY THIS BOOK! Learning from other leaders will increase self-awareness and serve as a catalyst to more effective leadership. Thank you for the opportunity to learn, JB.

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Oct 14, 2020 Lh rated it it was amazing

How to become a good leader? I guess this is what we are all eager to get the answer. Yet, it is also one of our long-term puzzles. Professor Jan-Benedict Steenkamp has the key. He is one of the leading voices on strategic global branding, management, leadership and strategy. His latest book Time to Lead: Lessons for Today’s Leaders from Bold Decisions that Changed History is definitely an important and inspiring book I have ever read during these years.

There is an oriental ancient saying about ...more

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Oct 14, 2020 Kirsten rated it really liked it

This is a book for lovers of biographies who aspire to lead. It is clearly the product of a reader as voracious as Clifton Hillegrass, but it isn’t merely a collection of Cliff’s notes on the lives of leaders who bent the arc of destiny. It is rich with Jan-Benedict "J-B" Steenkamp’s strategic play-by-play and color commentary as a distinguished professor of marketing. I enjoyed it for several reasons.

Marketing lens on leadership

J-B demonstrates his mastery of the leadership literature and build ...more

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Sep 26, 2020 Thus Kvothe The Raven rated it liked it

Shelves: advance-copies, netgalley

“Time to Lead” by Jan-Benedict Steenkamp

Like every book on leadership I have read, Steenkamp uses analogies to describe leadership styles. The analogies used here will be more useful to some than others, which is likely why so many different types are used to describe essentially the same 6 or so leader types.

What’s nice about this book is that Steenkamp gives historical case studies to illustrate her analogies. What’s more, the focus is on pivotal decisions made by these leaders. The bonus is a “Time to Lead” by Jan-Benedict Steenkamp

Like every book on leadership I have read, Steenkamp uses analogies to describe leadership styles. The analogies used here will be more useful to some than others, which is likely why so many different types are used to describe essentially the same 6 or so leader types.

What’s nice about this book is that Steenkamp gives historical case studies to illustrate her analogies. What’s more, the focus is on pivotal decisions made by these leaders. The bonus is at the end of each section Steenkamp poses questions to help you determine if your leadership is akin to that type. The end of the book provides assessments to help you determine which leadership mold you fit into, and your capacity to grow into (or out of) them. This section is a full third of the book!

Steenkamp does well to give enough background for each of the leaders studied to help us understand why they made the pivotal decisions they did. Each leader’s overall style characterization is independent of their methodology, which I found interesting. For example, Florence Nightingale and Martin Luther King, Jr. were both Servant Leaders, but their relationships with their proximal and distal followers were very different.

The writing style is mostly dry. I actually fell asleep every night while reading this material, even though the subject is important to me. I learned a lot I did not previously know about the leaders represented, but I felt disconnected from them. The author’s writing style is very academic while remaining accessible to the layperson. There are no terminology barriers for the average reader.

I give the book 3 stars; dead average for me. The material is useful and helpful, but delivered in a way that makes it hard to engage. The information itself was interesting and may serve to influence leaders to grow into the style best suited for them. It will likely be a bit of a slog to get through, though.

This book was a NetGalley gift from the publisher. The opinions shared in this review are my own and I have received no compensation in exchange for offering them. ...more

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Dec 02, 2020 Karen Landale rated it it was amazing

JB Steenkamp is a master storyteller! Had he not been a field-leading Marketing Professor, he would no doubt have been an Historian. In Time to Lead, he selects a wide array of leaders to profile, expertly providing the unique historical context in which the leader finds him or herself, and stepping the reader through the leader’s thinking in a way that provokes the reader to think of their own leadership experience and how he/she might have made better decisions. His method—which is so smooth, ...more

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Oct 29, 2020 A. Keller rated it it was amazing

An inspiring book for next-generation leaders and experienced professionals to sharpen their leadership skills while learning from great historic leaders. In this book, the author, Jan-Benedict Steenkamp, brings together his long experience in marketing, leadership, and his passion for history.

Meticulously researched and logically divided into three main sections:
1) Leadership and definition of leadership types
2) Examples from sixteen historic leaders, what specific dilemma they faced, and a det ...more

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Sep 21, 2020 Todd Woodruff rated it it was amazing

I just read this book for the second time and got as much from it this time as I did the first reading. Learning leadership lessons from history's leaders (good and bad) is always powerful, so I really like that Steenkamp uses history's decisive leaders and events to illustrate various leadership approaches and ties them to contemporary challenges and decision-making. It is great when I feel more informed about important historical events and figures and at the same time develop as a leader. Thi ...more

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Sep 28, 2020 Miguel Angel rated it it was amazing

Queen Elizabeth II, is actually the only living person who has personally known and dealt with the leaders who changed our world, Hers, is an invaluable heritage.

Like her, Dr. J-B. Steenkamp has worked to give the people who want to improve their leadership skills an invaluable analysis and understanding of some of the greatest leaders who change our lives.

His extraordinary and captivating book “Time to Lead” provides the reader with a deep understanding of key humans considered leaders and the ...more

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Sep 18, 2020 Daniel Finkenstadt rated it it was amazing

Time to lead is an amazing achievement! Steenkamp weaves a complex global history of critical decision-making and leadership into a brilliantly clear narrative of styles. Through this book the reader learns not just how other great leaders have made pivotal decisions, but how they can develop themselves into the leader they wish to be. Today's leading military minds are turning to Time to Lead to help them prepare for the future of national defense and leading managers are turning to the book t ...more

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Oct 03, 2020 PAJMS rated it it was amazing

Steenkamp's book is a refreshment after endless numbers of management books in the style of "Seven steps to ..." or "The principles of ..." Crucial decision moments in the lives of flesh and blood leaders, who have already been tested by the history, are linked to some insightful models of leadership styles. The reader is challenged to reflect on themselves, and there are even some accessible tests to discover your own style (s) and to get started with them.
What is also innovative is that the bo ...more

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Oct 02, 2020 David A Hofmann rated it it was amazing

I am currently reading "Time to Lead." I am enjoying the interweaving of history and marketing concepts as they apply to leadership. Providing the historical context and then focusing on key decisions these leaders made is a great approach and there is a nice variety of leaders profiled. I think the leadership assessment questions are also a great added feature differentiating it from many other leadership books. So, far 5-star recommendation. ...more

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Oct 07, 2020 Jani Brown rated it it was amazing

This fascinating book depicts so many interesting historical characteristics of people who achieved great heights. It dissects the instances, traits and key decisions that got them there against all odds. I thoroughly enjoyed the piece on Mandela and the South African World Cup in 1994 as I witnessed this myself. An accurate, endearing and unmasked account of events surrounding a great man. All in all, a very interesting book that prompts plenty of reflection.

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Sep 28, 2020 Sabrina Pritchard rated it it was amazing

This is such a great read in a time where we forget just how great some of our leaders in the past have been based off of what to we are having to currently experience. Some of the greatest leaders of all time are listed in this book....some we instantly recognize.....some we haven't thought about in a very long time. All great leaders are derived from being problem solvers and decision makers, Steenkamp nailed it with this book! ...more

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Sep 28, 2020 Katrijn Gielens rated it it was amazing

Truly enjoyed reading this book. Easy to read and at the same time profound and enlightening, a combination that is hard to pull off. I warmly recommend it to everyone who wants to learn more about leadership in an engaging way.

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Oct 09, 2020 Kendrick Vinar rated it it was amazing

I've read a lot of books on leadership. This is one of the very best. You will be challenged and inspired by the leadership principles that drove some of histories greatest leaders. Very educational as well as excellent insights and practical applications. ...more

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Oct 11, 2020 Allison Adams rated it it was amazing

I've read my share of books on leadership, and I've read and learned from all of the books written by Jan-Benedict Steenkamp. In his timely new book "Time to Lead," he combines his personal passion for history with an analytical approach to exploring how the decisions of 16 leaders who faced life-changing dilemmas changed history.

The lessons resonate whether you want to become a better leader or understand the traits, styles and decision-making processes of many great leaders, including Frankli ...more

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Sep 28, 2020 Alejandro Romero rated it it was amazing

Easy to read, higly enilghtening! In times in which we need good leadership examples this book presents many of them which we can apply to our current time!

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Oct 07, 2020 Rob Nissen rated it it was amazing

Outstanding overview of history's great leaders and what we can learn from them today. ...more

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Sep 19, 2020 Thomas Eapen rated it it was amazing

This is a timely, thorough, and practical exposition on leadership. The author expounds on seven different leadership styles seen in historical leaders - servant, authentic, persuasive, directive, charismatic, disruptive and adaptive. A careful understanding of the strengths and limitations of each style can help modern leaders navigate the perils and challenges of 21st century leadership. I believe that this book will be of immense value to today's leaders in business, non-profits, government a ...more

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