The Mission, the Men, and Me: Lessons from a Former Delta Force Commander Reviewed by Dylan Nigh “We called ourselves the Wolverines. Our mission was marauding. We were five hundred miles behind enemy lines. I commanded the Wolverines. They called me Panther.” These succinct yet powerful words open the stirring work The Mission, the Men,…
The Leadership Book by Neil Jurd Reviewed by Sarah McEntee Most people with an interest in leadership, whether military or civilian, will likely find that their bookshelves are groaning under the weight of numerous tomes including those of heavyweights such as Patrick Lencioni and David Rock. I recommend that you add one more to your…
Conflicted: Why Arguing is the Right Thing to do. Interviewed by The Army Leader For years Ian Leslie was fascinated by the question of why public and private disagreements go so badly, so often. In public, they descend into acrimony or get stuck in a grinding neutral gear. In private, disagreements should shatter groupthink or…
Peak Performance Under Pressure by Dr Stephen Hearns Reviewed by Dan Spiers In June 2020 the British Army’s Centre of Army Leadership published Leading Through Crisis: A Practitioner’s Guide. It was written after the Centre provided mentors and leadership advice to the NHS and local government during the peak of the COVID-19 crisis. Peak Performance…
Leadership in War: Lessons from Those Who Made History by Andrew Roberts Reviewed by Neil McLennan Andrew Roberts’ Leadership in War: Lessons from Those Who Made History (Allen Lane, 2019) offers readers a range of lessons drawn from nine case studies. Two case studies are from the Napoleonic Wars (Napoleon and Nelson); six from the…
I Have the Watch, by Jon S Rennie Reviewed by James Harrison There are no finite answers to the questions of leadership, which is why Harvard University estimate that there are over 15,000 books on the topic of leadership currently in print. I often find myself searching for a book that will add value and…
The British Army Challenge Book Reviewed by Stephen Carey As a Psychiatrist, I often see people for whom the stabilising fins of family, organisational structure, tradition and support have proven insufficient to prevent their boat overturning. And once overturned, a changed and corrosive world view can set in, taking time to correct. More broadly, we…
Christmas Leadership Book List 2019 By Tim Heck, Book Reviews Editor Each year, with Christmas around the corner and High Street full of holiday sales, The Army Leader reaches out to respected military leaders, scholars, and authors to ask them for a recommendation for our Christmas leadership book list. This year we sought a more…
Mission Command II: The Who, What, Where, When and Why: An Anthology, by Donald E. Vandergriff Reviewed by The Maverick Sergeant Published in February 2019, this book is the second volume of Donald Vandergriff and Stephen Webber’s Mission Command series, following on from their first edition published in 2017. Mission Command II: The Who, What,…
Adopting Mission Command: Developing Leaders for a Superior Command Culture, by Donald E. Vandergriff Reviewed by Dave Bickers Mission Command has featured in United States Army doctrine since the advent of AirLand Battle in 1982. After more than three decades has the organisation fully adapted to a culture of decentralised command? No, says Donald E.…