THE UNSEEN LEADER

A historian challenges popular trends in leadership studies in this nonfiction book.

With American companies spending more than $50 billion annually on leadership development and leadership studies becoming one of the fastest-growing academic disciplines, “leadership is all the hype these days,” according to Gutmann. And while he sees value in the field, as a scholar of history, he is disturbed by one of the area’s most prominent trends: drawing inspirational leadership lessons from history’s most recognizable names, from Genghis Khan to John F. Kennedy. The historical narratives crafted by some of the principal books of the genre fall victim to what the author describes as the “Action Fallacy” or “the mistaken belief that the best leaders are those who generate the most noise and sensational activity in the most dramatic circumstances.” Not only do these stories ignore the nuances of historical, cultural, and social forces that shape the lived experiences of humanity, but they also contribute to a misunderstanding of what makes a good leader by “promoting the wrong people for the wrong reasons.” Centering on four case studies—explorer Roald Amundsen, Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture, archeologist Gertrude Bell, and British prime minister Winston Churchill—the book offers a convincing revisionist take on leadership studies. Gutmann emphasizes his belief that “successful leadership has little to do with Hollywood stereotypes or heroic struggles,” as many leaders were “at times mere side characters, barely hanging on to the coattails of history.” Beyond its astute analysis, the book suggests that perhaps the greatest insight history provides on leadership studies is that the best leaders are not those who draw the most attention through “bluster,” but those who are able to read the trends of their time and “swim with, instead of against, the current.” With a Ph.D. in history and as the author of multiple books, Gutmann has a solid command of historical context, and backs his argument with a network of more than 300 research endnotes. The book’s impressive scholarship is balanced with an engaging and accessible writing style that targets general readers.

A convincingly argued, well-researched counternarrative to the history of “great leaders.”