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Leadership Is An Art

Max DePree’s book “Leadership is an art” represents an important contribution to the area of leadership, both from a theoretical and practical point of view. The approach of the author is a humanitarian one. The focus is being made on the philosophical aspects of the theme, even if there are numerous pragmatic pieces of advice and recommendations included in the book.
Leadership is a process and a concept of fundamental importance for the area of management today. It is a concept of high complexity since it implies numerous variables. It is also fundamental for the success of a business and it requires numerous skills from various areas, such as communication, management, marketing, establishing good relationships with the employees, creating strategies and implementing them, etc. since leadership and authority are no longer synonyms, it is important for those in a position of power to have the best possible know-how. There are numerous studies that have been written about this matter, and DePree’s book plays an important role among them.
Max DePree is the chairman emeritus and former CEO of Herman Miller Incorporated. It is important to mention that the company has been included in the top 25 Most Admired Companies in the United States by the “Fortune” magazine. M. DePree has received the Business Enterprise Trust’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Leadership is one of the main themes that DePree has written about in books such as “Leadership Jazz”, “Leading without power”, “Called to serve” and last but not least, “Leadership is an art”.
DePree approaches leadership both as a concept and a process, giving personal insight on the two perspectives. His book, “Leadership is an art” is addressed to people who have the necessary skills in order to become leaders, as well as to people who already find themselves in leading positions and wish to improve their skills. the presented perspective is a holistic one, with the author trying to cover all the possible...