I was a day into reading this book when a fellow leader in my organization came up to me and asked, “Do you ever wonder why the heck you choose to lead people?” I paused for a second and told this fellow leader that I do and then talked about the book I had just started reading, Leadership and the Art of Struggle (BUY ON AMAZON).
Yes, this book had an immediate impact on me. I was dealing with a couple of difficult concerns at the time and this book armed me with the courage to address them and the tools to do so as well. It helped me see that some of the struggles I was encountering was because I was a new leader for a team and was trying to take them away from old habits.
The book has personal stories of other leaders at top companies in the world that struggled and how they were able to come back and be better and stronger leaders. The book also touts self-compassion and understanding that leaders aren’t perfect. They make mistakes like anyone else and how it’s okay not to expect perfection from a leader. In addition, as a leader, how we need to admit our weaknesses and failures and work on them.