A Leadership Book with a Difference: A Book Review of Derailed by Tim Irwin, Ph. D

As part of my membership at the Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogger program, I recently got the opportunity to read and review Tim Irwin’s Derailed. When I first came across this leadership book I was intrigued. This was a book on leadership but instead of talking about success stories, it focused on the great failures of corporate people leadership. That was interesting! Leadership books usually focus on spotlighting the successes and the stars that show how leaders should be. So, then why would one want to read about leadership failures. The answer is simple : to learn from their mistakes, identify similar habits that we may have developed and get rid of them.

This leadership manual essentially takes six high profile czars of the business world and then, shows us what led to their downfall. Names such as Robert Nardelli, Carly Fiorina and others have been profiled and so have their downfalls. However, as the author, makes it quite clear in the Preface, Derailed is not about the six CEOs, it is essentially about us. It is about learning the basic characteristics that set apart a real leader from someone who is shooting towards eventual failure.

The fact that this leadership book focuses on real stories makes it not just interesting but also inspiring and informative. These aren’t just random case studies but are actual known people who are bright, intelligent, hard-working and yet for some reason, fell short. Moreover, the book teaches us how to avoid getting off track and continuing on the path of success simply by being in touch with qualities such as humility, consideration, self-awareness and other often-overlooked character strengths.

Derailed is a leadership book that is chockfull of useful tips, advice and strategies for becoming successful people leaders. It is a must-read for anyone presently in a people leadership role or planning on becoming a strong yet sensible leader.

About Tim Irwin - A Leadership Expert

[from the book] Tim Irwin, Ph.D, is an author, speaker and leading authority on leadership development. He has been a consultant with several top American and Fortune 100 companies for over twenty years and has also served in a senior management post for a U.S based company. Currently, he is the managing partner of Irwin Inc.

Leadership books, such as these, help individuals in people management and leadership roles to identify their shortcomings while learning from the experience of others. It is a great idea to invest in a few, good leadership books to learn from and become capable yet compassionate leaders.