The Wizard and the Warrior: Leading with Passion and Power - Hardcover

by Lee G. Bolman (Author), Terrence E. Deal (Author)

The Wizard and the Warrior gives leaders the insight and courage they need to take risks on behalf of values they cherish and the people they guide. Great leaders must act both as wizard, calling on imagination, creativity, meaning, and magic, and as warrior, mobilizing strength, courage, and willingness to fight as necessary to fulfill their mission. Best-selling authors Lee Bolman and Terrence Deal present the defining moments and experiences of exemplary leaders such as Carly Fiorina, Thomas Keller (head chef of French Laundry), David Neeleman (CEO of Jet Blue), Mary Kay Ash, Warren Buffet, Anne Mulcahy, and Abraham Lincoln3/4all of whom have wrested with their own inner warrior and wizard. These engaging, realistic case studies are followed by commentaries that will raise questions and suggest possibilities without rushing to resolution or simple answers.

Front Jacket

Why a book about wizards and warriors as models for leadership? Because, as Peter Drucker once said, everything you learned is wrong--at best, it is misleading and insufficient. You typically learn in school, workshops, and seminars that if you can manage the work and serve the people, you have what it takes. It's not true. Maybe you have enough stuff to be a pretty good manager, but it takes a lot more to be a good leader.

The Wizard and the Warrior gives leaders the insight and courage they need to take risks on behalf of values they cherish and the people they guide. Great leaders must act both as wizard, calling on imagination, creativity, meaning, and magic, and as warrior, mobilizing strength, courage, and willingness to fight as necessary to fulfill their mission.

Best-selling authors Lee Bolman and Terrence Deal present the defining moments and experiences of exemplary leaders such as David Neeleman (CEO of Jet Blue), Mary Kay Ash, Warren Buffet, Anne Mulcahy, Thomas Keller (head chef of French Laundry), and Abraham Lincoln--all of whom have wrested with their own inner warrior and wizard. These engaging, realistic case studies are followed by commentaries that will raise questions and suggest possibilities without rushing to resolution or simple answers.

Armed with this book's expanded repertoire of possibilities, the reader can become more versatile and imbue work and life with power and passion.

Back Jacket

Praise for The Wizard and the Warrior

"The Wizard and the Warrior will make us think carefully again about leadership in general and about our own style in particular."
--Walter F. Ulmer Jr., lieutenant general, U.S. Army (Ret.), former president and CEO, Center for Creative Leadership

"Bolman and Deal's The Wizard and the Warrior could be your secret weapon. Read. Learn. Then lead with confidence."
--Thomas Keller, The French Laundry

"The numerous examples of historical and contemporary figures and their life stories serve to bring leadership ideas alive in a way that few books achieve."
--Len Schlesinger, vice chairman and chief operating officer, Limited Brands

"Bolman and Deal have thrown their arms around the inspirational, on one hand, and the tough, practical, and sometimes brutal, on the other. Through wonderful stories, they convincingly illustrate the real challenges and possibilities of living life grounded by larger purposes and the courage to interrogate reality."
--Ronald A. Heifetz, Center for Public Leadership, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; author of Leadership Without Easy Answers and Leadership on the Line

"The 'gold standard' for looking at leadership. The Wizard and the Warrior is about fighting the good fight, but not losing sight of the magic--it is about making the word flesh. This is a must-read for anyone who cares about becoming a better leader."
--Paul D. Houston, executive director, American Association of School Administrators

"The book provokes the reader to understand the immeasurable potential of the wizard and warrior in each of us that can create change and challenge."
--John Keola Lake, kumu-in-residence, Chaminade University of Honolulu, Hawai'i, head of Hawaiian traditions

"Provides in-depth insight into passion and power, and how they are the very essence of leadership."
--Terrence P. Dunn, chief executive officer, J.E. Dunn Construction Company

"What do wizards and warriors have to do with good leadership? A lot, it turns out. So hoist your inner sword or wand and let Bolman and Deal instruct you on how to wield it effectively, and on how notable combatants from Joan of Arc to Bill Gates have fared."
--John Alexander, president, Center for Creative Leadership

Author Biography

Lee G. Bolman holds the Marion Bloch/Missouri Chair in Leadership at the Bloch School of Business and Public Administration at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Terrence E. Deal retired as the Irving R. Melbo Clinical Professor of the University of Southern California's Rossier School of Education. He now writes and makes wine in San Luis Obispo, California.
Bolman and Deal are the coauthors of the best-selling books Reframing Organizations (now in its third edition) and Leading with Soul (now in its second edition), both from Jossey-Bass.