George Washington's Leadership Lessons

If there was a set of character traits and qualities our world desperately needs today, it is the qualities of leadership displayed by George Washington. James Rees makes the case that George Washington can serve as an example of the type of leadership needed today. George Washington's Leadership Lessons is a very quick paced, entertaining read.

The "meat" of the book is fifteen leadership lessons that can learned from observing the life of Washington from his youth to his death at Mount Vernon. Though it would be difficult to pinpoint only a couple of highlights, it was striking to look at the traits of "Takes personal responsibility," "Humble," and "Heartfelt faith" in light of our national leaders today. Any organization would benefit from leaders who exhibit the qualities described of Washington.

Although the book was a very sympathetic work toward Washington, the author acknowledges some of Washington's failings. It is important to note that these failings should not lesson our admiration of his positive qualities, nor should it diminish our desire to mimic his positive leadership traits.

An interesting addition to the leadership lessons is a listing of 11o Rules of Civility that Washington hand copied as a young man. Although some of these rules seem very dated due to the changes in culture, the intent behind them are very much needed today. I found myself checking my own application of these rules in my life.

Overall, I would recommend this book to those who may fall into two categories. For those who are seeking to learn about leadership, this is a great primer into the leadership traits of our greatest Founding Father. The second group of readers would be those who want to gain an additional perspective on the life of Washington. The book takes brief snapshots of various points of Washington's life and views them through the prism of leadership.