Survival Kit for Leaders by John C. Kunich and Richard Lester. Skyward Publishing (http://www.skywardpublishing.com), 813 Michael Street, Kennett, Missouri 63857, 2003, 222 pages, $21.95 (softcover).
Experienced and effective leaders have an internal leadership checklist they rely on for reference when leading and evaluating both leaders and texts on leadership. I challenge them to check the following topics in Survival Kit for Leaders against their personal list: four leader levels—strategic, organizational, direct, and personal; 20 effective leadership characteristics, including listening, enthusiasm, ethics, courage, perseverance, reading people, humor, and vision; quotations from Colin Powell, Hal Hornburg, James MacGregor Burns, Stephen Covey, and Don Quixote; and examples of exemplary leaders such as Winston Churchill, Field Marshal Sir William Slim, Socrates, and the courageous Raoul Wallenberg, who saved thousands from extermination by the Nazis.
As Ken Blanchard notes in the book’s foreword, “Dr. Lester and Professor Kunich have made their careers as both real-world leaders and as successful teachers” (p. 7). They employ their expertise well by providing thoughtful discussions on mentoring, feedback, leading versus managing, legal pitfalls, and time management.
In addition to providing solid content, Kunich and Lester use an interactive format that is effective for teaching and learning. Each chapter ends not only with a conclusion but also with discussion questions and ideas to promote retention and application. Moreover, they include useful mnemonics, chapter bibliographies, reading lists, and a one-page “pocket” list of leadership skills in the appendix. For the next edition, I would recommend including discussions on team building, consensus building, and differences in leading today as opposed to yesterday and tomorrow. An index would also be useful.
Col Gail Arnott, USAF, Retired
Wessington Springs, South Dakota
Disclaimer
The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.
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