Authors :
Evans M. Getembe
Volume/Issue :
Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 8 - August
Google Scholar :
https://tinyurl.com/y2ub2w3h
DOI :
https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26aug852
Note : A published paper may take 4-5
working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and
ResearchGate.
Abstract :
Every generation asks the same question in a different accent: what does it actually take to lead well? I have asked
it across boardrooms and community meetings, in seasons of order and in seasons of upheaval, and I have come to a
conviction that sits at the centre of everything in this book leadership is influence, nothing more and nothing less. It cannot
be awarded, appointed, or assumed with a title. It is earned, daily, in the small and large ways a person deals with the people
around them. This book was written from the floor of practice, not from the height of theory. It draws on management
principles, on lessons learned in organisations and communities, on scripture and proverb, and on the plain observation that
people follow those they trust long before they follow those they are told to obey. Where formal theory appears in these
pages, it appears because it explains something practice had already taught me, not the other way around. The subtitle of
this book in tandem with the societal dynamics and technological advancements is not decoration. Leadership does not
happen in a vacuum. It happens inside families, institutions, nations and, increasingly, inside systems mediated by technology
that did not exist a generation ago. A leader today must still possess the old virtues integrity, patience, respect, the willingness
to serve before being served while also making sense of a world that changes faster than most institutions can formally adapt
to. This book tries to hold both of those truths at once: the permanence of character and the movement of circumstance.
This expanded edition carries that intention further. Five new sections have been woven in alongside the original chapters:
a survey of the major leadership theories, a section on emotional intelligence, a section on leading change, a section on
leadership in the digital age, and a section on diversity, equity and inclusion. Each was chosen because it gives formal shape
to something already implicit in the original text, situating the book's practical counsel within the wider body of leadership
scholarship without displacing the voice or convictions it was written with. I have written this for the person newly handed
responsibility for others, for the seasoned manager who wants to become something more than a title, and for anyone who
has ever felt the quiet gap between managing a schedule and actually leading a people. The chapters that follow are not
meant to be read once and shelved. They are meant to be returned to a page reread before a difficult conversation, a principle
revisited before a hard decision. Leadership, like character, is built in repetition, not in a single reading.
Keywords :
That Something in these Pages Helps You Lead in a Way that Leaves People, and Not Only Outcomes, Better Than You Found Them.
References :
- The Star, Tuesday September 14, 2010.
- Obisanda, J. Become Your Excelly.
- Sani, S. “Essence of Alumni Association.” Facebook.
- Horan, W. “Top Shelf Facts.” The People Daily, Wednesday, January 8, 2020.
- Bass, B. M. and Riggio, R. E. (2006). Transformational Leadership (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- Greenleaf, R. K. (1970). The Servant as Leader. Westfield, IN: Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership.
- Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. New York: Bantam Books.
- Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
- Maslow, A. H. (1943). “A Theory of Human Motivation.” Psychological Review, 50(4), 370–396.
- Herzberg, F. (1968). “One More Time: How Do You Motivate Employees?” Harvard Business Review.
- Deci, E. L. and Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior. New York: Plenum.
- French, J. R. P. and Raven, B. (1959). “The Bases of Social Power,” in Studies in Social Power, ed. D. Cartwright. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
- Fayol, H. (1916). Administration Industrielle et Générale. Paris: Dunod.
- Mintzberg, H. (1973). The Nature of Managerial Work. New York: Harper & Row.
- Hersey, P. and Blanchard, K. H. (1969). Management of Organizational Behavior: Utilizing Human Resources. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
- Maxwell, J. C. (1998). The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
- Drucker, P. F. (1954). The Practice of Management. New York: Harper & Row.
Every generation asks the same question in a different accent: what does it actually take to lead well? I have asked
it across boardrooms and community meetings, in seasons of order and in seasons of upheaval, and I have come to a
conviction that sits at the centre of everything in this book leadership is influence, nothing more and nothing less. It cannot
be awarded, appointed, or assumed with a title. It is earned, daily, in the small and large ways a person deals with the people
around them. This book was written from the floor of practice, not from the height of theory. It draws on management
principles, on lessons learned in organisations and communities, on scripture and proverb, and on the plain observation that
people follow those they trust long before they follow those they are told to obey. Where formal theory appears in these
pages, it appears because it explains something practice had already taught me, not the other way around. The subtitle of
this book in tandem with the societal dynamics and technological advancements is not decoration. Leadership does not
happen in a vacuum. It happens inside families, institutions, nations and, increasingly, inside systems mediated by technology
that did not exist a generation ago. A leader today must still possess the old virtues integrity, patience, respect, the willingness
to serve before being served while also making sense of a world that changes faster than most institutions can formally adapt
to. This book tries to hold both of those truths at once: the permanence of character and the movement of circumstance.
This expanded edition carries that intention further. Five new sections have been woven in alongside the original chapters:
a survey of the major leadership theories, a section on emotional intelligence, a section on leading change, a section on
leadership in the digital age, and a section on diversity, equity and inclusion. Each was chosen because it gives formal shape
to something already implicit in the original text, situating the book's practical counsel within the wider body of leadership
scholarship without displacing the voice or convictions it was written with. I have written this for the person newly handed
responsibility for others, for the seasoned manager who wants to become something more than a title, and for anyone who
has ever felt the quiet gap between managing a schedule and actually leading a people. The chapters that follow are not
meant to be read once and shelved. They are meant to be returned to a page reread before a difficult conversation, a principle
revisited before a hard decision. Leadership, like character, is built in repetition, not in a single reading.
Keywords :
That Something in these Pages Helps You Lead in a Way that Leaves People, and Not Only Outcomes, Better Than You Found Them.
