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Liderança e Poder
Quais as qualidades que fazem o sucesso de um líder no mundo dos negócios ou na política?
Em Liderança e Poder, Joseph S. Nye Jr. apresenta uma síntese esclarecedora que combina as lições da história com estudos recentes em várias áreas disciplinares, nomeadamente da política, da economia e da psicologia. Extraindo exemplos das carreiras de líderes tão díspares como Gandhi, Roosevelt, Lee Iacocca e George W. Bush, Nye usa o conceito de «poder inteligente» para lançar luz sobre o que é boa e má liderança em termos éticos e de eficiência. Com grande actualidade, o autor analisa em profundidade a «inteligência contextual», ou seja, a capacidade de compreender ambientes em mudança, de tirar partido das tendências e de usar o curso dos acontecimentos para implementar estratégias.
Fortemente alicerçado no mundo real, conciso e lúcido, o livro de Nye é um clássico moderno, uma obra aplicável a todos os campos, desde pequenas empresas a palcos da política nacional e mundial.
Em Liderança e Poder, Joseph S. Nye Jr. apresenta uma síntese esclarecedora que combina as lições da história com estudos recentes em várias áreas disciplinares, nomeadamente da política, da economia e da psicologia. Extraindo exemplos das carreiras de líderes tão díspares como Gandhi, Roosevelt, Lee Iacocca e George W. Bush, Nye usa o conceito de «poder inteligente» para lançar luz sobre o que é boa e má liderança em termos éticos e de eficiência. Com grande actualidade, o autor analisa em profundidade a «inteligência contextual», ou seja, a capacidade de compreender ambientes em mudança, de tirar partido das tendências e de usar o curso dos acontecimentos para implementar estratégias.
Fortemente alicerçado no mundo real, conciso e lúcido, o livro de Nye é um clássico moderno, uma obra aplicável a todos os campos, desde pequenas empresas a palcos da política nacional e mundial.
259 pages, Paperback
First published February 4, 2008
36 people are currently reading
376 people want to read
About the author
Joseph S. Nye Jr.
77 books298 followersJoseph Samuel Nye Jr. was an American political scientist. He and Robert Keohane co-founded the international relations theory of neoliberalism, which they developed in their 1977 book Power and Interdependence. Together with Keohane, he developed the concepts of asymmetrical and complex interdependence. They also explored transnational relations and world politics in an edited volume in the 1970s. More recently, he pioneered the theory of soft power. His notion of "smart power" ("the ability to combine hard and soft power into a successful strategy") became popular with the use of this phrase by members of the Clinton Administration and the Obama Administration. These theories from Nye are very commonly seen in courses across the U.S., such as I.B. D.P. Global Politics.
Nye was the Dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he later held the position of University Distinguished Service Professor, Emeritus. In October 2014, Secretary of State John Kerry appointed Nye to the Foreign Affairs Policy Board. He was also a member of the Defense Policy Board. He was a Harvard faculty member since 1964. He was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, a foreign fellow of the British Academy, and a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy.
The 2011 Teaching, Research, and International Policy (TRIP) survey of over 1,700 international relations scholars ranked Nye as the sixth most influential scholar in the field of international relations in the past 20 years. He was also ranked as one of the most influential figures in American foreign policy. In 2011, Foreign Policy magazine included him on its list of top global thinkers. In September 2014, Foreign Policy reported that international relations scholars and policymakers ranked Nye as one of the field's most influential scholars.
Nye was the Dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he later held the position of University Distinguished Service Professor, Emeritus. In October 2014, Secretary of State John Kerry appointed Nye to the Foreign Affairs Policy Board. He was also a member of the Defense Policy Board. He was a Harvard faculty member since 1964. He was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, a foreign fellow of the British Academy, and a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy.
The 2011 Teaching, Research, and International Policy (TRIP) survey of over 1,700 international relations scholars ranked Nye as the sixth most influential scholar in the field of international relations in the past 20 years. He was also ranked as one of the most influential figures in American foreign policy. In 2011, Foreign Policy magazine included him on its list of top global thinkers. In September 2014, Foreign Policy reported that international relations scholars and policymakers ranked Nye as one of the field's most influential scholars.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
August 9, 2012
This book is a well-written and concise analysis of several types of political leadership and power, with a focus on the differences between soft and hard power. I think that Nye is a great political thinker, who does a good job of illustrating his points using historical evidence. I did find his points to be somewhat drawn-out and redundant after a while, but as I initially read this as a lecture requirement, I found the repitition to be helpful in absorbing the material. That said, this book is an invaluable teaching tool. It provided me with a whole new perspective on the subject matter. I think that Nye's ability to change the way I think of political power is also indicative of the book's worth. Not a shabby read at all.
March 27, 2017
If one reads 'The Prince' by Machiavelli, they're done! I think that Nye just uses and reuses, and ultimately only recycles his own notion of 'soft power'.
January 13, 2019
Joseph Nye Jr. is considered to be one of the most influential international political theorists of our time. He's made a career for himself both in politics and in academia. I appreciated his perspective on leadership. He wrote this short primer because he wanted to educate and enlarge the idea of what makes a leader. For anyone who has read books on leadership, you quickly realize that they all sound totally the same. Nye finds this regrettable and seeks to present different facets of leadership. His main points are that 1) leadership is learned 2)the context of leadership is important 3) leaders need to be aware of their followers.
My key takeaway from the book:
1) Generating influential ideas is not the same as mobilizing people for action. To this point, Nye compares Einstein and FDR. Both are considered and labeled as leaders, but they used their time very differently. Einstein had few graduate students, turned down formal leadership positions such as the Presidency of Israel, and generally focused on his research. He viewed these as disruptions to his thought life and inner dialogue, so he usually shunned these kinds of opportunities. While he influenced and greatly expanded the world of science, he rarely spent time equipping or mobilizing others. FDR was the complete opposite. He dove into problems such as the Great Depression and America's involvement in WWII. FDR is not necessarily known as a Thought Leader, but he succeeded by gathering people, inspiring the public, and leading America through an important time in history. I tend to drift towards Einstein's style, but I want to be more cognizant of things like the importance of discipleship in the Christian leadership context. The time cost of leadership is often my biggest barrier.
2) Situation changes are important. Pre-WWII, Churchill was regarded as washed-up and on his way out of politics in Great Britain. That all changed when the war started, and Churchill is now considered an excellent leader for his decisiveness, his public-speaking, and his hard power. He was quickly voted out once the war ended. The context of leadership is so important. In my own life, I have seen situations and conditions that allowed me to thrive and to enjoy leadership, while certain instances have been exceedingly difficult and not suited to my strengths.
3) Get the question right before you pose answers. You really need to have an effective diagnosis of a problem or a situation that a group faces. An accurate assessment of reality has to be step number one. Only once you know the problem can you begin posing or soliciting solutions.
4) Leaders need to turn "me" and "you" into "us." Important for changing sectarian and communal identities whether building a new political state, a spiritual movement, or a team. I often struggle with this, but I am so grateful that a former co-leader of mine brought this to my attention. I was totally unaware and did not realize the issues it was causing. Making this simple change in language was a game-changer for our leadership of the team. Since then, I've seen the importance of doing this at all levels of leadership.
My key takeaway from the book:
1) Generating influential ideas is not the same as mobilizing people for action. To this point, Nye compares Einstein and FDR. Both are considered and labeled as leaders, but they used their time very differently. Einstein had few graduate students, turned down formal leadership positions such as the Presidency of Israel, and generally focused on his research. He viewed these as disruptions to his thought life and inner dialogue, so he usually shunned these kinds of opportunities. While he influenced and greatly expanded the world of science, he rarely spent time equipping or mobilizing others. FDR was the complete opposite. He dove into problems such as the Great Depression and America's involvement in WWII. FDR is not necessarily known as a Thought Leader, but he succeeded by gathering people, inspiring the public, and leading America through an important time in history. I tend to drift towards Einstein's style, but I want to be more cognizant of things like the importance of discipleship in the Christian leadership context. The time cost of leadership is often my biggest barrier.
2) Situation changes are important. Pre-WWII, Churchill was regarded as washed-up and on his way out of politics in Great Britain. That all changed when the war started, and Churchill is now considered an excellent leader for his decisiveness, his public-speaking, and his hard power. He was quickly voted out once the war ended. The context of leadership is so important. In my own life, I have seen situations and conditions that allowed me to thrive and to enjoy leadership, while certain instances have been exceedingly difficult and not suited to my strengths.
3) Get the question right before you pose answers. You really need to have an effective diagnosis of a problem or a situation that a group faces. An accurate assessment of reality has to be step number one. Only once you know the problem can you begin posing or soliciting solutions.
4) Leaders need to turn "me" and "you" into "us." Important for changing sectarian and communal identities whether building a new political state, a spiritual movement, or a team. I often struggle with this, but I am so grateful that a former co-leader of mine brought this to my attention. I was totally unaware and did not realize the issues it was causing. Making this simple change in language was a game-changer for our leadership of the team. Since then, I've seen the importance of doing this at all levels of leadership.
June 23, 2025
Joseph Nye’s The Powers to Lead is a compelling, intellectually rigorous, and refreshingly pragmatic examination of what makes a leader effective in today’s increasingly complex and interconnected world. In a time of widespread leadership fatigue and political cynicism, Nye challenges the reader to move beyond the simplistic hero-worship or charisma-obsessed lens through which leadership is too often viewed. Instead, he presents a nuanced view of leadership that is deeply tied to power-understood not just as dominance, but as influence.
At the heart of Nye’s thesis is the idea that leadership and power are inextricably intertwined. He expands on traditional notions of power by distinguishing between hard power (coercion and inducement) and soft power (attraction and persuasion), arguing that effective leadership requires a mixture of soft and hard power skills-what he calls “smart power.” Leadership is not a one-size-fits-all model but rather, a dynamic, context-driven interaction between leaders, followers, and the environment.
Nye offers the book not only as a theoretical framework but also as an analytical primer for citizens-to evaluate and judge their leaders wisely. This is especially vital in democracies, where public perception often swings between over-glorification and unjustified blame. Business executives and politicians alike suffer from this imbalance, with rewards and punishments often tied to economic or political cycles outside their control.
Throughout, Nye explores different leadership types, such as feminine and masculine leadership, and introduces concepts like “shared” and “distributed” leadership that reflect modern organizational needs. He cautions us against what he calls the “cult of leadership,” where charisma often overshadows substance. Charisma, Nye argues, must be handled carefully-it is not magic but context-specific magnetism, as seen in figures like Hitler, who manipulated crises to enhance his personal charisma.
One of Nye’s strengths is his historical breadth. He revisits towering figures Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Churchill, and Roosevelt demonstrating that leaders do make a difference, but often only when context aligns with their capabilities. For instance, Nye provocatively claims that Churchill would have been a minor figure if Hitler hadn’t invaded France in 1940. Similarly, Reagan’s leadership gained traction largely because Mikhail Gorbachev, not Andropov, came to power in 1985.
In a similar vein, Nye underscores how cultural context, timing, and external pressures shape leadership impact. Lincoln’s mastery of political trends, Gandhi’s alignment with Indian values, and King’s American reinterpretation of Gandhi’s message all highlight how cultural intelligence and contextual adaptability are as vital as cognitive skill. In fact, Churchill’s own contextual intelligence, honed by his deep historical writing, allowed him to read situations better than many of his contemporaries.
Nye also brings leadership closer to our everyday reality. He emphasizes that military leadership today involves more management than warfare generals now use words more than swords. As one general in Iraq said, “military force alone cannot produce victory.” Success requires hearts and minds a mix of communication, emotional intelligence, and relational power. Nye calls this “social intelligence,” quoting Oliver Wendell Holmes on FDR: “second-class intellect, first-class temperament.”
In today’s “flat world,” where information travels globally in seconds, Nye stresses that knowledge and the ability to process it are key power resources. Non-state actors leverage the resource for influence, emphasizing how power is becoming more dispersed. In such an environment, Nye warns against an overreliance on command-based or hierarchical leadership. Instead, he urges for participative processes, relational trust, and strategic communication.
His critique of power myths is particularly salient. Nye confronts the “vehicle fallacy” and the “concrete fallacy” beliefs that see leaders either as passive reflections of history or as omnipotent shapers of destiny. He makes the case for leadership as an “interactive art” influenced by personal skill, structural opportunity, and follower psychology. He also emphasizes the ethical dilemmas that leaders face. Is deception ever justified for a greater good? Through examples like Kennedy, De Gaulle, Roosevelt, and Johnson, Nye explores how morality and strategy often blur in real-world politics.
Yet leadership is not just for presidents or generals. Nye includes lessons for everyone: “Leadership must have advanced preparation,” he says, pointing out that while experience builds tacit knowledge, analysis is equally essential. Like the cat that avoids stoves after getting burned, unrefined experience without insight can lead to wrong conclusions. Thus, leadership is learnable, though not a science it’s a discipline where results are “informative but not definitive.”
Importantly, Nye doesn’t romanticize leadership. He calls for a balanced view, where power is understood as the ability to coerce, induce, or attract, and followers’ needs, psychological expectations, and cultural background are respected. As Richard Haass metaphorically put it, leaders must know how to navigate “North, South, East, and West” a compass of all those who influence and are influenced by their decisions.
Nye’s final takeaway is profound: leadership is not just about being in charge; it’s about creating meaning, trust, and cooperation. And while resignation is always an option, Nye reminds us that followers too can shape leaders by resisting, redirecting, or engaging. In the absence of strong leadership, opportunists and bureaucratic entrepreneurs will fill the vacuum.
In conclusion, The Powers to Lead is a masterful fusion of political science, psychology, history, and practical wisdom. Nye’s concept of smart power is not just a tool for statecraft but a vital compass for navigating today’s turbulent leadership terrain. In a world hungry for substance over spectacle, Nye doesn’t just offer critique he gives us a guide. A must-read for students, professionals, and citizens who still believe that leadership matters and can be better.
At the heart of Nye’s thesis is the idea that leadership and power are inextricably intertwined. He expands on traditional notions of power by distinguishing between hard power (coercion and inducement) and soft power (attraction and persuasion), arguing that effective leadership requires a mixture of soft and hard power skills-what he calls “smart power.” Leadership is not a one-size-fits-all model but rather, a dynamic, context-driven interaction between leaders, followers, and the environment.
Nye offers the book not only as a theoretical framework but also as an analytical primer for citizens-to evaluate and judge their leaders wisely. This is especially vital in democracies, where public perception often swings between over-glorification and unjustified blame. Business executives and politicians alike suffer from this imbalance, with rewards and punishments often tied to economic or political cycles outside their control.
Throughout, Nye explores different leadership types, such as feminine and masculine leadership, and introduces concepts like “shared” and “distributed” leadership that reflect modern organizational needs. He cautions us against what he calls the “cult of leadership,” where charisma often overshadows substance. Charisma, Nye argues, must be handled carefully-it is not magic but context-specific magnetism, as seen in figures like Hitler, who manipulated crises to enhance his personal charisma.
One of Nye’s strengths is his historical breadth. He revisits towering figures Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Churchill, and Roosevelt demonstrating that leaders do make a difference, but often only when context aligns with their capabilities. For instance, Nye provocatively claims that Churchill would have been a minor figure if Hitler hadn’t invaded France in 1940. Similarly, Reagan’s leadership gained traction largely because Mikhail Gorbachev, not Andropov, came to power in 1985.
In a similar vein, Nye underscores how cultural context, timing, and external pressures shape leadership impact. Lincoln’s mastery of political trends, Gandhi’s alignment with Indian values, and King’s American reinterpretation of Gandhi’s message all highlight how cultural intelligence and contextual adaptability are as vital as cognitive skill. In fact, Churchill’s own contextual intelligence, honed by his deep historical writing, allowed him to read situations better than many of his contemporaries.
Nye also brings leadership closer to our everyday reality. He emphasizes that military leadership today involves more management than warfare generals now use words more than swords. As one general in Iraq said, “military force alone cannot produce victory.” Success requires hearts and minds a mix of communication, emotional intelligence, and relational power. Nye calls this “social intelligence,” quoting Oliver Wendell Holmes on FDR: “second-class intellect, first-class temperament.”
In today’s “flat world,” where information travels globally in seconds, Nye stresses that knowledge and the ability to process it are key power resources. Non-state actors leverage the resource for influence, emphasizing how power is becoming more dispersed. In such an environment, Nye warns against an overreliance on command-based or hierarchical leadership. Instead, he urges for participative processes, relational trust, and strategic communication.
His critique of power myths is particularly salient. Nye confronts the “vehicle fallacy” and the “concrete fallacy” beliefs that see leaders either as passive reflections of history or as omnipotent shapers of destiny. He makes the case for leadership as an “interactive art” influenced by personal skill, structural opportunity, and follower psychology. He also emphasizes the ethical dilemmas that leaders face. Is deception ever justified for a greater good? Through examples like Kennedy, De Gaulle, Roosevelt, and Johnson, Nye explores how morality and strategy often blur in real-world politics.
Yet leadership is not just for presidents or generals. Nye includes lessons for everyone: “Leadership must have advanced preparation,” he says, pointing out that while experience builds tacit knowledge, analysis is equally essential. Like the cat that avoids stoves after getting burned, unrefined experience without insight can lead to wrong conclusions. Thus, leadership is learnable, though not a science it’s a discipline where results are “informative but not definitive.”
Importantly, Nye doesn’t romanticize leadership. He calls for a balanced view, where power is understood as the ability to coerce, induce, or attract, and followers’ needs, psychological expectations, and cultural background are respected. As Richard Haass metaphorically put it, leaders must know how to navigate “North, South, East, and West” a compass of all those who influence and are influenced by their decisions.
Nye’s final takeaway is profound: leadership is not just about being in charge; it’s about creating meaning, trust, and cooperation. And while resignation is always an option, Nye reminds us that followers too can shape leaders by resisting, redirecting, or engaging. In the absence of strong leadership, opportunists and bureaucratic entrepreneurs will fill the vacuum.
In conclusion, The Powers to Lead is a masterful fusion of political science, psychology, history, and practical wisdom. Nye’s concept of smart power is not just a tool for statecraft but a vital compass for navigating today’s turbulent leadership terrain. In a world hungry for substance over spectacle, Nye doesn’t just offer critique he gives us a guide. A must-read for students, professionals, and citizens who still believe that leadership matters and can be better.
June 29, 2025
An issue I personally find with many articles, books, and courses on leadership is their lack of grounding and analysis, giving rise to vagueness and (at the very least, a perception of) unsoundness. Nye conveys a similar sentiment in the Preface, and thus sought to write a book that was "analytical" and "based on the scientific and historical record".
In defining 'leadership', Nye notes Hook's distinction between "eventful" and "event-making" leaders. He rejects this, however, opining that the distinction is "oversimplified[,] and transformational change is often a matter of degree." Other theorists forwarded "an alpha male theory of leadership", but this too is rejected by Nye, who points to anthropologists' observation that "most hunter-gather groups that exist today tend to be relatively egalitarian, at least among males, and do not have patterns of alpha male dominance". Another traditional theory is that leaders are determined by the traits they are born with, but Nye observes that traits ranging from height and IQ to extroversion have been examined by researchers with poor explanatory results. Thus Nye posits that "Context is often more important than traits", and thus leadership can be studied and learned rather than merely inherited. Ultimately, he defines "a leader as someone who helps a group create and achieve shared goals." (ch 1) Nye further distinguishes between transformational leaders (who "mobilize power for change by appealing to... higher ideals and moral values") and transactional leaders ("who motivate followers by appealing to their self-interest", eg. reward and punishment). Effective leadership requires a combination of both (ch 3).
A leader cannot lead without power. Nye distinguishes between hard power, which "rests on inducements (carrots) and threats (sticks)" (eg. police power, financial power, ability to hire and fire); and soft power, where one gets the outcome they want "by attracting others rather than manipulating their material incentives. [Soft power] co-opts people rather than coerces them." (ch 2) Soft and hard power can be mixed, and "The ability to combine hard and soft power into an effective strategy is smart power" (ch 2), and an effective leader must have "the ability to understand context" to combine hard and soft power into a smart power strategy (ch 3).
Sceptics may argue that there is no real distinction as soft power is coercive as well, but Nye responds that this objection relies on a broad sense of 'coercion', referring to any pressure to compel behaviour, and while words can do this, "you have more options in response to words than to force[.] Soft power may feel threatening and manipulative, but it still leaves open a wider range of choices in the target’s response." (ch 5)
Skills that are important for soft power include: 1) Emotional intelligence (the ability to understand and regulate emotions and the "signals" one conveys; it has two components: mastery of self [leading to self-control] and outreach to others [eg. empathy]); 2) Communication (which can be symbolic [leadership by example] or by persuasion [arguments, speeches, etc.]); and 3) Vision ("skill in articulating a picture that gives meaning to an idea and inspires others", a successful vision "often arises from the needs of the group"). Skills for hard power include: 1) Organizational skills (contexts can be "manage[d]" and "shape[d]" by "creating and maintaining well-designed systems"; this is not to be confused with efficiency [eg. Franklin Roosevelt maintained an inefficient organisation with many overlaps, but this gave him multiple competing flows of information which aided his evaluation and decision-making]); and 2) Political skills (including intimidation [though Nye agrees with McClelland and Kramer that pure bullying tends to be counterproductive], negotiation, and brokerage and maintenance of beneficial arrangements/winning coalitions (ch 3).
On contexts, Nye appears to agree with Victor Vroom who "distinguishes "autocratic situations", which invite hard power approaches, from "autocratic managers," who always use such a style." When crises hit, the type of crisis also matters: Nye cites Leonard and Howitt that "in routine crises, the most appropriate leadership is a command-and-control approach that implements a hierarchical system of general approaches and applies them to a specific situation. But in novel crises, [a] muted command presence and a flatter horizontal structure that produces collaboration in developing understanding and design for a new approach" may be more apt. Adopting the former approach in a novel situation may lead to a case like 9/11 where firefighters fought the fires in the Twin Towers as an enlarged version of a skyscraper fire, missing the novelty of structural damage that led rapidly to the collapse of the buildings (ch 4).
Review and thoughts
If I were to imagine Nye's advice to a leader, I think it can be summed up in two words: "it depends". He is quick to point out that no one thing (be it type of power, skill, trait, or context) is absolutely better than another, and ultimately what is needed is contextual intelligence to pick and choose different degrees of various 'ingredients' to form an effective smart power strategy – in short, wisdom. I think this is right, though it would (I think) undercut the claim that leadership can be learnt to some extent. After all, it's hard to teach wisdom and judgment – and indeed, Nye lays out factors more than he provides guidance on how to weigh and put those constituent parts together. However, I think he has very much filled the gap he proposed to fill with this book, which is to tell the reader about power and leadership "in a short analytical primer so that they can select, evaluate, and judge their leaders" (Preface). This I think Nye has done well in the span of less than 200 pages.
In defining 'leadership', Nye notes Hook's distinction between "eventful" and "event-making" leaders. He rejects this, however, opining that the distinction is "oversimplified[,] and transformational change is often a matter of degree." Other theorists forwarded "an alpha male theory of leadership", but this too is rejected by Nye, who points to anthropologists' observation that "most hunter-gather groups that exist today tend to be relatively egalitarian, at least among males, and do not have patterns of alpha male dominance". Another traditional theory is that leaders are determined by the traits they are born with, but Nye observes that traits ranging from height and IQ to extroversion have been examined by researchers with poor explanatory results. Thus Nye posits that "Context is often more important than traits", and thus leadership can be studied and learned rather than merely inherited. Ultimately, he defines "a leader as someone who helps a group create and achieve shared goals." (ch 1) Nye further distinguishes between transformational leaders (who "mobilize power for change by appealing to... higher ideals and moral values") and transactional leaders ("who motivate followers by appealing to their self-interest", eg. reward and punishment). Effective leadership requires a combination of both (ch 3).
A leader cannot lead without power. Nye distinguishes between hard power, which "rests on inducements (carrots) and threats (sticks)" (eg. police power, financial power, ability to hire and fire); and soft power, where one gets the outcome they want "by attracting others rather than manipulating their material incentives. [Soft power] co-opts people rather than coerces them." (ch 2) Soft and hard power can be mixed, and "The ability to combine hard and soft power into an effective strategy is smart power" (ch 2), and an effective leader must have "the ability to understand context" to combine hard and soft power into a smart power strategy (ch 3).
Sceptics may argue that there is no real distinction as soft power is coercive as well, but Nye responds that this objection relies on a broad sense of 'coercion', referring to any pressure to compel behaviour, and while words can do this, "you have more options in response to words than to force[.] Soft power may feel threatening and manipulative, but it still leaves open a wider range of choices in the target’s response." (ch 5)
Skills that are important for soft power include: 1) Emotional intelligence (the ability to understand and regulate emotions and the "signals" one conveys; it has two components: mastery of self [leading to self-control] and outreach to others [eg. empathy]); 2) Communication (which can be symbolic [leadership by example] or by persuasion [arguments, speeches, etc.]); and 3) Vision ("skill in articulating a picture that gives meaning to an idea and inspires others", a successful vision "often arises from the needs of the group"). Skills for hard power include: 1) Organizational skills (contexts can be "manage[d]" and "shape[d]" by "creating and maintaining well-designed systems"; this is not to be confused with efficiency [eg. Franklin Roosevelt maintained an inefficient organisation with many overlaps, but this gave him multiple competing flows of information which aided his evaluation and decision-making]); and 2) Political skills (including intimidation [though Nye agrees with McClelland and Kramer that pure bullying tends to be counterproductive], negotiation, and brokerage and maintenance of beneficial arrangements/winning coalitions (ch 3).
On contexts, Nye appears to agree with Victor Vroom who "distinguishes "autocratic situations", which invite hard power approaches, from "autocratic managers," who always use such a style." When crises hit, the type of crisis also matters: Nye cites Leonard and Howitt that "in routine crises, the most appropriate leadership is a command-and-control approach that implements a hierarchical system of general approaches and applies them to a specific situation. But in novel crises, [a] muted command presence and a flatter horizontal structure that produces collaboration in developing understanding and design for a new approach" may be more apt. Adopting the former approach in a novel situation may lead to a case like 9/11 where firefighters fought the fires in the Twin Towers as an enlarged version of a skyscraper fire, missing the novelty of structural damage that led rapidly to the collapse of the buildings (ch 4).
Review and thoughts
If I were to imagine Nye's advice to a leader, I think it can be summed up in two words: "it depends". He is quick to point out that no one thing (be it type of power, skill, trait, or context) is absolutely better than another, and ultimately what is needed is contextual intelligence to pick and choose different degrees of various 'ingredients' to form an effective smart power strategy – in short, wisdom. I think this is right, though it would (I think) undercut the claim that leadership can be learnt to some extent. After all, it's hard to teach wisdom and judgment – and indeed, Nye lays out factors more than he provides guidance on how to weigh and put those constituent parts together. However, I think he has very much filled the gap he proposed to fill with this book, which is to tell the reader about power and leadership "in a short analytical primer so that they can select, evaluate, and judge their leaders" (Preface). This I think Nye has done well in the span of less than 200 pages.
May 30, 2019
Nel suo genere è un testo che affronta in modo completo il complesso tema della leadership, fornendo spunti interessanti sulla commistione hard/soft power.
Interessante come panoramica, ma se si vuole leggere qualcosa di veramente rivoluzionario su questi temi bisogna aprire Machiavelli.
Interessante come panoramica, ma se si vuole leggere qualcosa di veramente rivoluzionario su questi temi bisogna aprire Machiavelli.
Read
November 4, 2014This guy used George W. Bush as an example of an ineffective or misguided leader about 800 times. It was hilarious.
November 5, 2014
Not a big fan of self help books, but if you want to know about Leadership as a subject in 226 pages. It doesn't get better than this.
July 5, 2017
The first few chapters of this book are actually really interesting. Nye examines the qualities of leadership in light of famous examples of world leaders. He talks about power dynamics, the different kinds of power (hard/soft), and explores how power has been applied in history. The last chapter was a bit meh, but overall this is a fascinating book about leadership.
February 13, 2018
A great overview of both positive and negative forms of powers by highly known leaders. This book provides a deeper look at the forms of leadership and how it is being handled within different cultures, ages or industries. Also, how the tendencies among leadership styles change and discusses what are the best styles for particular situations.
October 21, 2017
Appendix contains useful summary of Nye's views on leadership. Concise and practical read.
January 17, 2018
Winter 2018 8/104 - This one was assigned for a class but well worth the time to read. Looking forward to going back over my notes and markings.
May 19, 2021
solid overview of leadership dynamics and compendium of styles; and chock full of good quotes and leadership episodes
March 20, 2022
Distingue muito bem os dois conceitos, acompanhado de muitos exemplos reais da História Mundial.
July 19, 2024
Very political leadership focused, which wasn't exactly what I was searching for. However, still includes some great insights.
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March 17, 2013� un libro davvero molto interessante, ma che abbraccia la politica e la leadeship mondiale. Scorrevole, semplice e scritto molto bene, ma cercavo qualcosa di diverso, pi� che altro capire cosa succede quando uno si ritrova leader e come gestire la cosa. Di questo, il libro dice solo che � un mistero :) Comunque, � una lettura che andrebbe la pena di fare, anche solo come patrimonio culturale personale
July 31, 2008
It was enjoyable to read about practical explanations to leadership styles that are successful. The only problem is that it felt repetitive after a while. Also, it may not necessarily be the author's fault, but I feel like I have already read a lot of the points he made before in other books. Otherwise, it was an easy and intriguing read.
August 27, 2012
Dry, well-researched, and repetitive, The Powers to Lead is a book I can imagine myself only ever reading in the context I did read it in, as a text for class. The points in the appendix are helpful for those who could not pick up on them while reading this short, five chapter book. This book focuses largely on leadership.
June 2, 2013
Short and powerful primer on leadership, especially political leadership. Highly recommendable to students and everyone else who feel like knowing a little bit more on how our leaders function. Easy to read, and categorizes everything quite nicely, while maintaining a living and interesting language.
March 1, 2009
Quality leadership book. Somewhat short, but meaty. Delves into transactional versus transformational powers, soft and hard power. This gives a lot of examples of leaders in history. There is also discussion of types of followers and what you can expect.
I highly recommend this.
I highly recommend this.
May 24, 2015
I read this for my class on political leadership. It offers a brief look on leadership, but it's more of an overview than something profound. It's accessible for general audience and offers many examples of popular leadership figures.
July 10, 2011
Required reading for a management class that I took. I thought this was overwritten. All you really needed to read was the bulleted list of key points at the back of the book.
December 12, 2011
It's not what you'd expect. Great little primer on leadership, it's not your typical inspirational book.
January 30, 2012
I had to read this for his class. There is nothing overly insightful in it. If anything, it is worth the read solely based upon its brevity.
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