Time to Lead: Lessons for Today’s Leaders from Bold Decisions that Changed History

by Jan-Benedict Steenkamp

Where is leadership when we need it? What can today’s corporate, non-profit, military, and public-service leaders learn from daring decisions that changed history?

In Time to Lead, Jan-Benedict Steenkamp presents a fresh examination of history-making leaders by holding a magnifying glass up to a life-changing dilemma each of them faced. What we learn is how powerful the personalities of leaders and their decision-making processes can be in determining the course of human events—and the fates of millions of people.

Steenkamp explains how these great men and women arrived at the solutions to the problems they confronted by virtue of their character traits and whether they were foxes or hedgehogs—as in the ancient parable—or, as he further categorizes, eagles or ostriches.

Sixteen carefully curated case studies hold powerful lessons that today’s leaders can apply in their own professional lives. Readers will recognize Roosevelt, Washington, Mandela, Thatcher, Alexander the Great, and MLK, but other lesser-known leaders, such as Themistocles, Clovis, Peter, Fisher, and Nightingale provide equally valuable insights into how individuals make decisions based upon one of seven leadership styles (adaptive, persuasive, directive, disruptive, authentic, servant, and charismatic) and four personality classifications (hedgehog, fox, eagle, or ostrich).

Steenkamp’s assessment tools provide seasoned and aspiring leaders alike with the means to not only determine their own individual styles, but how to step up when they inevitably come face-to-face with their own moments of truth.

Chapter takeaways, leadership principles, and open-ended, reflective questions will confer encouragement, enrichment, and empowerment on readers when they realize they can utilize the same tactics as these leaders in their own lives.

Time to Lead is about great men and women, their actions in leadership that have withstood the test of time, what we can learn from them—and the lessons that are relevant for us here and now.

Genres: Leadership

416 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 15, 2020

Reviews

[Steve Burgess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Time to Lead is a fresh and interesting new take on leadership that will add to much loved books already on the shelf. Its award-winning and frequently-cited author is widely-acknowledged as one of the most influential global business scholars and thought leaders of our time. In this most recent book, he identifies four types of leaders, relates these to seven leadership styles, and provides tools that will help readers understand themselves and become better leaders.

This is an easy read, that is thought-provoking and well-written. It is organized around meticulously researched case studies in which a leader faces a seminal leadership dilemma and responds in a way that changes the course of human history. The men and women are chosen from countries around the world. The exceptional way in which each leader and their time is brought to life sets the stage for timeless lessons in leadership.

Steenkamp is a gifted educator and public-speaker who has held top leadership positions in business schools, global research, and consulting initiatives. Although recognized with awards at the highest level for his rigorous research, his popular books reveal a more practical side that is informed by his teaching, consulting, and speaking engagements around the world. He brings that practical approach to this book.

It has become a cliché to say that business as usual no longer applies in these fast-changing times. Leadership must adapt and evolve over time. Whether one is an experienced leader or at an earlier stage in one’s career, I believe Time to Lead will be a valued and often consulted resource for self-improvement. I heartily recommend it.

[Jon Rhone · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing read. As a student and practitioner of leadership, I wish I had this while I was still serving in the military. If you are a leader, or building leaders, BUY THIS BOOK! Learning from other leaders will increase self-awareness and serve as a catalyst to more effective leadership. Thank you for the opportunity to learn, JB.

[Lh · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to become a good leader? I guess this is what we are all eager to get the answer. Yet, it is also one of our long-term puzzles. Professor Jan-Benedict Steenkamp has the key. He is one of the leading voices on strategic global branding, management, leadership and strategy. His latest book Time to Lead: Lessons for Today’s Leaders from Bold Decisions that Changed History is definitely an important and inspiring book I have ever read during these years.

There is an oriental ancient saying about history: With copper as a mirror, you are dressed up well; History as a mirror, you know the rise and fall; People as a mirror, you see gains and losses. Sure! There is always much to talk in history. Analyzing leaderships in history is actually a meaningful and sharp perspective an acute strategic observer can take.

After reading this book, I found the following shining gems hidden in all these inspiring leadership stories:
1. There is cutting-edge thinking about the profound philosophy of leadership in the book.
2. There is a matrix of understanding leadership genres in the book.
3. There are lessons of historical leadership in the book.
4. There is a long timeline demonstrating historical icons in the book.
5. There are smart advices to today’s corporate strategy and management in the book.

1. There is cutting-edge thinking about the profound philosophy of leadership in the book.

In my view, everyone can be a leader through learning, sort of. The book implies that in order to lead others, one must first learn to lead himself. I believe that Professor Steenkamp the author tells us that leadership can be analyze and learned. You may ask: is it true that everyone can do that? I very much believe so based on my own experiences.

Great leaders in history discussed by the book have philosophies, for themselves. It’s for sure. The book intelligently discloses the philosophical sparkles ever appeared in these great brains, vividly and interestingly. After all, there must be similarities among all these magnificent minds. Unique philosophical adherence is one of them.

2. There is a matrix of understanding leadership genres in the book.

Many people have a preconceived idea that leadership is just good or bad. They believe that it is difficult to categorize them into meaningful genres. The author of the book offers a structural framework for us to better understand what the leadership is and how to read them by the attributes.

3. There are lessons of historical leadership in the book.

As a leader, you must lead by example and set successful cases or benchmarks by presenting your qualities and abilities. You must have a clear goal, know the specific plan and implementation plan for what you want to do, and communicate with your followers through various means, so as to reach a common vision and common goal with your followers and all doers in the organization.

You definitely need to convey your passion and confidence to encourage and inspire your followers to fight for common goals. People learn quickly from lessons. There are pertinent lessons in this book which enable the readers to better understand principles.

4. There is a long timeline demonstrating historical icons in the book.

I think the author’s passion has always been history and you have been keenly aware of the great people who changed history. Talking history is really valuable to understand things more profoundly. It’s for sure that leadership is the art of inspiring a group of people to achieve a common goal.

This book describes in detail distinctive behaviors of outstanding leaders. What are the essential qualities of a great leader? How to become a leader? And how leaders should lead? All these hot topics have been addressed well in the book. More importantly, the efforts have been completed by an invisible timeline behind the stories. It’s another magic of this book I believe.

5. There are smart advices to today’s corporate strategy and management in the book.

Leadership plays a crucial role in corporate strategy. Leadership plays a crucial role in strategic branding of any organizations around the world. Making real progress in an organization requires us change from today.

Understanding art and science of leadership and learning the essence of leadership is the beginning of the journey. In a word, topics related to leadership are always related to tendency of adventurer and reform.

To do

Professor Steenkamp’s new book is an enjoyable read. In a turbulent time like 2020, an enjoyment brought by this book is a must. Those smart guys once said: do not waste any crisis! I very much agree with this wise alert, because I firmly believe that since the world is always riding on good and bad, the crises are always followed by opportunities, although may not be seen easily.

I find this book is leading on leadership: sharp, valuable, and interesting. I think the author has chosen a cool list of leaders in history. They have changed the world forever, from various perspectives. It's hard to imagine what the world will be like today without their audacious efforts facing their unique challenges, during their unique times.

Read this book. Pondering while reading. Brainstorming with your previous experiences when immersing yourself into the inundating information and historical facts. Equipped by Professor Steenkamp’s sharp ideas on leadership, a brand will be better coping with challenges and efficiently grasping precious opportunities!

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book for lovers of biographies who aspire to lead. It is clearly the product of a reader as voracious as Clifton Hillegrass, but it isn’t merely a collection of Cliff’s notes on the lives of leaders who bent the arc of destiny. It is rich with Jan-Benedict "J-B" Steenkamp’s strategic play-by-play and color commentary as a distinguished professor of marketing. I enjoyed it for several reasons.

Marketing lens on leadership

J-B demonstrates his mastery of the leadership literature and builds on the work of Isaiah Berlin, John Kotter, Robert Greenleaf, Bill George, Ron Heifetz, and Jim Collins, to name a few. With one leader per chapter, the book fits nicely into 16-week semester courses on leadership. But I found J-B’s view of leaders through the lens of marketing a refreshing departure from the usual management grind. His subjects range from Themistocles of Athens, whose career as commander peaked in 480 BC, to Nelson Mandela who stepped down as president of South Africa in 1999.

In the chapter on Simon of Galilee, also known as Peter the Apostle, J-B gives us his take on the diffusion of Christianity. When Peter—a brand manager of sorts—decided that Gentiles needn’t obey the Law of Moses as a requisite to becoming Christians, he broke Christianity from its cultural roots in Judaism. That cracked the market wide open: instead of a niche of a few million Jews at most, Christians could target the 60 million Gentiles across the Roman Empire. J-B likens Peter’s move to Unilever’s selling off one of its original staples, margarine, which had put the Uni in Unilever when Margarine Unie NV merged with Lever Brothers in 1930.

In the chapter on the Germanic king Clovis, we see religion’s role in executing strategy. The Germanic tribes tended to rule by military might than by civil structures because the latter required literacy and education—earmarks of Roman society, not Frank tribes. The more Clovis conquered, the more he realized that he couldn’t easily maintain his territory while expanding into new markets, so to speak; he needed all his forces on the battlefield.

So Clovis—a pagan—converted to Catholicism to leverage the vast administrative network of the Catholic Church. He also gained the support of Catholics in his wars against non-Catholic kingdoms. The leadership lesson is, if you make this kind of change, make sure everybody knows about it. In 500 AD, a leader’s publicist was his sword, and Clovis got himself some good publicity, Fifth Century style (e.g., by killing staff who weren’t good brand ambassadors).

J-B compares Clovis’ investment in Catholicism to corporate investments in social responsibility initiatives, “as an insurance policy when things go wrong.” He reminds us of BP’s massive green advertising campaign. Whether BP was truly pursuing green energy or Clovis was adhering to Catholicism didn’t matter, so long as their public shows were credible. J-B observes that, after BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster, its prices didn’t plummet and its consumers didn’t switch brands en masse. Marketing mission accomplished.

There are too many highlights to note here—Deng’s stretching of the Marxist brand to sell his policies, Mandela’s mastery of his target market’s language and mindset, Bismarck’s focusing resources rather than diversifying his strategy—and so I’ll end with J-B’s analysis of John “Jacky” Arbuthnot Fisher, who revitalized the Royal Navy’s brand of supremacy on the high seas (over the market challenger, Germany) by discontinuing what he considered outdated business lines even though they were still performing well. Fisher then pursued organizational and product innovations, dispensing with social classes, revamping the training program, and introducing torpedo boat destroyers and the legendary Dreadnought battleship.

Leaders around the dinner table

I’ve known J-B for 15 years. I published his first book, gave his second and third books careful reads, and worked with his wife Valarie on a project. Yet I discovered a new side of J-B. He writes of his father and his brother as leaders of skill and consequence in the Netherlands—and as role models and mentors who influenced his own approach to leadership. It reminded me of Stephen Covey whose family anecdotes in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People gave the book a local habitation and humanity.

Leadership to what end?

J-B acknowledges that all but one story involved a great thinning of a population, through the massacres of war, political revolution, and foreign pathogens—and almost all of them related to the impact of European imperialism and colonialism on the world. Were followers as expendable as they seem to be under capitalism and communism, especially in this pandemic? Or did these leaders honor those who gave their lives, or remember their families when divvying up the spoils?

The authentic and servant leaders J-B describes—George Washington, Florence Nightingale, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela—stand out as anomalies in the otherwise barbaric course of human endeavor. Or perhaps they are weak signals of the leaders to come, the leaders who don’t play zero-sum games with followers’ lives, the leaders whose Time to Lead is now?

[Thus Kvothe The Raven · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Time to Lead” by Jan-Benedict Steenkamp

Like every book on leadership I have read, Steenkamp uses analogies to describe leadership styles. The analogies used here will be more useful to some than others, which is likely why so many different types are used to describe essentially the same 6 or so leader types.

What’s nice about this book is that Steenkamp gives historical case studies to illustrate her analogies. What’s more, the focus is on pivotal decisions made by these leaders. The bonus is at the end of each section Steenkamp poses questions to help you determine if your leadership is akin to that type. The end of the book provides assessments to help you determine which leadership mold you fit into, and your capacity to grow into (or out of) them. This section is a full third of the book!

Steenkamp does well to give enough background for each of the leaders studied to help us understand why they made the pivotal decisions they did. Each leader’s overall style characterization is independent of their methodology, which I found interesting. For example, Florence Nightingale and Martin Luther King, Jr. were both Servant Leaders, but their relationships with their proximal and distal followers were very different.

The writing style is mostly dry. I actually fell asleep every night while reading this material, even though the subject is important to me. I learned a lot I did not previously know about the leaders represented, but I felt disconnected from them. The author’s writing style is very academic while remaining accessible to the layperson. There are no terminology barriers for the average reader.

I give the book 3 stars; dead average for me. The material is useful and helpful, but delivered in a way that makes it hard to engage. The information itself was interesting and may serve to influence leaders to grow into the style best suited for them. It will likely be a bit of a slog to get through, though.

This book was a NetGalley gift from the publisher. The opinions shared in this review are my own and I have received no compensation in exchange for offering them.

[Karen Landale · Rating 5 out of 5]

JB Steenkamp is a master storyteller! Had he not been a field-leading Marketing Professor, he would no doubt have been an Historian. In Time to Lead, he selects a wide array of leaders to profile, expertly providing the unique historical context in which the leader finds him or herself, and stepping the reader through the leader’s thinking in a way that provokes the reader to think of their own leadership experience and how he/she might have made better decisions. His method—which is so smooth, you don’t feel it happening—shapes the reader’s thinking and provides essential guideposts for current and future leadership challenges.

Using his extensive background in psychometrics, JB offers three leadership assessment tools. The first examines the reader’s grittiness—a trait that has recently received a lot of attention for predicting success. His second assessment tool measures the reader’s propensity to have hedgehog or fox leadership qualities. Hedgehog or fox? Yes. I won’t give it away. Read the book! Finally, JB presents his own Steenkamp Assessment Instrument for Leadership Styles (SAILS), which allows the reader to compare his or her actual leadership style to his or her aspirational leadership style. This one-of-a-kind instrument goes well beyond the typical Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) or the Four Color personality scales to peer deeply into your propensities as a leader. Initially, I was very surprised at my own assessment; however, upon reflection, I realized his scale correctly identified the schism between my current and my aspirational leadership styles. It’s a great tool to highlight if such a gap exists, and the chapters themselves provide in-depth examples to grow yourself toward your aspirational leadership style.

As a career military officer, when I come across a good leadership book, I buy copies for the people I mentor. This is one of those books! Enjoy the read.

[A. Keller · Rating 5 out of 5]

An inspiring book for next-generation leaders and experienced professionals to sharpen their leadership skills while learning from great historic leaders. In this book, the author, Jan-Benedict Steenkamp, brings together his long experience in marketing, leadership, and his passion for history.

Meticulously researched and logically divided into three main sections:
1) Leadership and definition of leadership types
2) Examples from sixteen historic leaders, what specific dilemma they faced, and a detailed description of their predominant leadership styles
3)Leadership self-assessment tools and instruments

I especially liked the detailed description of the seven leadership styles (adaptive, persuasive, directive, disruptive, authentic, servant, charismatic) and 2-3 examples from historic leaders for each leadership style. You will find a reflection chapter after each leadership style that is helpful in tying things together and gain a deeper understanding. I enjoyed reading how the leader’s personalities impacted their decision-making process as well as understanding the “why” behind the scenes while facing their dilemma. One can definitely learn from those examples and apply the lessons learned in our daily professional careers. At the end of the book, Steenkamp offers a variety of useful assessment tools to determine one's own individual leadership style.

I highly recommend this book and hope you will find it as inspiring as I did. This book offers the opportunity to reflect and improve one's own leadership style to become an effective and successful leader in today’s competitive world.

[Todd Woodruff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just read this book for the second time and got as much from it this time as I did the first reading. Learning leadership lessons from history's leaders (good and bad) is always powerful, so I really like that Steenkamp uses history's decisive leaders and events to illustrate various leadership approaches and ties them to contemporary challenges and decision-making. It is great when I feel more informed about important historical events and figures and at the same time develop as a leader. This book is equally applicable to senior leaders and recent college graduates leading their first project team. I plan to share copies with my friends in leadership roles.
Time to Lead: Lessons for Today's Leaders from Bold Decisions that Changed History

[Miguel Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Queen Elizabeth II, is actually the only living person who has personally known and dealt with the leaders who changed our world, Hers, is an invaluable heritage.

Like her, Dr. J-B. Steenkamp has worked to give the people who want to improve their leadership skills an invaluable analysis and understanding of some of the greatest leaders who change our lives.

His extraordinary and captivating book “Time to Lead” provides the reader with a deep understanding of key humans considered leaders and their leadership styles, and analyze them for us to learn the unique art of leading people. His book also provides a unique and novel tool SAILS Worksheet to make a personal diagnosis. Your leadership Skills will not be the same after reading this book.

Dr. Miguel Angel López Lomelí
Research Professor, TECNOLÓGICO DE MONTERREY, CAMPUS GUADALAJARA

[Daniel Finkenstadt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Time to lead is an amazing achievement! Steenkamp weaves a complex global history of critical decision-making and leadership into a brilliantly clear narrative of styles. Through this book the reader learns not just how other great leaders have made pivotal decisions, but how they can develop themselves into the leader they wish to be. Today's leading military minds are turning to Time to Lead to help them prepare for the future of national defense and leading managers are turning to the book to help them prepare for the future of post-COVID markets. The book is full of colorful and enlightening accounts from history, coupled with powerful diagnostic tools for assessing the leadership styles and attributes of yourself and others. I can't recommend it enough!

[PAJMS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steenkamp's book is a refreshment after endless numbers of management books in the style of "Seven steps to ..." or "The principles of ..." Crucial decision moments in the lives of flesh and blood leaders, who have already been tested by the history, are linked to some insightful models of leadership styles. The reader is challenged to reflect on themselves, and there are even some accessible tests to discover your own style (s) and to get started with them.
What is also innovative is that the book is not a long biography of one leader, but introduces in a nutshell the sixteen discussed leaders, in order to then go into those crucial leadership moments in their lives. Highly recommended!

[Sabrina Pritchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a great read in a time where we forget just how great some of our leaders in the past have been based off of what to we are having to currently experience. Some of the greatest leaders of all time are listed in this book....some we instantly recognize.....some we haven't thought about in a very long time. All great leaders are derived from being problem solvers and decision makers, Steenkamp nailed it with this book!

[David A Hofmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am currently reading "Time to Lead." I am enjoying the interweaving of history and marketing concepts as they apply to leadership. Providing the historical context and then focusing on key decisions these leaders made is a great approach and there is a nice variety of leaders profiled. I think the leadership assessment questions are also a great added feature differentiating it from many other leadership books. So, far 5-star recommendation.

[Jani Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fascinating book depicts so many interesting historical characteristics of people who achieved great heights. It dissects the instances, traits and key decisions that got them there against all odds. I thoroughly enjoyed the piece on Mandela and the South African World Cup in 1994 as I witnessed this myself. An accurate, endearing and unmasked account of events surrounding a great man. All in all, a very interesting book that prompts plenty of reflection.

[Katrijn Gielens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly enjoyed reading this book. Easy to read and at the same time profound and enlightening, a combination that is hard to pull off. I warmly recommend it to everyone who wants to learn more about leadership in an engaging way.

[Kendrick Vinar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a lot of books on leadership. This is one of the very best. You will be challenged and inspired by the leadership principles that drove some of histories greatest leaders. Very educational as well as excellent insights and practical applications.

[Allison Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read my share of books on leadership, and I've read and learned from all of the books written by Jan-Benedict Steenkamp. In his timely new book "Time to Lead," he combines his personal passion for history with an analytical approach to exploring how the decisions of 16 leaders who faced life-changing dilemmas changed history.

The lessons resonate whether you want to become a better leader or understand the traits, styles and decision-making processes of many great leaders, including Franklin Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Florence Nightingale. The common denominator? Grit.

I appreciate the tools to determine my leadership style and how to make it work as I read about leadership through the ages.

[Alejandro Romero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read, higly enilghtening! In times in which we need good leadership examples this book presents many of them which we can apply to our current time!

[Rob Nissen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding overview of history's great leaders and what we can learn from them today.

[Thomas Eapen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a timely, thorough, and practical exposition on leadership. The author expounds on seven different leadership styles seen in historical leaders - servant, authentic, persuasive, directive, charismatic, disruptive and adaptive. A careful understanding of the strengths and limitations of each style can help modern leaders navigate the perils and challenges of 21st century leadership. I believe that this book will be of immense value to today's leaders in business, non-profits, government and education as they navigate around covid-related challenges.

[Julian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book

I believe every leader should read this book. Or if you want to lead, learn from the pages of history. I didn’t find the classifications helpful but I did find a lot of the reflections useful. Overall well done

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an entertaining book. The author looks at the leadership of a number of different men and women through history and in light of their responses to specific challenges, categorizes the kind of leaders they were. Although leadership is not a field with which I am familiar, I question whether or not leadership can be categorized as simple as Steenkamp does. Both the situations that leaders face and their responses to those situations are some complex, that their leadership cannot be reduced to one particular type.

But this is still an entertaining book and very much worth reading. The leaders considered cover a wide variety of epochs et characters many of whom I knew little or nothing about. In a few pages for each, I was introduced to their lives and their work. the book is also filled with principles of leadership which provide extensive opportunity for personal reflection. And in addition to all of that, when I bought the book it was 85 CENTS on Kindle. You might have a hard time finding such an entertaining work for that price.