Why It Matters: Reflections on Practical Leadership

by John A. White

Teachers are Leaders and Leaders are Teachers

In Why It Matters, John A. White draws on a wealth of expertise acquired across his six-decade career as a corporate leader, chancellor, dean, educator, engineer, and consultant to create a thorough and thought-provoking treatise on leadership philosophy. Based in part on Leadership Practices and Principles, the award-winning course he designed and taught at the University of Arkansas, Why It Matters brilliantly weaves Dr. White’s inspiring personal story and observations on leadership with a treasure trove of leadership philosophy from some of the nation’s most respected corporate, military, and political leaders.

After stepping down as chancellor of the University of Arkansas, Dr. White was encouraged by faculty colleagues to offer a course on leadership. Though he’d been an engineering educator for forty-five years by then and had never taught a course that wasn’t based on equations, he was intrigued by the idea of sharing his leadership journey with students. For the following nine years, Dr. White taught Leadership Practices and Principles to seniors and graduate students from every discipline, introducing them to fifteen guest leaders over the course of each semester and holding in-depth, frank, and often emotional conversations about the challenges, joys, heartbreaks, and diversity of approaches to successful leadership.

Dr. White recounts dozens of these conversations in Why It Matters while reflecting on his own leadership journey in business, government, nonprofit organizations, and universities. Drawing on numerous challenging leadership experiences while serving on six boards of directors for publicly traded companies and leading the University of Arkansas, Georgia Tech’s engineering college, National Science Foundation’s engineering directorate, and numerous professional associations, he provides practical guidance on navigating your leadership journey. Why It Matters is required reading for current and aspiring leaders alike, as well as anyone with an interest in a plainspoken and truly comprehensive compendium of leadership thought and philosophy.

Genres: Nonfiction

336 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 25, 2022

Reviews

[Sam Knecht · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the fall semester of 2014 I got the opportunity to take Dr. John White’s graduate-level course, Leadership Principles and Practices. Well known leaders in business, government, athletics, and academia cycled through our classroom each week, each interviewed for over an hour but their friend Dr. White. The stories and lessons shared in those interviews were priceless, as were White’s personal reflections on the dozen or so leadership books we read together. White’s experience as chancellor of University of Arkansas was itself an open book for us to learn from. Character, communication, team management, having a long-term vision, and how to face criticism were all on the table.

This book, Why It Matters, is something of a distillation of that course. However, I’m sad to say it’s a rather poor one. Dr. White’s writing and reflections here are incredibly valuable (even if I don’t fully agree with his conclusions at times), but the main weakness of Why It Matters is the editing. Carefully collecting White’s thoughts into more coherent themes that fit together more tightly would make a stronger book. Though I think this book is worth reading, it may not be the first one on leadership that I recommend to someone.

One small highlight: White’s retelling of the story of how he became U of A’s chancellor is worth the price of the book—it’s both hilarious and bone-chilling. My beloved University Baptist Church is mentioned in that story, and I’m grateful for Dr. White’s years as a member of our church family.

[Trisha Hatfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Challenging and eye opening

I learned a lot from this book about what a good leader is versus just a boss/bad boss that opened my eyes to a lot of past experiences. Parts of it seemed very braggadocios but in the end he seems to genuinely want to help others. I also appreciated his wide range of quotes from the bible to Bill Clinton.

[Marissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read! I enjoyed all the references and examples throughout the book. I think I may have doubled my reading list based on this book alone! I feel as this book is a great synopsis and introduction to leadership. As I am embarking on my own leadership journey, I am glad to have this in my back pocket

[Dora Okeyo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got down to reading this book and any title that draws on personal experience is always a great read for it offers insights on life. For someone who worked in government, in education and with various communities and structures the author's take on leadership on kindness, empathy and effective communication make this a must read.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Why It Matters provides practical insights and strategies that are easy to understand and apply in real-world situations. It's a valuable resource for anyone looking to improve their skills and approach to business challenges.

[Shannon Vogel Lien · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you GoodReads for the giveaway and the chance to read this book. There’s many good points, but at times the book is a little long. Overall, a good read.