Leadership Lessons with The Beatles

Book excerpt: Leadership has gone through many changes in the last couple of decades. We have realized that outstanding leadership is not about being authoritarian and exercising control. It is not only about the intelligence quotient (IQ) but also about emotional intelligence. To be an exceptional leader, you need several essential skills, all of which you can learn. The skills are nuanced with emotional intelligence, which you can gain. This book is unique: the author weaves leadership ideas with the song titles of The Beatles, making this book fun, playful, thoughtful, and valuable. Each chapter is organized with the key message on a leadership attribute prompted by a Beatles’ song title, tips on becoming better on the topic, a practice suggestion, questions to ask yourself to think about the message, and resources for more reading. The author begins each chapter with how and why she chose the song and includes fun facts. It’s an engaging book that blends the words of perhaps the greatest rock band ever—The Beatles—with the basic principles for becoming a better leader.