De Pree, widely-recognized leadership guru, has here written a work that addresses especially the unique benefits and challenges of working in the non-profit sector. He does so not only because of their uniqueness but also because non-profits have much to teach for-profit companies. Many non-profit organizations are volunteer-driven which uncouples “power” from “leadership.” In a non-profit, a leader cannot “force” people to obey/conform/perform; rather, he or she must inspire them to do what is needed. A leader succeeds then, not by enhancing his or her own power but by empowering those who s/he leads.
What follows are a series of meandering essays on various aspects of not-for-profit leadership. “Meandering,” I suppose, has a too-negative connotation; to clarify, I do not mean that the essays are “unfocused” or “repetitive” or “confusing.” They do wander, but in a way that serves to draw the reader in. It is clear from the very first pages that what you are reading is the distilled wisdom of decades of successful leadership in both for-profit and non-profit arenas. I found myself taking pages of notes on a book that could easily been read in a few hours’ time, finding on nearly every page some personally-relevant insight.
De Pree is a master of the distilled insight. In fact, odd as it sounds, I found him to be only an average story-teller. However, he has mastered the art of the memorable turn-of-phrase. For example:
• “It’s much easier to extrapolate from the past than to imagine what’s possible in the future”
• “To measure performance is to gauge a group’s sense of urgency.”
• “What we do will always be a consequence of who we have become.”
By far, the most important insight is that the basic purpose of any successful organization must be helping people realize their potential. (What makes non-profit organizations such an important part of American corporate culture is that, for them, that purpose is more or less explicit.) Successful leaders do not “grow companies”; they “grow people.”
I can think of no other way to emphasize the power of this little book other than to confess that I first picked it up in order to give it away. I was in the process of moving my office library back home, trying to clear as much space in my home library, and being as draconian as a tender-hearted bibliophile could be. However, this book has earned back its place on my shelf and will, I think, long stand in the number of the best books I’ve ever read on the nature of effective leadership. ( )