Team of Rivals
by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Lincoln's cabinet of the men who had run against him, Seward, Chase, Bates, and how he managed their ambitions, used their talents and earned their loyalty while holding a country together. It is political history and a leadership study of emotional intelligence, patience and magnanimity. Long, and worth every page for people who lead difficult people.
Read it if…
you manage strong, ambitious people who may not respect you yet.
Skip it if…
you want a brief leadership summary; this is eight hundred pages of history.
Three things you will actually use
- Surround yourself with people who disagree and are better than you at things.
- Absorb slights; do not return them.
- Share credit, take blame.
Do this first
Identify your most difficult talented colleague and find one way to use their strength this month.
Our verdict
Magisterial and useful.
Compare with other Leadership books
Trillion Dollar Coach
Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg and Alan Eagle · Leadership
Warm and sound.
CLICK TO SEEBrowse all Leadership book reviews or get the free Reality Code Cheat Sheet.
As an Amazon Associate, WisdomDeck earns from qualifying purchases. Links marked “Click to see” go to Amazon. We are not paid for opinions, prices and availability are not shown here and change on Amazon, and we never see your purchase details. Nothing here is medical, legal or financial advice.