by Jack Ulrich
April 23, 2004
268 pages
Lewis and Clark’s journey to the west is an amazing story of courage and resilience. High school history classes never did it justice. Nothing teaches leadership like a great story and this is one of the best- higher purpose, hardship, constant danger, discovery, and ultimately, success. It still resonates today.
The author uses this incredible story to introduce contemporary leadership lessons. Each chapter introduces a leadership principle from the expedition and ties it to modern-day challenges faced by today’s leaders. One example, in the chapter entitled Honoring Differences, Ulrich recounts how the two captains built their team and later cleverly expanded it as they discovered that the team lacked needed expertise. He then describes how a number of companies have utilized diversity to solve long-standing problems.
Some takeaways you may discover:
· How to prepare yourself and your team for the challenges ahead.
· When and how to apply appropriate discipline and positive rewards.
· How to effectively analyze situations and formulate strategies that keep you moving forward.
· How to recognize the strengths of others and purposefully share leadership.
Leadership is a journey into the unknown. Lewis and Clark had many preconceived notions about what they would find. In many cases, reality turned out to be much different. The most striking message in this story to me was their willingness to meet every unexpected challenge, obstacle, or disappointment and keep moving forward. Many journal entries included the simple phase, “we proceeded on”.
Leaders are often confronted with unexpected challenges that can stop them in their tracks. Into the Unknown helps us remember what is possible when diverse teams are well prepared, confident and properly led. Proceed on!
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