Too Proud to Lead: How Hubris Can Destroy Effective Leadership and What to Do About It, reviewed

We review this book, which comes out on June 24th, published by Bloomsbury. See more on their website here, written by Ben Laker, David Cobb, Rita Trehan

Too Proud to Lead: How Hubris Can Destroy Effective Leadership and What to Do About It, reviewed

This book makes sense, tackles a timely topic, and reminds us that just because certain companies have done well, this may have been despite, rather than because of any excellent leadership at the top. There may have been no other decent competitors or alternative products, there may have just been one good idea at the right time, regardless of the competence or blind luck of the person at the top.

The book tackles these themes well, and explains intelligently and effectively the pitfalls to avoid, and strategies to try and not drive your own company into extinction. One figure who we imagined would be in the book, as they seem to surely be the epitome of hubris and poor poor leadership was the 45th potus. However, unless we missed it, he does not seem to surface in this book anywhere. Maybe it is too recent and too decisive a case study, but surely, in a very short period of time, this  type of disastrous (non)leadership will be included in books like this.

Overall it is well written, makes it case well and offers the reader insightful takeaways. Check it out.

Published: 24-06-2021
Format: Hardback
Edition: 1st
Extent: 240
ISBN: 9781472973030
Imprint: Bloomsbury Business

More about the book

On the 24th June, Ben Laker, David Cobb and Rita Trehan examine the plague of overconfidence and hubris in the workplace in new book Too Proud to Lead: How Hubris Can Destroy Effective Leadership and What to Do About It. Beginning with the tale of the Boeing 737 Max aeroplane, Cobb, Trehan and Laker explain how hubris can be a matter of life and death – a series of arrogant decisions came to a head and not one, but two planes fell from the skies leading to the deaths of 346 people.

They ask ‘What are the warning signs of hubris in organizations?’, and share cautionary tales of where hubris has affected, undermined, and hollowed out highly successful companies: The We Company; General Motors; Uber; and Deutsche Bank. They assess the hubris balance sheet of Jobs, Zuckerberg, Bezos and Musk, and examine the career arc of a CEO and how it can choose to follow the path of arrogance and hubris, or can take a different, more inclusive route.

About the authors

Professor Ben Laker is a renowned scholar and educator tenured to Henley Business School who influences governments and corporations’ policies and practices globally. He writes for Forbes and the Washington Post and publishes research in leading academic and managerial outlets, including the Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review. Follow him @DrBenLaker.

David Cobb is a serial entrepreneur who serves the Oceanova group of companies – including The National Centre for Leadership and Management and National College of Education – as CEO. He collaborates with influential thinkers and is regarded by Forbes as a leading expert on disruptive innovation. Follow him @David_C_Cobb.

Rita Trehan is a Fortune 200 Chief Human Resources Officer turned global HR and transformation consultant who advises executives worldwide to create, transform and build sustainable businesses. She writes for the Independent and is the author of Unleashing Capacity: The Hidden Human Resources. Follow her @Rita_Trehan.

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