Leadership and Self-Deception, Fourth Edition: The Secret to Transforming Relationships and Unleashing Results

There are several facets of leadership, and this book explores one such facet by encouraging readers to see others as people with needs, aspirations, and perspectives. The book itself is divided into three parts, each containing about nine chapters. Each chapter is a few pages – making it an easy read. The first part focuses on the labels we give others based on our perception. This is then reinforced by our attitude towards them, which in turn provokes their reaction. This cycle is presented as a disease that spreads beyond the individuals involved.

The second part focus on helping readers be more cognizant of how we perpetuate our labels and helps to view others as people with their needs, abilities, and challenges. The analogy used here is that we need to get out of our box (which colors our perspective). The third part extends the box analogy in helping other come out of their box. This section touches on responsibility and accountability.

The conversational writing style and short chapters make the book readable. However, the situations are too simplistic – requiring a more nuanced approach than the book discusses. In addition, the text keeps repeating the same concepts. The book does present a unique perspective on leadership, but it could have been more concise.