Coincidentally, I am just now rereading Certain Trumpets, a collection of 16 brief case studies by Gary Wills. An interesting feature is that, for each leader

Coincidentally, I am just now rereading Certain Trumpets, a collection of 16 brief case studies by Gary Wills. An interesting feature is that, for each leader he also discusses an antitype. So for electoral leader Franklin Roosevelt, the antitype is Adlai Stevenson. For business leader Ross Perot, the antitype is Roger Smith, the GM executive also criticized in the documentary "Roger and Me" (the book came out in 1994). The book is history/biography not how-to, but he makes some general observations. He emphasizes that good leaders are made possible by good followers, who are united by the same goal and recognize the leader's likelihood of reaching it. He also emphasizes that there isn't some generic talent for leadership. The talents required of a leader depend on what the goals are. So, in general, a good military leader might not be a good elected leader etc.