> There is too little data to claim or even suggest that there exists a "recipe" for creating good leaders. We‘ve been studying leadership since the very first

> There is too little data to claim or even suggest that there exists a "recipe" for creating good leaders. We‘ve been studying leadership since the very first books were written (and probably since the first tribal elders started sharing their experiences around the camp fire). It is important to keep in mind that effective leadership can be stunningly diverse and depends heavily on personality and context. Stanley McChrystal makes this point quite well. Nonetheless, there are certain characteristics and traits that many effective leaders exhibit in some way or another. (IMO, John Maxwell provides an excellent summary of these.) But I heartily agree with your sentiment that reading biographies of leaders is one of the best ways of „learning the trade“ (aside from actually, you know, leading).