Welcome to the Monthly Newsletter by Amer Kaissi 

Edition #28, April 2022

“Leadership in Turbulent Times” has quickly jumped to the top of the list of my favorite leadership books of all the time. Doris Kearns Goodwin, a Harvard professor who also worked in the White House, has dedicated her career to the study of four American presidents. In this book, she teaches us about transformational leadership from Abraham Lincoln, crisis leadership from Theodore Roosevelt, turnaround leadership from Franklin D. Roosevelt, and visionary leadership from Lyndon B. Johnson.

The book is full of rich historical details and leadership lessons. What are some common aspects of these very different leaders? They all read voraciously from early on to better understand the world. And they all managed to keep humility and ambition in balance (a concept that I like to refer to as humbitious leadership). For example, here is what Kearns Goodwin says about Lincoln: “From the start, he understood with a raw political instinct as keen as his ambition, that the only path to his nomination […] required a combination of relentless determination and self-effacing humility.” This book is truly a masterclass, especially relevant for the current turbulent times.

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Dr. Amer Kaissi is a Top Leadership Keynote Speaker. He speaks about leadership, teams and culture.