Jeffery Harvey

I enjoyed this text immensely. Long before undertaking graduate study in strategic and executive leadership, I studied linguistics. I've always been a fan of language, and the first 20 years of my career saw that fandom evolve into being a fan of the many uses of language. That, in a nutshell, is why discursive leadership piqued my interest. I've read several of Fairhurst's article on the framing, communications, discourse, and organizational discourse analysis (ODA), so I was excited to dive into this volume.

It did not disappoint. Fairhurst does a great job of making the abstract accessible, primarily through example. Her extended use of the Officer Conway example, for instance, helps the reader to not only understand the initial idea, but also to build on that understanding ("setting it," so to speak). The work is thoroughly cited, leaving the readers with an interest with a trove of future readings.

The tone of this book, though, is the star. When I work with my students, there's an implicit, albeit misguided, understanding that theories of (or approaches to) leadership replace one another chronologically. Framing the discursive approach as a stand-alone concept OR a complement to leadership psychology study was insightful and skillful. I find myself thinking about certain approaches as "what leadership is" and others as "how leadership happens." I try to convey that to students (with, admittedly mixed results), yet the way Fairhurst approaches that conversation in the opening and concluding chapters of this text give me new ways of going into it with future students.

This review was written right after finishing the text. I journaled along the way, jotting down general notes, connection to various research projects of my own, and insightful passages. I'll go through those in due time. But for now, my first blush of this one is a strong recommendation to anyone who is interested in the communicative aspects of leadership or how leadership happens.

I found my copy of On Language when cleaning out a closet. I purchased it in 2001 while with my wife on our honeymoon. At that time, I had grand designs on a master's degree in linguistics that progressed, but never completely panned out.

Still, I am a lover of language and finding this one all dusty at the bottom of a closet was like getting a gift.

It takes me a bit to get back into the swing of Chomsky's writing because he has a bit of snark that is simultaneously engaging and off-putting. The one thing that snark does do, though, is makes reading this feel like being in a conversation. Speaking of conversation, I found the Language and Responsibility section to be the more enjoyable of the two books under this one cover. The interview elements between Chomsky and Ronat ebbed and flowed, focusing on language but not being afraid to touch on numerous other subjects. It was organic and informative (and much faster to read).

I enjoyed the Reflections on Language section, but if I'm being honest, I could take or leave the final chapter. I appreciated the insights and the details, but there were times when the writing felt like a tired man yelling at clouds. I should qualify that statement. Much of the issue was my own unfamiliarity with the writings of the authors to whom Chomsky was responding. I recognize that if (a) I was a working linguist in the 1970s and 1980s or (b) I was more educated and active in the contemporary world of linguistics, these arguments would be more accessible to me. As such, that qualifier is critical. I also recognize that I'm reading a volume that was responsive to the current discourse at the time of its publication 50 years after its original publication - another critical qualifier.

Finally, I want to acknowledge how much I enjoyed reading this through the lens of what has become my academic and professional career. At the time of this review - i.e., early 2025 - I am reading a lot of literature about discursive leadership. The sections of Chomsky's interview with Ronat where they discussed Foucault were fascinating to read against that backdrop, knowing what I've come to understand about (D)iscourse. Thinking of communication (broadly) and its effects on leadership while deconstructing the structure of the language forming "communication" was a fruitful mental exercise. Poet Irene McKinney once wrote something like, "Why should the worm care what it eats?" in a poem called Fodder. I love that poem because it captures the mindset of the bookworm (pun intended). When we read, we can't help but relativize the content to our unfolding experience. Diving into the structure of language, as a tool for communication, which is so important to the act of leading...that's what made my brain smile.

I have read about adaptive leadership for some time, which includes summaries of it, studies based on it, etc. It only made sense to go back and read the seminal work.

I enjoyed Heifetz's book. I am glad to see that, over time, the five "steps" of adaptive leadership have been given empirical attention because, at a basic level (and once one accepts the premise that adaptive challenges are those that require leadership while all others require management or technical solutions), they are intuitive. In particular, it's difficult to "identify the adaptive challenge," and I'm reminded of the readings and reflections I've done on discursive modes of leadership. There's a wonderful opportunity to utilize discursive tools to defined the adaptive challenge. "Give the work back to the people" also resonates with me. As defined herein, there is some ambiguity, but generally getting a team to align behind a challenge and work - participatively - toward a resolution are elements of leadership, broadly defined (and well beyond just the work of "adaptive leadership").

I often have a weird feeling when reading a book from before that is filled with real-life examples featuring actors whose futures we know. This book appeared in 1994, and I can't help but read the passages on President Carter without knowing about his time from the 90s to the recent present. This book does not fall victim to the fate of a book like Collin's Good to Great because of the future performance of featured firms, but I felt similar in reading it.

My explorations of adaptive leadership are not done. I'll read Heifetz's follow-up, and I'll continue reading more empirical considerations of the adaptive style. My interests ensure that I'll consider adaptive leadership through a discursive lens.

For years, I'd have students come into my doctoral classes eager to cite Northouse. I had read scanned snippets of earlier versions, but I set about to read the latest version I could find cover to cover. From a content standpoint, it did not disappoint. Northouse provides an introduction to a range of leadership theories, and the consistent structure of the chapters, though a tad dry, is effective at giving readers comparative points for the theories/approaches included. The book was a dense read, but it was not a hard read. Each chapter took me about an hour, give or take just a few minutes.

The only chapter with which I'd quibble regarding content was the final one of team leadership (contributed by a guest author). I have studied shared and distributed leadership, and I found that chapter to be a bit limiting because of an over-reliance on process. I fully admit that the chapter focused on team leadership rather than shared or distributed leadership. Thus, the structure related to the work team context. Still, there were some passages that tried to integrate shared and distributed leadership into the team context, and I did not feel the author was as successful as she could have been.

The reason this book did not receive a five-star rating from me is its publishing. It's a Sage book, and I have always found Sage to be a quality publisher with solid editing. Yet, this edition was littered with typos and mistakes, ranging from missing spaces between words to obvious misspellings in section headings (e.g., "Inclusjve" instead of "Inclusive"). If this is the direction in which Sage is heading, it will soon find itself knocked off its pedestal as a quality publisher of leadership and management texts.

I read this book per the recommendations of colleagues at my university. I enjoyed it, particularly the focus on leading "inside-out." I happen to believe that while leading is a collective, human act, effectively leading requires leaders to be self-aware.

In many ways, the text is a re-characterization of leadership tricks published in many other sources (including scholarly research). I'm fine with that because topics connect with people in different ways. Maybe Maor et al.'s way of presenting them works for some people, and if so, that's great.

I also rated the book highly because it is accessible. There's an element here - as there always is with these types of books - of writing about a topic like empathy like it's a formulaic how-to for achievement. As such, I encourage readers to simply be mindful of the potential complexity of these 12 leadership elements as they read. Use the writing for examples, and be far-reaching to identify other examples from within one's own experiences. The book is a quasi-advertisement for McKinsey's Bower Fora, which is understandable (but might be off-putting for some readers). Finally, as is often the case with books like this, readers should dig deeper to understand the elements and not simply tag themselves to the leaders or companies referenced by the book. There are several companies mentioned by name, and what is referenced is what exists at this point in time with respect to those companies. Think long and hard about whether what is in the book will diminish in ten years if, say, a company or its CEO suffers some sort of reputational crisis.

Mark DeFoe is a totally under-appreciated poet. He has published in numerous journals and such but usually runs his book through a small, locally-owned press. If you can find this one, I highly recommend it.

Irene McKinney - Poet Laureate of West Virginia

This isn't her best in my opinion, but still top notch.

I am not usually a fan of autobiographies, but this is a fun read. I got to meet Bill Roorbach and have heard him tell stories about Juliet that didn't make it into the book. The book is a wonderful portrayal of how that one special person gets in your life and just toys with your emotions - that one person that you love despite yourself. I read this book in just a couple of days. It's quick and definitely worth the time.

Ted Hughes' foray into prose and short stories. It's a good book. I like the kind of stories he tells - they're very similar to the topics covered by his poetry. I just think Ted is a little more effective in verse.

This is my vote for Irene's best book. I love the poem about spreading out luxuriously spreading out in her own grave plot plus the one of her former husband. That's living life and making the best of a bad situation!

The title poem resonates with anyone that is either from or spent significant time in West Virginia. The terminology is especially close to my heart; it makes me think of growing up as a truck driver's son.

I'm a fan of Ted Hughes, but this isn't his best. Maybe age was catching up with him.

“Pike” makes this entire book worthwhile. The rest of the book, though, doesn't disappoint.

This book is written by the president of Mountain State University and the dean of the School of Leadership and Professional Development. From a content standpoint, it is a pretty good read. The advice is down-to-Earth and easy to understand.

The book is slanted toward the CEO in the private sector, but some of the leadership lessons are broad enough for applicability in a variety of disciplines.

As an undergraduate English major, I must say that I noticed a disturbing number of typographical errors in the book which ended up being somewhat distracting to me. The occasional typo is easy to overlook, but a couple of these actually made me stop and re-read a section just to understand what was being said. For a book published by a private university, I was somewhat disappointed with the lack of editing. (Without the grammar inconsistencies, this book would have easily gotten four stars.)

All in all, I enjoyed reading “Apex Thinking” and am proud that its author represents my soon-to-be graduate alma mater. For those who are looking to advance in the private sector, “Apex Thinking” may not prove to be the all-in-one handbook you may think you need, but it certainly should be required reading.

This is your basic text book. It was written especially for the leadership curriculum at Mountain State University (go Cougars!), as is my understanding. A pretty good introduction to the study of leadership, especially the level of research that has been done (since about the mid 1950s).

If you're so inclined to read this one, better set aside a little time. It's one of those texts where every word means something, so you have to almost read it aloud, but certainly read it slow.

Another book read for class. This one started out wonderfully but, for me, fell off in the end. Especially in the epilogue, Lawler rails against researchers and authors that create “catch-phrases” and one-step how-to guides. I'm sure he realizes this, but his whole discussion of treating people right and the “virtuous spiral” is just another catch-phrase.

In general, Lawler's premise is a worthy one. Everyone, but especially those of us that are leaders, should make it a practice to treat people right - with respect and dignity. Lawler is quick to point out that leaders should take the appropriate steps to enrich their employees' jobs, empower them, and motivate them (in positive ways, of course). This is good advice.

As the book went on, it just lost its connection with me. I would recommend it...just with the caution that it is not the “one with the answer”.

A truly inspirational book. I literally thought of 3 to 5 new ideas for my own business every time I picked it up.

It is a little “self-helpish” and I did have to read it for a class, but it was so worth it. If you're running a business or mulling over whether to start one, you MUST read this book.

This is the anthology that I actually helped compile while a senior in college...look closely in the opening pages, you'll see my name!

Anyway, West Virginia has been blessed with a multitude of very talented writers and this book showcases the major players. The quality of the literature is excellent; while working on it, we spent hours digging through texts to find the very best.

Anyone wanting to learn a little more about WV from those that have lived it, this is an excellent way through fiction. I encourage anyone to pick up this book.

First off, I'm a little weird in that I like books to “feel” a certain way. This one just didn't have that element. The pages were chalky, the cover stiff...you just couldn't get comfortable with this book.

That being said, Morgan dives right into the concept of metaphor. While his metaphors can extend understanding to the masses, the book borders on being a little corny. When reading this for class, I found it interesting that many of my classmates seemed to reject the metaphors because those metaphors didn't fit neatly with their organization. These are very intelligent people, mind you. I think the main message of this book is that one needs to view the organization through the lens of the metaphor as opposed to the metaphor through the lens of the organization.

This book is meant to stimulate thought, not necessarily provide a “one through ten” how-to series. Certainly worth reading, but approach it with an open mind.

This was truly a textbook in every sense of the word. Packed full of information, but maddeningly boring. The latest edition was re-organized to better exemplify the contents. I found the readings in the back to be unnecessary. The short case studies throughout the chapters were much more effective in demonstrating the content.

While I rate this book quite high, I cannot call it entertaining. In truth, I would not have read if I did not have to complete an action research project as part of my masters degree. But, since I had to read it, I tried to approach it with as open mind as possible. Here's what I came up with...

From a purely technical and grammatical standpoint, the book is well written, easy to read, and goes as far as it can go to making the topic interesting. I particularly like that it doesn't try to say too much. By this I mean that the authors keep the book succinct and present the important information - if it's in this book, it's worth remembering. Further, the use of bullet lists, boxes, etc. keep the pace up while reading. It doesn't bore the reader as many textbooks do.

The book presents common sense advice. We could all have probably written it based on our own intuition. But with a tool like this, we can document why our intuition is appropriate and we can explain some of the more abstract, conceptual exclusions we may make in an action research project.

My kudos to you if you are willing to undertake an action research project on your own (I may do a modified form of it at work, but not for pleasure!). If you do and you'd like a good, solid resource that will guide you through some of the uncertainty you are likely to face, then this book is for you.

J.

Very interesting case study of a major change initiative at Harley-Davidson. These are the types of leadership “texts” that I like to read. First off, the book does not try to be the “one-size-fits-all” cookbook that many texts do. The authors recognize that while many of these initiatives worked at Harley, they mail fail at other organizations.

Additionally, it is nice to see a pair of authors give the reason an initiative was selected, what went well and what failed, and what the end result was.

A well-written text that is easy to read, “More Than a Motorcycle” is in the same category of “advice texts” as “Nuts!” and “Guts!” (by Kevin and Jackie Freiberg on the successes of Southwest Airlines).

I've actually only read parts of this one. Gates is from West Virginia, which I'm proud to say. The quality of the writing is excellent; the topics covered poignant social commentary. The implication that white people smell like dogs (and the fact that Gates can write a chapter building on that colloquialism) is fascinating.

Very tough book for me to get into. Not very well written, ridiculously difficult to navigate and understand, etc. The book preaches simplicity, yet presents a book full of charts that are extremely difficult to discern.

My biggest problem with the book is that it lays out several specific steps to achieve organizational perfection. I have trouble believing that a researcher can offer “the” answer for organizational effectiveness. Books should be more like advice and encourage readers to reflect upon and meld the advice into their own.

I can see myself using this book as a resource, but certainly not as the “how-to” cookbook that Rampersad hopes...

Wow...in the realm of books that makes one think, this one ranks very high for me. As someone who has worked for several years on the “ground level” of emergency preparedness, I have been wanting to read what a number of “experts” have to say about the subject. “Americans at Risk” was my first foray into this personal initiative.

Reading this book with an open mind can open one's eyes to the risks that surround us. Everyone should understand that these risks are not insurmountable, so I'm not saying that everyone should go around getting all paranoid.

I tried to read this as a student, not an emergency preparedness professional. Sometimes, when we dedicate a large portion of our lives to a certain cause, we tend to get a little personal when someone else says something with which we disagree. So, I made every attempt to give Irwin Redlener the benefit of the doubt. I agree with much of what he says, particularly when he talks about the need for greater coordination between federal, state, and local partners as well as the need to integrate emergency preparedness and homeland security into a number of other, more “routine” initiatives (e.g., upgrading our roadway and water distribution infrastructure as a means of ensuring preparedness). I don't necessarily agree with other aspects of his opinions, but that is not important. We are all smart human beings and can arrive at our own opinions so long as we do it through a rigorous personal education process and maintain the utmost respect for those that are doing the same thing .

What is much more important, though, is the “thought process” that Redlener employs and implores every citizen and preparedness professional to employ. Ask “what if”. Work your though process beyond what is your comfortable limit. For example, if you know that your capabilities will get you through the most probable emergency in your community, add another wrinkle to it and strengthen your capabilities to meet that new wrinkle.

Redlener's message is to never get complacent. This is good advice - not only for emergency preparedness, but also for life in general.

Wow, what an interesting read. I have been doing my best to add a number of books on topics that relate to my work to my bookshelf and this one didn't disappoint. I was able to add some generalized knowledge of counter-terrorism as well as came up with a couple of ideas on my own company's emergency exercise design strategies.

Counter-terrorism in the 21st century is a new frontier. The NYPD has taken its own path to forging said frontier, and “Securing the City” is a chronicle of this path. The NYPD shows the two sides of terrorism preparedness. There is the very public side, in which our populace must understand that our agencies are doing all they can. This side includes the training, drilling, public outreach, and constant press. And then there is the more covert side, where preparedness officials attempt to identify and expose plots, fully test partner agencies' preparedness, etc. This covert side is what intrigued me the most - the lengths that the NYPD goes to to uncover potential suppliers of bomb-making materials, the steps it has taken to forge a practical working relationship with federal agencies, its success at gathering intelligence from around the globe.

Is the NYPD's approach suitable for all local law enforcement? Absolutely not. But can we glean helpful strategies based on what the NYPD does on a regular basis? Absolutely. The NYPD doesn't mess around. They know that terrorism is one of the city's highest-priority and highest-risk hazards and it stops at nothing to ensure city-wide preparedness. All of our communities should take such a realistic look at their own hazard analyses and work as hard to strengthen resilience to high-priority and high-risk hazards. Preparedness is not a linear or divergent process. Preparing for our biggest vulnerability is bound to strengthen our preparedness for lesser vulnerabilities. After all, there really is only one process used to evacuate a population, whether from terrorism, flooding, etc.

On a more “review-like” note, there were a number of typos in the text that were quite distracting. Other than that, the book read easily, in a conversational tone. Sometimes the endless barrage of terrorist names, response measures, training jargon, etc. can be overwhelming, but Dickey presents this information in such a way that I believe someone from well outside the emergency management-homeland security realm would enjoy “Security the City”.