What is appealing about this book is the massive number of leaders the authors interviewed to find common threads throughout their philosophies and styles. Ultimately, they point out that it is our beliefs and personal codes that drive our behaviors, and those behaviors then form who we become as leaders. That idea of the big picture being made up of thousands of tiny actions, “destination beliefs” in the text, to form the whole makes sense, and I see it as a photo mosaic made up from a thousand photographs. Annie Dillard stated it better, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing.” Another positive feature of the book is that each chapter ends with questions encouraging you to self-reflect and examine how your beliefs affect your leadership style. This is an easy read, and one that holds truths for everyone.

Mills, I., Ridley, M., Laker, B., and Pacifico, A. (2020) The Leader's Secret Code: The belief systems that distinguish winners, LID Publishing.

Recommended by: Debbie Carpenter
Spirit Lake Fire Protection District (ID)
Professional Development