“The Lack Of Leaders In A World Where Everyone Preaches And Encourages Leadership“ – An Interview With The Author Of “Leadership Diaries“

Sao Paulo - Brazil - Brazilian writer Luciano Pires talks about his new e-book “Leadership Diaries”. The book will be in a special launching promotion as “free download” at Amazon.com from May, 26th to 28th. 
 
P: What does leadership mean to you?
I’ll use the definition that I use in the book’s introduction. Leadership is the ability to inspire and challenge people to make things happen. I like to place “inspire” and “challenge” in the same sentence. We have lots of people determined to inspire or to challenge. But inspiring while challenging is a whole different ballgame. A leader, in my opinion, is someone who can move you from within, kindle energy and gain the admiration of his followers. Seems obvious, doesn’t it? And it is. But try to do it…
 
P: Are there too many people talking about leadership?
Yes. There are books for every type of person. Leadership has never gone out of style, and to tell you the truth, it never will. It’s not a difficult theme to discuss; many people practice leadership on a daily basis and certainly have things to say about it. The leadership discipline has never received so much attention and, at the same time, there has never been such a lack of leaders in the world. Too many people are talking about leadership, but something just isn’t right. It seems that the gibberish is just not helping.
 
P: Why do you think there is a lack of leaders?
It’s because of what I call institutional hypocrisy. We say one thing and practice another.  We are completely bound by a society that needs stability; we run our businesses as if they were 19th century factories: with command and control. We give wonderful lectures about innovation, empowerment and the search for opportunity, but in everyday life we hate innovators and change, and we are afraid of freedom of choice. At the same time, it seems that words have come to replace actions. We are content to complain, but we are far from taking action. In this context, the best we have are bosses instead of leaders.
 
P: How is your book different from the dozens of other published works on the same theme?
I was careful not to be a professor that spits out rules, but rather a journalist who describes reality and makes his own reflections on it. I am not interested in being the sole bearer of truth, but instead in making people think about certain details that we put aside and are at the root of what we call leadership. In a way, the book is obvious. But I believe that we have never needed the obvious as much as we do now.

P: Talk a little about the content.
Trained personnel can do the right thing, at the right time, the right way, but I’m concerned with doing the necessary thing, at the necessary time, the necessary way. “Choosing what is necessary” is much more difficult than “choosing what is right,” since it involves technical, social, political, cultural and even aesthetic aspects that go far beyond the training companies provide to their employees. To train people in the technical aspects of these processes is to develop only one part of their judgment and decision making skills. This “something more” is what “Leadership Diaries” is about.

About the author:
 
Luciano Pires draws on a rare collection of attributes to create a compelling work: he is a cartoonist and writer with 6 published books, most of them focused on developing a critical eye as a way to enhance the ability to make decisions and sound judgments. For 26 years, Luciano was a top executive at a multinational corporation, leading teams of professionals in Brazil and in other countries, and delving deeply into the corporate theatre. He is the irreverent and provocative producer and host of one of Brazil’s foremost podcasts, Café Brasil. Luciano has become a prominent speaker who “walks the talk,” transforming his calls for innovation into a reality.
 
The e-book, “Leadership Diaries”, is for sale on Amazon.com and will be in a special launching promotion as “free download” from May,26th to 28th.
 

Contact Information

Luciano Pires

Author

luciano@lucianopires.com.br