I was recently given via Michael Hyatt at Thomas Nelson Publishing a copy of the book Derailed. The book was written by Tim Irwin. In the book, Tim discusses what he feels are the reasons why leaders fail as leaders and gives insight into how to avoid these situations.
The first part of the book profiles 6 CEOs of major companies that failed as leaders. Each leader is analyzed and what Tim feels are their weaknesses and the reasons why they were asked to resign from their position. While one can argue that the opinions are subjective (and they are), I found his rational to be sounds and made sense. Regardless of the subjectivity, anyone can learn from the mistakes of these profiled individuals and help themselves be a better leader. I found myself identifying with the character flaws of these individuals. I have seen them in many people I have worked with and even myself at times.
The rest of the book discusses the derailment process. Finally, based on the profiles and the derailment process, Tim Irwin identifies and discusses five lessons that can be learned by anyone in a leadership role and ways to implement these lessons and keep yourself ‘in check’ as a leader.
I found Derailed extremely valuable for myself. It was well worth the time to read and would suggest it to really anyone that interacts with other people at work. Although the book profiles CEOs of large organizations, it is very applicable to anyone, even those not in an ‘official’ leadership position.
