"Nan Keohane breaks down leadership to the fundamentals--a combination of innate ability and acquired skills that helps motivate others to work toward a common goal. This book is about inspired leadership--and inspiring 'followership'--and should be required reading from the classroom to the boardroom."--John Mack, chairman of the board, Morgan Stanley
"Nan Keohane's book is well-titled. Its focus is on thinking about leadership--exploring its many facets, complexities, and conundrums. It is not a 'how-to-do-it' book, but rather a sophisticated amalgam of the reflections of an author who is both a political philosopher and an experienced leader. Readers will enjoy--as well as learn from--the many references to the experiences of well-known leaders such as Mandela and Lincoln as well as to the voluminous literature on leadership."--William G. Bowen, president emeritus of Princeton University and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
"Drawing on her impressive skills as a leader and political theorist, Nan Keohane has made a major contribution to the study of leadership. This book is both thoughtful and wonderfully readable. The chapter on gender, alone, is worth the price of admission!"--Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Harvard University, author of The Powers to Lead
"A wonderfully thoughtful meditation on what it means to lead, and to follow, by a noted political philosopher who knows the boardroom as well as she knows the seminar room. This study of leadership stands out for its clarity, candor, depth, and humanity. A must-read for anyone--leader or follower--confronting the manifold opportunities and dilemmas of power."--Josiah Ober, Stanford University
"Nan Keohane is both an insightful political theorist and an experienced leader who is uniquely suited to thinking about leadership. This refreshing and richly textured discussion raises fundamental questions--why we need leaders, how leaders differ from followers, what is good leadership for democracies--and provides strikingly original observations in response."--Ruth Grant, Duke University
"Thinking about Leadership is replete with important, telling, and original insights and information. The book addresses key questions about leadership that, while not necessarily new, need to be posed, over and over again. Nannerl Keohane does not know how to write a bad sentence or make an uninteresting point."--Barbara Kellerman, author of Bad Leadership: What It Is, How It Happens, Why It Matters
"Thinking about Leadership is one of the best books on leadership I have ever read. If more people--especially leaders and would-be leaders--were to read it, it would broaden their assumptions about what they could and should do. Keohane draws upon impressive, high-level personal experience as a leader. Her reputation as a scholar is equally and deservedly superb."--Joanne Martin, Fred H. Merrill Professor, emerita, Stanford University