Don’t let the title scare you! The bad leaders
will. Dr. Tom DePaoli in Boogeyman
Leadership: How to Turn Your Employees into Listless Zombies, showcases
poor leaders and their tactics that inevitably fail. He believes you should know
what does not work first, so that an aspiring good leader does not waste time
on such failed approaches. He does not pretend to offer any silver bullet
solutions to correct these poor leadership policies. He defines boogeyman leadership as the use
of miserable and intimidating leadership tactics whose purpose is to terrify
employees and instill distrust, apathy and fear. The result is a zombie-like
listless state. Boogeyman Leadership recounts many bad leadership ideas and
real-life stories to make sure the reader crosses these schemes off their
leadership list. The reader should be forewarned that many of the bad
leadership ideas are repetitive. Bad leaders are not very creative! The book is not a solemn academic book
or a guide to great leadership successes. Its purpose is to give examples of
terrible leadership and worse management tactics that Dr. Tom and others have
experienced in their careers. Dr. Tom sadly notes
that these failed leadership ploys are becoming even more common, destructive
and hurtful. He urges the reader to avoid these methods at all costs. Followers
never forget bullying leaders.
Can you become a better leader by
storytelling? Dr. Tom answers with a resounding “Yes!” and wrote a book to
prove it. With his book Leadership by Storytelling: The Best Way to Learn
Good Leadership Principles, he provides some outstanding principles of great
leadership. The principles are illustrated with compelling leadership stories
that reinforce the beliefs. Dr. Tom
provides twenty-six principles of successful leadership. He notes that one of the oldest methods of passing
down knowledge is oral storytelling. An ancient sage would be the keeper of the
stories and passed them down to other tribe members. He strongly recommends the
storytelling method for leaders. The stories are actually authentic from his
and others careers. Each principle has a story to help clarify the principle.
The book has cogent illustrations for the stories. He urges the reader to
gather leadership stories to share with fellow leaders and followers. He
believes the growth in leadership abilities will be much stronger via the use of
leadership storytelling.
