The Leader Who Had No Name Book Review

Robin Sharma provides a striking illustration on what it takes to become a leader in his book, The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable on Real Success In Business and In Life. The book relies on charismatic and endearing characters that take the reader through a touching story in order to establish the ideas and beliefs on how leadership can be developed. The Leader Who Had No Title centers on Blake Davis, a man who has lost confidence, focus, and meaning in his life after losing his father at a young age and suffering from posttraumatic stress after the war in Iraq. Although his life is in shambles Blake is reassured that, “Sometimes we need to get off track before we can develop the clarity to be on track” (Sharma 10). Blake is introduced
In other words, having the word “manager” in your job title is not needed in order to be a leader. Many aspiring workers will do the bare minimum at their job and expect to be promoted and if they do get promoted it is only then that they accept more responsibility and actually put more effort into their job. The book attempts to send a clear message that this is not the way to act in your career or even in the bigger picture of life. This concept is intriguing because while it is simple to comprehend it is overlooked. Initiative is an intimidating aspect in the workplace because of the uncertainty of how others will react. On one hand putting more effort into a task can emphasize strengths and highlight efficient employees to managers. The problem lies when individuals put initiative into work that goes unnoticed by managers. Lack of recognition is tough on workers and any subsequent attempts at taking initiative may stop. The books helps to solve this problem by saying it takes “guts” to succeed, “To lead without a title, you will have to be unrealistically persistent and wildly courageous” (Sharma