When studying leadership, looking to leaders of the past provide ample examples of the characteristics of good leaders. Studying the character of leaders that you admire is a great way to prepare yourself to be a leader. In Sailing True North, Admiral James Stavridis (retired) sketches quick biographies of ten admirals that he admires. Stretching from ancient Greece and classic China to modern U.S. admirals, Stavridis draws lessons from the lives and service of these ten admirals. Along the way, the reader learns how those lessons have been implemented in Admiral Stavridis (retired) life. Sailing True North demonstrates that character is one constant of success throughout history.
TL;DR
Admiral James Stavridis (retired) Sailing True North takes the reader to the past to learn leadership lessons from ten high-achieving admirals. Highly recommended.
From the Publisher
From one of the most distinguished admirals of our time and a former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, a meditation on leadership and character refracted through the lives of ten of the most illustrious naval commanders in history
In his acclaimed book Sea Power, James Stavridis reckoned with the history and geopolitics of the world’s great bodies of water. Now in Sailing True North, he offers a much more intimate, human accounting: the lessons of leadership and character contained in the lives and careers of history’s most significant naval commanders. Admiral Stavridis brings a lifetime of reflection to bear on the subjects of his study–on naval history, on the vocation of the admiral with its special tests and challenges, and on the sweep of global geopolitics. Above all, this is a book that will help you navigate your own life’s voyage: the voyage of leadership of course, but more important, the voyage of character. Sadly, evil men can be effective leaders sailing toward bad ends; ultimately, leadership without character is like a ship underway without a rudder. Sailing True North helps us find the right course to chart.
Simply as epic lives, the tales of these ten admirals offer up a collection of the greatest imaginable sea stories. Moreover, spanning 2,500 years from ancient Greece to the twenty-first century, Sailing True North is a book that offers a history of the world through the prism of our greatest naval leaders. None of the admirals in this volume were perfect, and some were deeply flawed. But from Themistocles, Drake, and Nelson to Nimitz, Rickover, and Hopper, important themes emerge, not least that there is an art to knowing when to listen to your shipmates and when to turn a blind eye; that serving your reputation is a poor substitute for serving your character; and that taking time to read and reflect is not a luxury, it’s a necessity.
By putting us on personal terms with historic leaders in the maritime sphere he knows so well, James Stavridis has in Sailing True North offered a compass that can help us navigate the story of our own lives, wherever that voyage takes us.
Review: Sailing True North
In the Armed Forces, leadership has always been an important and desired quality because the costs of poor leadership – death of subordinates – is so incredibly high. Sailing True North details the lives of ten admirals who defined their era of service. Each chapter has three distinct parts: biography of an admiral, leadership lesson, and example from Stavridis’s life. I found this to be an effective method to convey the lessons that admiral exemplified. This book of character details the traits of good leadership without ignoring the faults of the humans being studied.
Ten Admirals to Admire
Not Enough
Sailing True North is an excellent book and a very quick read. I enjoyed the admirals biographical sketches of these ten people. In fact, I wanted more; the book read too quickly for me. Stavridis does a good job surveying the lives of these people and the lessons that could be drawn from them, but it felt too shallow. While Stavridis makes sure to show all aspects of each person’s characterics and is willing to describe faults, it is in service to the chapter’s lesson. I enjoyed his writing enough that I wanted more analysis of each admiral’s lives. Though two stood out more, I’d love for Stavridis to write about the lives of Hyman Rickover or Grace Hopper and dig into their lives for deeper lessons of leadership. These chapters were great and left me wanting more.
Conclusion
Admiral James Stavridis (retired) pulls lessons from ten of history’s finest admirals. In Sailing True North, he lays out what he believes are essential characteristics for leadership. The examples he draws from have risen to the top of the top of their fields, much like Stavridis himself. Sailing True North is a timely book filled with timeless advice.
Sailing True North is available from Penguin Publishing on October 15, 2019.