The Leadership Secrets of Elizabeth I

The authors assert that much of substantial value about effective leadership can be learned from Gloriana who ruled the nascent English Empire for almost 45 years. I agree. Her greatest accomplishments include:? The establishment of the Church of England (in 1559)? Re-establishment of the authority of the British crown at a time when other monarchies were deteriorating? Re-establishment of English coinage after the nation's near (and total) bankruptcy? Support of exploratory voyages (by Drake and Raleigh) in the New World to lay what eventually became the foundation of the British Empire? Support of the cultural arts during what is now regarded as England's "Golden Age" (ie the Elizabethan Age) of literature, theater, and music? Survival of all manner of foreign threats (eg invasion by the Spanish armada in 1588) as well as domestic conspiracies (e.g. numerous assassination attempts)These and other accomplishments are explained by her intelligence, commitment, tenacity, charisma, style,grace, and charm. Also by her almost ferocious determination. Also by what the authors characterize as her brilliant use of "pragmatic delays." It is also worth noting that she led an all-male government with an androgynous style designed to transcend gende rissues. Moreover, throughout her reign, she sustained direct and frequent contact with her subjects at all social levels throughout the realm. Perhaps no other monarch in history was loved more.The authors organize their material within 12 chapters whose subjects are indeed relevant to the our own business world: Leadership, Managing Finances, the Art of Spin, Team Building, Vision-Mission-Commitment, Decision-Making, Vast Intellect, Style, Gender Politics, Competitive Intelligence, Her Greatest Triumph, and Succession and Legacy. The authors include within their narrative comments by women in our contemporary business world, comments which reveal and illuminate the relevance of Elizabeth I's leadership strategies and tactics to what all executives today (not only CEOs and dcertainly not only women) now need to be effective. If you have seen the recent films Shakespeare in Love and/or Elizabeth, you can already envision this remarkable woman. Higgins and Gilberd create for her a much broader and deeper context with which to understand her greatest strengths and most admirable virtues. If and when I am ever permitted to have a "fantasy dinner", Elizabeth I would certainly be among those included, perhaps joined by Julius Caesar, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Katherine Graham, and Jack Welch.