Questions of Character: Illuminating the Heart of Leadership Through Literature

Badaracco begins his new book with a quote from Confucius suggesting that in order to be a good leader, one must first examine his own heart and mind. While the message isn't novel, the mechanism that Badaracco proposes for gaining self-understanding and self-mastery is: literature. Badaracco agrees that we must 'get our own house in order' before we can be effective leaders, and further suggests that we gain true clarity into our own hearts and minds only by examining the inner lives of others leaders. What are the emotional and psychological challenges of leadership, and what can we learn from others' journeys? But instead of examining traditional case studies of leaders, Badaracco uses literature as the means by which we can 'go inside' and gain more insight into the emotional and psychological challenges of leadership.Through rich and textured analyses of the main characters in "The Death of a Salesman", "Things Fall Apart", "The Secret Sharer", "The Last Tycoon", "Antigone" and other works of serious fiction, Badaracco offers insight into how leaders and aspiring leaders can and should reflect on these questions, and ultimately become better leaders for having thought these questions through, carefully and with integrity. Based on a popular course that Badaracco teaches in the MBA and executive programs at HBS, these stories provoke spirited conversations, encourage differing points of view, and ultimately help leaders appreciate and develop better responses to leadership's hardest questions.