Not Bosses But Leaders by John Adair: A Book Review Jazzmun Robinson University of Texas at Arlington College of Nursing In partial fulfillment of the requirements of N5343 Leadership in Complex Healthcare Systems Elizabeth Poster RN, PHD, FAAN May 6, 2005

Who is John Adair?  Adair started his career in the Army  Senior lecturer in military history and advisor in leadership training at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst  Cambridge University, Oxford University, PhD from King’s College  Fellow of the Royal Historical Society  1979-World’s first Professor of Leadership Studies  2009-appointed Chair of Leadership studies UN System Staff college in Turin.  Written over 25 books on leadership John Adair - Leadership & Management. (n.d.). Retrieved May 6, 2015, from

Purpose and Audience  The purpose of this book was to outline guidelines from John Adair’s experience for new leaders in order to succeed.  Outline what makes a great leader, how to communicate effectively, build teams, and work toward a common goal.  The audience is new leaders, specifically the one who he had these leadership conversations with.

Not Bosses But Leaders  Tips given to new leaders: Qualities of leaders Origins of leadership How leadership works/leadership styles Circles of Need and how they interact

Team Individual Task

Not Bosses But Leaders  Tips continued. Leaders vs Managers Communication Motivation Earning Respect

Strengths  Succint, easy outlining tips and pointers  Realistic tips and examples  Plenty of diagrams for future reference  Conversational style  Easy to read in one sitting

Weaknesses  Just opinion and examples from his experience. No evidence cited, only quoted famous people on leadership.  Hard to follow the conversational style-not written like your typical book.  Vague, general explanations.  Over-simplified

Objectives Met?  Yes, I believe Adair met his objectives. He outlined several guidelines for the new leader.  He also gave practical tips and several diagrams for future use.

Final Thoughts  I recommend the book!  Even through it’s weaknesses, it’s a great first start for new leaders.  Primarily recommended for new leaders as seasoned leaders may already know a majority of the content.

References  Adair, J. (2009). Not bosses but leaders: how to lead the way to success. Kogan Page Publishers.  John Adair - Leadership & Management. (n.d.). Retrieved May 6, 2015, from  Curtis, E. A., de Vries, J., & Sheerin, F. K. (2011). Developing leadership in nursing: exploring core factors. British Journal of Nursing, 20(5), 306.  Swearingen, S. (2009). A journey to leadership: designing a nursing leadership development program. Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 40 (3),