Human knowledge about organizing and leading complex collectives reaches back thousands of years. When Jethro advised his son-in-law, Moses, to resist micromanaging, to lead by example, and to delegate authority to persons of integrity, he articulated some of the earliest recorded organizational recommendations. This engaging book taps into the wisdom of the ages to illuminate modern approaches to leadership.

Leadership through the Ages examines intrinsic leadership; that is, how to build leadership skills and how to apply them. It is based on the premise that leaders are not born knowing how to lead. Rather, skill sets can be learned and sharpened, while styles of communication and interaction can be cultivated. Sylvia’s presentation is liberally sprinkled with sage advice and examples from the best of Eastern and Western traditions, from Confucius and Sun Tzu to Cardinal Richelieu, Napoléon, and Lincoln. To these are added modern theories of leadership illustrated with compelling cases from the real world.