What You'll Learn:
Former FBI director James Comey urges a return to ethical leadership and a commitment not merely to a political party or particular person, but to lasting values, like integrity and truth. From interactions with Mafia bosses in New York to private conversations with presidents in D.C., Comey offers us examples of exemplary (and less-than-exemplary) leadership from his work as a federal prosecutor and director of an intelligence agency.
Key Insights:
- Ethical leadership is glaringly absent and desperately needed as corruption infiltrates every sector of American society and politics.
- Experiences of struggle and danger have a way of clarifying values and shaping life’s trajectory.
- Mafia leadership and power is driven by no-matter-what loyalty and us-versus-them thinking.
- The ethical leader works to create an environment where standards are high and fear is low.
- Trump’s habitual lying damaged trust and made it hard to work with him.
- Trump’s leadership style is eerily reminiscent of Mafia bosses that Comey routinely prosecuted.
- Comey was fired under dubious circumstances and without a formal conversation with the president.
- Political forest fires can be contained and lead to new and unexpected growth.