Why Fables? Stories are part of our human-ness. So, why not take the essential story – a fable – and apply it to the workplace and draw from it what wisdom we can.

Impractical! some might say. Yet, we are often directed to “challenge conventional thinking with original ideas”. Aesop and other fabulists "trick" us into being mindful, paying attention to a tiny story and deriving from it new insights into work and life.

This “un-textbook” -  superbly designed and illustrated - covers a variety of topics relevant to leading, teams, and followership and the democratic workplace.

 

Reviewed by Angie Gallion Lovell for Readers' Favorite

https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/fables-for-leaders

 

“By nature I am a fan of fables, fairytales, and legends so when I came across John Lubans' Fables for Leaders, there was no way I could pass it by. The book is segmented into chapters which are then subdivided further. For example, in the chapter titled The Effective Follower, one of the sections is titled “Are You Leading or Am I Following? …. The organization of Fables for Leaders was creative and thoughtful. Beyond the organization, I loved the texture of the work. The illustrator is Beatrice Coron and her paper cut artwork is done black on white and it is intricately simple and elegant. The font used is calligraphic, which added to the “timeworn” feel. The whole experience of reading the fables made me want a roaring fire and a cozy nook.

 

While Fables for Leaders is beautifully rendered and aesthetically pleasing, the real treasure is found in the hints of wisdom John Lubans reminds us of. … There is great wisdom within these pages and the amazing thing is that we all know it, but Lubans provides us with the next step to take this intrinsic knowledge, this long forgotten wisdom, and retool it for our current lives. …. I want John Lubans' book, Fables for Leaders, for my own personal collection, and I want it printed on parchment.

 

 

John Lubans is a retired higher education administrator with a specialy in the management of large research libraries. A Fulbright Scholar twice over, he is a Visiting Professor at the University of Latvia where he teaches annually (since 2011) his class on "The Democratic Workplace". "Fables for Leaders" follows his 2010 book, "Leading from the Middle." (ABC-Clio). He blogs weekly at http://blog.lubans.org.