In his groundbreaking 1987 book Leadership Is an Art, Max De Pree says, “The first job of a leader is to define reality.” Well, this is another groundbreaking book that defines the reality of leadership itself.

While so many leadership books either romanticize or theorize leadership, The Frustrated Leader tells the brutal truth of the matter: Leadership necessarily entails frustration. But the genius of this remarkable work is that it defines frustration as a positive force rather than a negative one. Then, having reframed frustration, Myron Edmonds shows us how to harness the energy of frustration for the achievement of a leadership prowess that can never be achieved without it.

When you listen to Edmond’s unique leadership treatise, it will penetrate your mind at three levels.

First, The Frustrated Leader is unexpectedly therapeutic in that it is a work of empathy with those who occupy leadership positions. Seriously, you be like, “Wow, this guy gets my situation. I guess I'm not alone.” No, you’re not alone. Your frustration is not unique. It is, according to Edmonds, nearly the definition of leadership. So you don't need to be feel guilty about your frustration. Rather, you need to reframe it and use it, which leads to the next way in which the book will impact you.

Secondly, The Frustrated Leader is extremely practical...so practical that it hurts, but in a good way. It doesn't merely hypothesize about leadership—it practicalizes (there’s a new word for you) leadership. Edmonds explains to us what it actually looks like to be a leader and prescribes specific actions and attitudes you can, and should, implement to master the art of effective leadership.

Thirdly, The Frustrated Leader is powerfully motivating. While Edmonds tells us some hard truths and insists that there is a very real sense in which the leader is alone in the vision they see, which is precisely why they are the leader, he constructs a vision of leadership itself that will make you want to wear the leadership mantle with fresh perspective and new energy.

You will discover this audiobook to be immensely usable. You will find yourself returning to it over and over again to be reminded of the salient sentences you heard. Yes, you will be making note of them while you listen. The book is that good!