This book is a gem for those interested in leadership theory and the application within teams. Written by Wayne Enright who started as a client and quickly become a valued leadership partner and dear friend, The Spirit of Adventure Calls; a compass for life, learning and leadership provides 400 pages of referenced and index leadership lessons, insights and models.

For full disclosure, I met Wayne as a client during my career at Openbook Howden Print & Design. It was an absolute pleasure to work with both Wayne and his wife Gabrielle during the composition, design and printing of his book which conveys a story of triumph and tragedy within its pages. I was also delighted to have the opportunity to interview Wayne as part of our self-publishers seminar series which you can watch here.

Wayne and Gabrielle were vital to the success of the Leaders Are Readers book club when it originally formed in 2015, providing valuable facilitation as we ran three different groups to support each member to have freedom to share, with Gabrielle only retiring from the role in 2023. Combining their expertise to provide leadership development, well-being and adventure experiences through their business Free Spirit True North.

This book is perhaps aimed at those with a passion for leadership and leadership theory and coupled with an interest in experiential learning. Arranged into six parts, Wayne shares his personal life and leadership journey which is often moving and sometimes tragic. Wayne draws on his experiences leading teams and putting the theory into practice in often challenging environments such as with Operation Flinders or on the Kokoda trail. As Wayne shared with me, “Much of it is my reflections on the practical application of leadership theory, particularly as it relates to leading in the challenging terrain of the future which is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous”.

For those who have studied leadership at all, you will understand that to start leading others, you must first learn to lead and understand yourself. Wayne’s book provides a spiritual connection to this theory and resonated well with me. He shares his approach to coaching and team building and connects this with various leadership and developmental models as he shares his lived leadership experience.

I highly recommend this book for the passionate leader. You can order your discounted and signed copy by emailing Wayne directly. Also available as an ebook.

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