Reviews

Editorial Reviews

Don McCauley - Blogger News Network, December 31, 2007

Leaders are born, not made. Leaders are made, not born.

These two statements, diametrically opposed in every way, lie at the heart of a debate that has raged within the human community for a very long time. Now, which it true?

The answer is that both statements are correct.

There are some born who simply will fall into a leadership role by virtue of personality. These people become leaders because the skills necessary for leadership are simply innate to that particular personality. These people cannot BE swayed from treading that lonely path, for their own personality naturally leads them time and again into the role.

Others, through circumstance or happenstance, fall into the role and are literally forced to the front of the line. These people, by virtue of rank, standing or seniority, have the yolk sometimes literally forced upon them. They are given a quick slap on the back or a congratulatory handshake and are expected to somehow magically and instantly develop the skill set necessary for the successful accomplishment of the particular goal at hand.

However leaders, whether born or made, have no guarantee of achieving success in the role. Becoming a leader is one thing; becoming an effective leader is quite another story indeed. It goes without say that there have been many who have taken on the leadership role only to fail miserably. This begs the question: What makes for an effective leader?

I propose that to be an effective leader, there is a singular, necessary ‘skill’ that must be developed. That ‘skill’, if we can refer to it as such, is that one must learn to lose one’s ego. This is very easy to say, but is extremely difficult to accomplish. The effective leader, in nearly every case, does not build followers. The effective leader builds more leaders. This is the common thread, the trait that all successful leaders throughout our collective history have shared. For only by losing one’s ego will one’s mind open up to gladly accept all the other ideas one must embrace and utilize to build more leaders. What are those other skills?

Debra Slover, the author of ‘U.N.I.Q.U.E. Growing the Leader Within’ understands intimately the theories underlying the building of effective leadership. Certainly theoretical understanding is necessary, however it is but the first step. If someone is to teach and teach effectively, the student must have faith that the teacher has been there and done that. Debra Slover has been there. And she certainly has done that.

‘U.N.I.Q.U.E. Growing the Leader Within’ is sweeping in range yet stunning in its simplicity. For here Debra employs one of the oldest and most effective teaching techniques ever devised by man: the fable.

Our greatest teachers have, to a person, fallen back upon the simple parable to communicate to us the most complex of ideas in a manner that is easily understood. The method she employs here, the story of a Leadership Farm, accomplishes the goal perfectly.

The fable begins when Hugh, a lost sheep who represents the heart, mind, and spirit in each of us, wanders onto the Leadership Farm. Here he meets a host of characters, all of which have very specific lessons to teach. Each character he meets represents an aspect of the journey towards learning to become that effective leader.

This story not only teaches, it also enlivens and entertains. We have the opportunity to meet Leda, a compassionate gardener and her husband Aristotle. At the outset Annabelle, a graceful Border collie, takes the ever-innocent Hugh under her wing and the journey begins.

I am trying very hard not to give the story away though I greatly wish to do so. It is simply delightful. Around every corner on the journey a fresh, new and enlightening lesson awaits Hugh. And it awaits you.

Each of the lessons presented here is clearly reinforced, both within and outside of the fable. Hugh is asked what he has learned as the result of a particular experience. The reader is then given an exercise that will allow the reader to see how this lesson relates to the readers ‘real life’ situation. Each and every lesson it presented in such a way as to be perfectly clear and extremely concise.

What is so unique here is the acronym itself. U.N.I.Q.U.E. is defined here as the Understanding, Nurturing, Inventive, Quality, Unstoppable, Expression of leadership. Debra is a real fan of acronyms and she employs them very effectively here.

Though the words are simple, the lessons are not. However, Debra’s simple use of simple words reveals an uncanny knack for making the most complex of ideas easily understandable.

We believe that leadership is a special quality. It is not. The spirit of the leader does not lie solely within the leader; it lies within each and every one of us. It matters not at all what role you might play, be it parent, teacher, grandparent, coach, counselor, minister, civic leader, employer or employee. The central message found here in this wonderful story is that you, specifically you, have within you the power to have a positive impact upon those you meet, be it standing at a podium or standing in line at the local grocery store.

Debra hits us squarely between the eyes with this message. She has faith in every one of us and she has the ability to communicate that faith to us clearly. She empowers us and exhorts us. She steadfastly refuses to draw that hard line in the sand we so easily draw. You are a leader, though you may know it not. And, much like Hugh, you will get that message here in this book.

The failure of a particular task does not necessarily lead to the conclusion that the individual person attempting that task is a failure as a person. We have a marked tendency to believe otherwise.

Everyone is a leader. All leaders fail at times. If we can learn to accept this simple idea, we have learned one of the primary lessons Debra Slover attempts to teach.

Midwest Book Review – Small Press Bookwatch, April 2007

Written by youth and adult leadership trainer Debra J. Slover, U.N.I.Q.U.E.: Growing the Leader Within is a self-help guide to cultivating purpose, aim, and leadership skills within oneself. Chapters discuss how to balance the four key behavioral attributes a leader needs (visualize, organize, harmonize, and energize), how to practice and attain the key traits needed for leadership, tips, tricks, and techniques for expressing the voice of the leader spirit within, and much more. Accessible to readers of all ages and backgrounds, and drawing upon vignettes and the occasional gardening metaphor to illustrate its point, U.N.I.Q.U.E. is an excellent heart, mind, and spirit self-help guide, whether preparing to lead a business, a sports team, a coalition, a few friends, or simply oneself.

Strand Bookstore, New York

In "U.N.I.Q.U.E.," Debra Slover offers a new and exciting approach to leadership intended to provoke the mind, warm the heart, and lift the spirit to allow the creative leader within to guide and direct our lives. Slover draws from her vast experience and professional training to provide an entertaining and informative fable that illustrates that leadership is the essence of a happy and successful life. Hugh is a lost sheep from the Leadership Farm who must learn several lessons that will show readers how to enrich their personal "Leadership Garden." No matter who you are, this presents practical exercises that will compel and empower you to make the difference you desire.

Reader Reviews

Dianne Tanner

Can a lost sheep really become a leader? Why, yes! Of course! We all can!

At first, I thought the book was going to be just another tired lesson plan for finding your way in the world: but Debra J. Slover's book, U.N.I.Q.U.E.: Growing the Leader Within, goes beyond the traditional self help doctrines to actively explain the ideas behind cultivating an individual leadership spirit.

Funny as it may seem, I followed Hugh the wayward sheep through the book's incredible Leadership Farm Fable where we learned the essential principles and behaviors needed to cultivate our leader spirit through a tour of the metaphorical Leadership Garden.

The first time I read the book I glossed over the actual exercises provided at the end of Hugh's stops on the Leadership Farm tour. But I was drawn by the author's honesty and compassion and by the intricate, beautiful illustrations that adorn the Fable. I reached for the book again and again. Each time I sat down to examine the Fable I found new depth in the story as well as in the author's commentary and soon found myself sitting at the kitchen table carefully completing each lesson. There I was, enthusiastically weeding out my negative tendencies and planting the positive behaviors needed to lead a more fulfilling life.

My absolute favorite concept presented by Debra J. Slover is that Hugh and I, and anyone else, can develop into a leader who does not require commanding a following. Good leadership, the type taught in the lessons, allows everyone to become a great leader of their own lives with a unique purpose, aim and love: a type of leadership that means a workable, imaginative co-existence where everyone is a leader.

After reading the book, I imagined all sorts of people using the book to replace counter productive, self-victimization with new direction. I especially could visualize people in positions of authority using the book to understand how their role could be more empowering than overpowering.

I recommend the book to individuals looking for a private experience for self emancipation and to all types of groups looking for common instruction on developing a thriving, cooperative mission.

M. A. Beattie, MBA, Doctoral Candidate in Leadership Studies, Gonzaga University

My mom gave me a copy of U.N.I.Q.U.E. when it was first coming onto the market. Leadership Studies are an area of research for me and I am also an avid gardener, so she felt the metaphor of a Leadership Garden was a natural fit. She was right in many ways. After getting into the book, I realized there may be some potential for use in a leadership class. Along same time, my church was proposing a Community Garden to grow produce for the local food bank. Likewise, the university where I am getting my doctorate from and where I instruct was interested in enhancing Service-Learning opportunities. A class was soon born using this book as a text that provides a focused journaling exercise for the students. This is coupled with coursework in global food issues such as water scarcity, climate change, Genetically Modified foods, and other topics. These are matched with exposure to local activists in each of these areas like organic farmers, farmer’s market associations, and hunger activists. It seeks to make the “think globally, act locally” connection in a very real way with the personal empowerment to make a difference. I highly recommend Debra’s book because of its readability and its multiple applications both within and outside the classroom.

Joel M. Green “Green Wave Massage Therapy” Spokane, WA

What a fantastic experience to read and feel. With the multitude of books out there with themes that touch the soul, this book clearly stands above the rest. As I read the book, I found myself touched but the hidden lessons all through this beautiful 147 page experience. U.N.I.Q.U.E. Growing the Leader Within not only transports you to a simpler time in your life by placing you within the pages, but I found that for myself, that it re-stimulated a part of the soul where learning and remembering was easy and not clouded by everyday pressures. To me, that is the natural way to learn, and the natural progression into your Leader within.

The main character Huge represents a part of all of us that transfigures the beginning of everyday thought, every experience and every endeavor. You cannot begin anything without starting at Hugh! This book by the author Debra J. Slover, reminded me where I have been and where I will be going. The journey is never ending but full of light. That is what this book is for me. Pure light!