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Want to be a leader, or perhaps a better leader?

If so – The 5C Leader: Exceptional Leadership Practices for Extraordinary Times is the book for you.

Weese distills over 130 years of leadership research and theory development, couples it with his extensive research program, mixes in his consulting experience and his practical experience, and delivers a leadership book for the ages. This book is required reading for anyone interested in learning more about leadership and/or being a more effective leader. 

In Chapter One, readers are taken on a journey through the theoretical developments in leadership research. Readers will know that the area of leadership has captured the interests of scholars and practitioners alike. Readers will also be provided with information on the profound impact that leaders can have on people, and on the groups or organizations that they lead. This material, coupled with the “On the Shoulders of Giants” section provides the rock-solid foundation for his 5C concept.

Each of the 5C's of Leadership is discussed in the subsequent chapters in the book. Each of the C’s represents a leadership practice that consistently, but often independently, appears in the leadership literature. This text is an effort to bring these consistent themes together into a central, digestible package of what leaders are, what they do, and how they think. The 5C's of Leadership are:

C1 – Credibility

C2 - Compelling Vision

C3 - Charismatic Communicator

C4 - Contagious Enthusiasm

C5 - Culture Builder

Readers are also presented with a diagnostic tool that they can use to measure their 5C Leadership Practices and determine their relative strengths and areas for development (i.e., LAQ - Self form and the LAQ - Other form). An interpretive guide is provided to add meaning for the specific LAQ - Self and LAQ - Other scores for each of the five scales.

This book has been prepared to focus on the area of executive leadership and the application of its contents will help current and aspiring leaders deliver exceptional leadership. Examples of leaders from a plethora of industries and settings are profiled to help explain and apply one or all of the 5Cs. While contemporary examples of transformative leaders like Angela Merkel, Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Mark Zuckerberg, Justin Trudeau, Sheryl Sandberg, and Jeff Bezos are highlighted and highly appropriate, their leadership practices and accomplishments are ongoing. As a result, Weese takes a page out of a good biographer’s guidebook and focuses on leaders whose major accomplishments are complete. They can’t change course. Their work is done. As a result, you will read about Steve Jobs, Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Herb Kelleher, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and Mary Kay Ash in addition to understanding the historical leadership practices of leaders like Ray Kroc, Sam Walton, Ronald Reagan, Lyndon Johnson, and Frank Purdue.

Being an effective leader is not easy, but the good ones make it look easy. They build strong leadership teams comprised of members with complementary skill sets and orientations. They ensure and communicate a clear, clairvoyant vision that the overwhelming majority of members embrace and take ownership for attaining. They lead from an emotional intelligence base that brings the best out in stakeholders. They ensure that a crystal-clear vision and behaviour code and progressive edge is baked into an organizational culture that supports and sustains success. Sounds easy – and it could be. That said, anyone who has been a leader knows that there are high and low periods. However, effective leaders stay the course, and in so doing, serve as a breath of fresh air to their organizations and to the people who comprise them. Unfortunately, effective leadership is not omnipresent and when it is observable, it is often fleeting.

Leadership researchers routinely suggest that people lack confidence in their leaders. However, it is Weese's contention that effectively leading a group is not as arduous, fleeting, or impossible as some suggest. Blue ribbon examples of effective leaders abound in a host of different situations from sports, government, business, education, and social movements. To a large degree, effective leadership involves the application of a few common-sense principles that need to be universally and consistently applied. Weese provides a clear and practical blueprint for current and aspiring leaders who seek to heighten their effectiveness.

A pragmatic and thought-provoking resource for anyone in, or aspiring to be in, a leadership role. Timely, progressive, and practical. Jim weaves in rich examples from his vast experience to provide readers with essential knowledge and tools for leadership success. I especially like his creative and effective 5C “house metaphor”. I love this book and recommend it - highly.”

David Scott, PhD

Author of Sport Leadership and Dean of the College of Education and Human Development, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

“The world could use more 5C leaders”

Joe Henry, Dean of Students at King’s University College, London, Ontario Canada