I think that one of the best ways to learn leadership isn’t studying “leadership” at all. Instead, study individual leaders in their natural habitat and decide what they do that you want to try. Articles by and about leaders and interviews with them are mini-case studies that show you an actual leader in a real situation.

That’s why, every week, I bring you a selection of post about individual leaders. This week I’m pointing you to pieces by and about Brian Niccol, Ted Chung, Pierre Nanterme, Geoff Smart, Randy Street, Alan Foster, and David Politis.

From Samantha Masunaga: How I Made It: Taco Bell CEO Brian Niccol

“Since Jan. 1, Brian Niccol has been chief executive of Taco Bell Corp., the Irvine-based fast-food chain known for menu creations such as Doritos Locos Tacos and Crunchwrap Supremes. Since the first restaurant opened in 1962 in Downey, Taco Bell has expanded to about 6,000 locations and 180,000 employees nationwide”

From McKinsey: Hyundai Card on the power of brand translation and the beauty of crisis

“Long after CEO Ted Chung brought the credit-card company back from a crisis, he continues to embrace the idea that constant change is the best way to keep a company ready for anything.”

From Lillian Cunningham: Accenture CEO explains the reason why he’s overhauling performance reviews

“Pierre Nanterme has spent 32 years working for Accenture, culminating in his current role as CEO of the global professional services firm. And yet, that longevity has done little to make him fixed in his ways. Maintaining the status quo, he says, drives him ‘nuts’ and ‘reasonably mad,’ and he describes his own generation as ‘quite boring and simple’ compared to today’s new hires. Proof of his appetite for change is Accenture’s decision to eliminate rankings and annual performance reviews for its more than 300,000 employees starting this fall, which Nanterme broke the news of in this interview.”

From Wharton: Unlocking the Three-fold Secret to Great Leadership

“In this interview with Knowledge@Wharton, co-authors Street and Foster talk about the formula for management success, the hardest things for executives to get right and how teams can use the PWR formula within their own organizations.”

From Adam Bryant: David Politis of BetterCloud: Start by Working Beyond Your Résumé

“The chief executive of the cloud-based software company BetterCloud advises college graduates to begin their careers in a job where they can make a difference.”