Instead of studying leadership, why not spend some time studying leaders and strategies in the wild? You can learn a lot from leadership experts, but you always see the leader and what he or she does through the expert’s personal lens. Supplement that learning with studying real leaders in real life situations and draw your own conclusions. The posts in this series will help you.

Every week I’ll point you to articles by and about real leaders in real situations and to articles about how real companies are faring in the marketplace. Read them. Think about them. Draw your own lessons and conclusions from them. Then try to apply those lessons in your own real life.

This week I’m pointing you to articles about Jeff Weiner, Daniel Lamarre, Vishal Sikka, Kon Leong, and Mohammad Ali.

From Bill Snyder: Jeff Weiner: Manage Compassionately, and Prepare for the Next Worker Revolution

“LinkedIn’s CEO discusses how company values mean more now more than ever.”

From Michal Lev-Ram: How to Manage a Bunch of Clowns: Q&A with the CEO of Cirque du Soleil

“Nothing could have prepared Daniel Lamarre for his gig as chief executive officer of Cirque du Soleil—a company that employs wigmakers and contortionists and yes, a CFO. The live entertainment giant, profiled in the current issue of Fortune, has wowed audiences for decades with its death-defying stunts and extravagant sets and costumes. But what goes on behind the scenes has also been quite colorful.”

Thanks to Smartbrief on Leadership for pointing me to this story

From Wharton: Vishal Sikka: Reaching for the Future without Abandoning Infosys’s Past

“In 2014, when Vishal Sikka took over as chief executive officer of Infosys, India’s second largest information technology services firm with annual revenues of $10 billion, the company was grappling with challenges on many fronts. Artificial intelligence and automation were edging out IT outsourcing models, putting pressure on the entire industry. Internally, Sikka discovered that while Infosys scored high on quality, professionalism and delivery excellence, clients did not perceive it as being proactive and innovative, and it lacked strategic relevance.”

From Joel Trammell: CEO Interview: Kon Leong, ZL Technologies

“Kon Leong is the founder and CEO of ZL Technologies, the leader in unified information governance and analytics for the large enterprise. During our interview, he pulled no punches about the role of the CEO and how you should prepare for it.”

From Ross Kelly: From a Shack Without Running Water to the C-Suite: an Immigrant CEO Shares his Story

“The American dream is very much alive, according to Mohammad Ali, who’s family immigrated to America 36 years ago with $34 in their pockets.”