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 Leonard Lauder, Mark Jansen, Jim Whitehurst, Mary Mack, and Randall Stephenson.

From Chris Taylor: A Laudable life: Leonard Lauder’s extraordinary life lessons

“Estee Lauder is such an iconic American brand that it is easy to forget she was once a humble girl from Queens, New York. The daughter of Hungarian Jewish immigrants, Lauder managed to create one of the world’s biggest cosmetics companies. She died over a decade ago, but her firstborn son Leonard, 83, is a New York City institution himself, who rose to become chief executive of Estee Lauder Companies Inc and is now chairman emeritus.”

From Elliot Begoun: “Don’t assume that somebody else has it all figured out”

“Mark Jansen is the CEO of Blue Diamond Growers, which was founded in 1910 as a cooperative owned by over 3,000 California farm families. Today, it’s the largest producer and marketer of almonds in the world, with products sold in over 90 countries.”

From BCG Perspectives: Jim Whitehurst on the Open Organization

“Jim Whitehurst is the president and CEO of Red Hat, the world’s leading provider of open-source enterprise IT products and services. Whitehurst strongly advocates using open-source software as a catalyst for business innovation.”

From Rick Rothacker: Can Charlotte’s Mary Mack fix Wells Fargo’s retail bank?

“After three decades scaling the corporate ladder, Mary Mack this summer claimed the top job in Wells Fargo’s retail bank – right before the bottom dropped out.”

From Jennifer Pellet: Celebrating the 2016 CEO of the Year: AT&T’s Randall Stephenson

“In July, more than 200 business leaders gathered at the ICE NYSE to honor Randall Stephenson, who was recognized by a selection committee of his CEO peers for demonstrating exemplary vision, business acumen and success in delivering sustained performance.”