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 Christopher Cabrera, Sebastian James, Todd Sachse, Tony Antoci, Bill Walsh, Bill Parcell, and Pete Carroll.

From Adam Bryant: Christopher Cabrera of Xactly: Learning to Stay Above the Drama

“Mr. Cabrera, founder and C.E.O. of the employee-incentive software company Xactly, says being the fourth of five children meant learning to fight for everything, including dinner.”

From Matthew Gwyther: Dixons Carphone’s Sebastian James: Mastermind of a merger that worked?

“The electricals retailer’s sales soared over Christmas. All the signs point to a prosperous marriage, but retail remains a harsh mistress.”

From Frank Witsil: How one man turned window washing into $140 million

“Todd Sachse — now CEO of Sachse Construction — had a small window-washing business when he was 16. He inherited it, so to speak, from his older brother who handed it down when he went off to college”

From Ronald D. White: Grocer is on a natural growth path

“Tony Antoci, 40, is president and chief executive of Erewhon, the Southern California natural foods grocery mini-chain that traces its roots to a tiny Boston market founded in 1967. A Los Angeles branch opened in 1968. Erewhon was a pioneer in the natural foods business that eventually foundered amid internal strife, over-ambitious expansion and bankruptcy. Antoci and his wife, Josephine, bought the Beverly Boulevard market in 2011.”

From Daron K. Roberts: 3 Business Lessons From Legendary Super Bowl Coaches

“The minds of a star coach and CEO are more alike than you think.”