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 Tara Reddy, Amy Poehler, Marta Kauffman, Dinesh Paliwal, and Fred Engelfried.

From Sarah Todd: Amy Poehler explains why it’s a bad idea to hire a ‘genius’

“Amy Poehler prides herself on bringing talented people together—whether that involves directing some of her best friends and fellow comedians in the new Netflix film Wine Country or elevating the voices of younger women as the executive producer of critically adored TV series like Broad City and Russian Doll. Key to her success may be one hard and fast hiring rule: Talented jerks need not apply.”

From Lisa Ryan: Friends Creator Marta Kauffman Hits Snooze Every Morning

“Marta Kauffman is the writer and producer responsible for some of your favorite TV shows. Along with David Crane, she’s the co-creator of Friends, the iconic ’90s sitcom that changed TV (and friendship) as we know it. Now she’s the mastermind behind Netflix’s Grace and Frankie, starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, and she is a co-founder of the female-led production company Okay Goodnight. Kauffman lives in Los Angeles, and has three kids. Here’s how she gets it done.”

From Adam Bryant: Simplifying the Strategy: “It’s Work, and You Have to Spend Time On It.”

“Spend some time with Dinesh Paliwal, the CEO of Harman International, and you’re guaranteed to learn a lot. I spoke with him years ago for my Corner Office series in The New York Times, and I was eager to reconnect with him for a second conversation. He has memorable insights on a wide range of leadership topics, including the importance of listening, the challenge of simplifying complexity, and creating a culture that makes diversity and inclusion more than buzzwords.”

Thanks to Smartbrief on Leadership for pointing me to these articles

From Steve Coomber: Changemakers: Tara Reddy

“Augmented reality entrepreneur on a mission to redress the gender imbalance in the tech sector.”

From Fred Engelfried: Lead With Your Weaknesses…And Strengths

“Lead with your weaknesses, not with your strengths. I learned that lesson many years ago in my first executive position but to this day must still remind myself of skills and disciplines to sharpen as well as new ones to acquire.”

For some ideas about how to get more from this series of posts, check out “Studying Leaders in the Wild.“