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 Richard Flint, Sara Blakely, Danny Meyer, Greg Mason, and Deb Liu.

From Mark Di Toro: UK’s #1 CEO Richard Flint: “Be Comfortable With Who You Are (and Aren’t)”

“On 20th June, Glassdoor announced the UK’s Top 50 CEOs UK for 2018. So, we caught up with the #1 rated CEO, Sky Betting & Gamings’ Richard Flint, to discuss exactly what qualities are needed to be a top UK boss, the attributes he looks for when interviewing, and, he reveals his best go-to productivity hack.”

From Blaire Briody: Sara Blakely: Start Small, Think Big, Scale Fast

“The CEO of Spanx explains how her hyper-observant focus led to overhauling the undergarments industry.”

From Ann Graham: Danny Meyer’s Recipe for Success

“How the restaurant mogul behind Union Square Cafe, Shake Shack, and many other dining destinations uses culture to drive scale.”

Book Suggestion Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business by Danny Meyer

From Gabriel Perna: Purch’s Greg Mason On His Role As A Growth CEO

“Publishing is not the easiest industry to succeed nowadays, but Greg Mason, CEO of Purch, an New York City-based company that publishes technology and science-related titles, may just have the magic touch.”

From Deb Liu: Finding my voice as an Asian American leader meant reconciling two different models of leadership

“There is a steep cost to not exemplifying leadership in the way that is expected. Studies show that Asian Americans, particularly women, are significantly underrepresented in top leadership roles within U.S. companies.”

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