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 Mathilde Collin, Raul Pereda, Hamdi Ulukaya, Ken Chenault, and Jeff Bezos.

From Stephanie Vozza: Why this CEO makes everything she does transparent to all employees

“After being lied to and kept in the dark at previous companies, CEO Mathilde Collin decided she’d give her staff total access to everything.”

Thanks to Smartbrief on Leadership for pointing me to this story

From Patrick Gorman: PW Power Systems CEO Raul Pereda Talks Leadership & Winning Company Culture

“PW Power Systems president and CEO Raul Pereda is an engineer by degree, but his keen interest in business, sales expertise and deep knowledge of his company’s products and customers has made for a seamless transition into the corner office during his first 18 months on the job.”

From David Gelles: Hamdi Ulukaya of Chobani Talks Greek Yogurt and the American Dream

“A Turkish immigrant of Kurdish descent, Mr. Ulukaya brought Greek yogurt to the mainstream. Along the way, he began hiring refugees, a move that drew threats from fringe websites and far-right commentators.”

From James Brown and Alvin Patrick: Ken Chenault on leadership and success at American Express

“Ken Chenault is one of America’s most respected CEOs, the former boss of no less a corporate titan than American Express. This morning CBS News Special Correspondent James Brown talks with Chenault about his road to the corner office:”

Thanks to Smartbrief on Leadership for pointing me to this story

From Randall Lane: Bezos Unbound: Exclusive Interview With The Amazon Founder On What He Plans To Conquer Next

“Bezos talks about Amazon like it’s a giddy startup that just closed its Series A. ‘For all practical purposes, the market size is unconstrained,’ says Bezos, his rolled-up sleeves showing off Popeye-like forearms, the product of midlife weight training that has produced buzzed-about results for the 54-year-old. His growth rationale comes from a ‘super-lucky’ confluence: The retail market, Amazon’s original quarry, is ‘many trillions,’ as is, he says, the cloud market that Amazon Web Services (AWS) pioneered.”

Thanks to Smartbrief on Leadership for pointing me to this story

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