Although written in plain English, the underlying concepts of O'Toole's Values-Based Leadership are difficult to comprehend. This is because they are so different from the way most manager/leaders have been socialized to behave.
O'Toole's book is full of examples from philosophy, politics, business, and art that lay the groudwork for his argument that respecting all people and including them in leadership decisions is the best way for leaders to achieve success.
As a side-note, the O'Toole is fond of using Latin expressions and of advising the reader that he is not of the Christian faith, and referring to any other leadership style than values-based as "full of the testosterone of alpha males." He also was quite patronizing to female leaders, in my opinion, and I found the use of his feminine style being the superior style quite irritating.
Of the many books available on leadership today, I would not rate it a must-read , but as an excellent ancillary book to experience an alternative opinion to autocratic leadership style.
