Drake E. Taylor, an officer in the United States Air Force, is well versed in leadership theory and practice and possesses an indispensable understanding of leadership styles and organizational strategies that apply to different situations due to their many years of first-hand experience. in the workplace practicing heads-up leadership. He advocates for four types of hats that will help people become effective and successful leaders. The Preface is an excellent tool to draw readers into The Four Hats of Leadership: Be who your people need you to be. The four types of hats are the farmer’s hat, the drill instructor’s hat, the psychologist’s hat, and the self-care hat. Taylor does an excellent job of providing an analogy between the job of a farmer and leading a team of people, describing the role of when it is appropriate to wear the instructor’s hat in a civilian setting, the value of the psychologist’s hat, and ways to helping people with their emotional well-being, and the importance of the self-care hat for a leader’s mental health.
The book focuses not only on the feasibility of using the four hats in the military but also in the civilian environment. Black-and-white photos and quotes from well-known people tie in beautifully with the theme of each hat section. Taylor explains how each hat serves a purpose in leadership and the benefits of incorporating them into a work environment. He provides many insights and goes into detail about the key principles needed to become an outstanding leader and the challenges facing anyone in a leadership position. Taylor weaves his own personal experiences throughout the book, which reflect both his achievements and his missteps in his career path. These examples are invaluable in making the information more compelling and relatable. Unambiguous sentences lead to easy understanding for the reader. Words on some pages are missing letters. However, readers can still easily figure out the words.
At the end of the book is a helpful section titled “Leadership Library.” It includes a worksheet questionnaire that will allow organizations to obtain relevant information about individual employees. Also, there are several quotes that are applicable to leadership and self-care that can be used to motivate not only people in management positions but also their workers. This book is a useful tool for people seeking a leadership position or interested in incorporating these hats into their leadership work.
