Leadership is often said to be a quality that a person is either born with, or is not.

What if “leadership” was not something reserved for CEOs and politicians, but rather a skill that one can hone through practice?

In Virtuous Leadership: An Agenda for Personal Excellence, based on his executive program of the same name, Alexandre Havard provides readers with a roadmap to becoming a charismatic leader, no matter their station in life, including tips such as:

– Why “thinking big” and striving towards greatness outweighs a magnetic personality
– Why devotion to service is a key quality of a strong leader
– How the four cardinal virtues set a solid foundation for solid leaders and how to grow in them
– How to adopt the qualities history’s best leaders have in common
– Actionable steps to achieving personal excellence in your own life

As Havard keenly asserts, every member of society is a leader in one way or another. “Heads of state, schoolteachers, captains of industry, housewives, military chiefs of staff, and health care workers—all exercise leadership.”

While detailing exactly how to strive for a life of virtue, Harvard pulls from the greatest minds in history, from Greek philosophers through modern day minds like Josef Pieper and St. Josemaría Escrivá. Harvard cleverly views virtue, like leadership, as a habit that anyone can train. “Virtue is not a kind of talent, used as needed, rather it is present in all circumstances. It becomes who you are.”

By growing in virtue, building trust, and leading through auctoritas, the authority that stems from character, readers will not only be able to bring order to their office in life, but also live a more fulfilled and purposeful life.